Glycemic Index: How Helpful in Promoting Long-Term Health? Foods with a low GI are digested and absorbed more slowly, causing a more gradual rise in blood sugar and preventing rapid spikes in insulin levels.

Nutritional Gatekeeper: How Big a Role? For many years, research found that one person in each family called the Gatekeeper controls the majority of food purchased and eaten by all family members. Now some question whether cultural changes are removing gatekeepers' power.

Two Calorie-Cutting Strategies Pass the Test When people manage to cut calories substantially at one meal, often they offset that reduction by overeating later that day or the next day. But now, new research at Pennsylvania State University has identified two strategies you can use to significantly lower your calorie intake for two days without feeling hungry.

Do Diet Meals Help? The frozen food section of the grocery store contains foods ranging from pizza and snack foods to traditional meat-loaf-and-mashed-potato dinners to meals targeted at people with health concerns including weight loss, heart health and vegetarian eating.

Flavor: Friend or Foe of Healthy Eating? Experts say the real reason behind the success, and ultimately the failure, of many weight loss diets is that their limited variety of foods and flavors makes people so bored with the food that they eat less and lose weight.

How to Keep Trans Fats Under Control Food labels now list the amount of trans fat in foods. Consumers, however, need to develop some strategies to use this new information effectively. Learn about trans fat and incorporate these simple strategies as you choose what to eat.

Trans Fat on the Label In January 2006, food companies will be legally required to list how much trans fat is in their products. But many companies are starting early. In fact, besides listing trans fat content, some companies are revising products so that the contents are more acceptable to concerned consumers.

You Can Learn Portion Awareness A new study confirms that people have difficulty judging how much food they eat. This can pose a problem since excessive amounts of food are frequently available to us.

Can You Trust the Claims on Food Labels? When our government developed the current food labeling system, guidelines stated that any health claims on food packaging must pass strict scientific review. But now guidelines about food claims have been relaxed considerably. You need to read the "fine print," along with the claim.

Larger Avocado Serving Recommended For Those With Diabetes Diabetes dietary guidelines were recently changed. The newly revised Exchange Lists for Meal Planning is published by the American Diabetes Association and American Dietetic Association.

Avocados Recommended in Latest Diabetes Guidelines The latest guidelines issued by the American Diabetes Association emphasize a diet rich in monounsaturated fat for improved diabetes control.

Low-Carb Confusion Hundreds of newly available low-carb foods are actually making weight loss more difficult. Don’t let food package claims deceive you - a 2 gram carb protein bar could have 240 calories.

Eating-In For Better Health Even though we know commercially-prepared meals often aren’t the most healthful, we choose them for convenience. But there are ways to cook nutritious meals quickly and easily. Includes recipe for Mediterranean-Style Fish.

I Have Diabetes: What Should I Eat? You can help control your blood sugar, also called blood glucose, and diabetes when you eat healthy, get enough exercise, and stay at a healthy weight. Find out more about eating and diabetes.