Dietary fat often gets a bad rap for its potential to damage your heart health and add extra pounds to your waistline. Fat is high in calories and certain fats can have a negative impact on heart health, but not all fats are bad. In fact, many types of fats are essential for a healthy diet.

Seasonal eating is as old as farming itself. Before food preservation was common, people ate whatever was growing in their gardens (or in the wild) when it was ready to be harvested. To discover the benefits of seasonal eating, learn what fruits and vegetables are in season and seek out locally grown produce at its peak. Seasonal eating is a delicious way to help your body, the local economy and the planet.

The gut microbiome, the unique population of microbes that live within the intestines, is a popular topic in digestive research. While we used to think of microorganisms in the gut as harmful germs, many are actually helpful to us. Evidence also shows that adding probiotics and prebiotics to the diet can help the microbiome thrive. But what are prebiotic and probiotic foods, and what is the difference between them? Having a clear understanding of what these terms mean and why it’s beneficial to keep the microbiome strong can improve your diet.

If you’re trying to cut back on the amount of sugar you eat, you may turn to foods with sugar substitutes rather than sugar. But are these sugar alcohols really a healthy alternative?