An increasing body of evidence indicates that we should reduce the amount of salt in our diet. The American Medical Association (AMA), the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the National Institutes of Health have begun a campaign to cut the salt intake of Americans by one-half. The AMA is even pushing the Food and Drug Administration to withdraw salt's designation as "safe," according to UCLA's Healthy Years.

"The consequences of too much salt are hypertension, or high blood pressure, which increases the risk of a stroke or heart attack," says Amy Schnabel, MS, RD, Clinical Nutrition Manager at the UCLA Medical Center. Ninety percent of Americans will develop hypertension unless they take steps to prevent it. Two studies reported in the April 19, 2007 issue of the British Medical Journal showed that people who cut back on the amount of salt in their diets by 25-35 percent could reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 25 percent and lower their mortality rates by 20 percent.

As consumers around the globe increasingly keep attuned to the effects diet can have on their health, researchers are now eyeing innovations in functional foods that could address disease prevention as well as maintain a fit lifestyle.

On the cutting edge of functional food research is Japan which boasts the most developed functional food market in the world, according to the global research firm EuroMonitor and reported here on the opening day of the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting & Food Expo, the world's largest annual food science forum and exposition.

In Japan, there are more than 650 products approved as Food for Specified Health Use, the world's first policy of legally permitting the commercialization of numerous functional food and health claims. And now the country is looking toward functional foods as a way to better address maladies specific to its culture-specifically allergies and fatigue, according to Makoto Shimizu, a professor at the University of Tokyo.

After teaching students about human nutrition all day, Marjorie Fitch-Hilgenberg, associate professor of dietetics at the University of Arkansas, goes home at night to put her lessons into practice. To make it easy to serve a nutritious meal after a long day at work, Fitch-Hilgenberg keeps her pantry and freezer stocked with some versatile staples.

"I don't worry about dinner when I know I can open my cupboard and freezer and find everything I need for a quick, healthy, home-cooked meal," Fitch-Hilgenberg said.

Fitch-Hilgenberg keeps on hand a variety of fruits and vegetables, grain products, sources of protein, dairy products, and seasonings and condiments.

An agricultural researcher at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has developed a simple process to make allergen-free peanuts. The new process -- believed to be a first for food science -- could provide relief to millions of peanut allergy sufferers, and be an enormous boon to the entire peanut industry.

Doug Speight of the N.C. A&T Office of Outreach and Technology Transfer said food companies are showing a strong interest in licensing the process, which does not degrade the taste or quality of treated peanuts, and might even render them easier to process for use as a food ingredient.

Accepting food cravings and keeping them in check may be an important component of weight management, according to findings from the first six-month phase of a calorie-restriction study conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University. Supplemental results from the Comprehensive Assessment of the Long-term Effects of Restricting Intake of Energy (CALERIE) trial provide new insights into food cravings, specific types of foods craved, and their role in weight control.

"Cravings are really normal; almost everyone has them," says corresponding author Susan Roberts, PhD, director of the USDA HNRCA's Energy Metabolism Laboratory. At the start of the study, 91 percent of the participants reported having food cravings, which are defined as an intense desire to eat a specific food. "Most people feel guilty about having food cravings," says Roberts, "but the results of this study indicate that they are so normal that nobody needs to feel they are unusual in this respect."

The numbers of overweight children are increasing, and many parents are rightly concerned about their children's weight and how it affects them.

The good news is that parents can help their children live healthy, active lives.

"Sometimes it's best to change your vocabulary." That's what pediatrician Peggy Supple, M.D., of Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove often has to remind the parents of children struggling with obesity.

"I find that overweight children respond better to the word 'activity' than to the term 'exercise,'" Supple explains. "I think it's because some children associate exercise with sweat and work, things they may feel are negatives. To really make an impact with overweight children, you must help them increase their level of activity throughout the day."

With the number of Americans overweight and obese at an all-time high, the diet choices of young people are of concern, especially as they prepare to leave home for the first time in the fall and fend for themselves at college.

College is a time of tremendous change in lifestyles and routines, so it can be difficult for students to establish or maintain healthy eating habits. In some cases, tight time schedules, limited budgets and other influences can lead to weight problems. And patterns of gradual weight gain over the course of college can trigger health problems well beyond your college years.

New study challenges conventional thinking that high carbohydrate, low fat slimming plan should contain little or no added sugar (sucrose).

A team of scientists at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh has found that a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet (containing sucrose) combined with physical activity achieved the greatest health benefits in overweight subjects. The study, which will be published in the August issue of International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, provides evidence that the exclusion of sucrose, as is normally advocated in a weight loss diet, is not necessary to achieve weight reduction. In fact, the palatability of sucrose may even help dieters stick to their eating plans.

Aultman Weight Management Registered Dietician Marita Loyola knows the hustle and bustle of summertime activities can hurt dieters' hard work and even those just wanting to just maintain their weight.

"You're striving to live a healthy lifestyle, but along comes summer: a busy, happy-go-lucky time," said Loyola. "It's a time for family, cookouts and vacations. Even with the best of intentions, healthy eating goes by the wayside."

To avoid packing on extra pounds, Loyola recommends the following smart eating strategies while enjoying the summer months:

1. Drink up. Water, that is! Don't mistake hunger for thirst. Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day to prevent dehydration and to help curb your appetite. It will also help you stay energized and improve your stamina.

A new study of US and Canadian teenagers suggests that not getting enough essential nutrients in their diet is linked to risk of developing respiratory conditions such as asthma and poorer lung function. The study is published in the July issue of the journal Chest.

Lead author, Dr Jane Burns of the Harvard School of Public Health, said in a prepared statement that:

"Our study, as well as other research, suggests that higher intakes of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory micronutrients are associated with lower reports of cough, respiratory infections, and less severe asthma-related symptoms."