Meet insulin: your body’s growth‑directing hormone. Insulin is a major player in turning your food into the energy that keeps you going. How your cells respond to insulin is key not just to your athletic performance but to your overall health as well.

When your body struggles to let insulin do its job, that’s known as insulin resistance — a condition that impacts nearly a billion people. It’s one of the major driving forces in the development of type 2 diabetes, and it’s also associated with a number of other serious health conditions.

What’s not widely known, even in scientific circles, is that insulin resistance can be reversed.

In this article, we’ll unpack what insulin resistance is, why it matters, and how small, sustainable shifts — especially in your diet — can make a meaningful difference to your long-term health.

What Is Insulin Resistance?

First, let’s talk about insulin itself. It’s a hormone that regulates your blood glucose (sugar) levels. Think of insulin as a key that opens your cells to receive glucose from your bloodstream. That’s important for both sides of the transaction, keeping your blood sugar from getting dangerously high and supplying your cells with the energy they need.

Insulin resistance is a metabolic condition in which your body is less able to respond to insulin. Imagine something blocking up the keyholes so insulin can’t open your cells to receive glucose. Two bad things happen: your cells are deprived of energy, and your blood glucose levels become elevated.

There are a bunch of factors that can contribute to insulin resistance: genetic predisposition, obesity (particularly the accumulation of fat around your internal organs), chronic inflammation, a sedentary lifestyle, and diet.

Signs and Symptoms of Insulin Resistance

Common signs of insulin resistance include fatigue, increased hunger (especially for carbs), belly fat, frequent urination, skin tags, darkened patches of skin (especially around the neck or armpits), and brain fog. High blood pressure and abnormal cholesterol levels may also appear in blood work before other symptoms appear.

But insulin resistance usually starts symptomless. The first time many people find out they have this condition is when they’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. That’s one reason regular health check-ups and routine blood tests can be important, especially if you have risk factors like leading a sedentary lifestyle, being overweight, or having an existing chronic health condition.

How Is Insulin Resistance Diagnosed?

Several blood tests can detect early warning signs and can help you take action to prevent later complications. Some of the most common and useful include:

• Fasting blood glucose: This test measures blood sugar levels after an overnight fast. If your levels are high, that may indicate a problem with glucose regulation.
• HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c): This test shows your average blood sugar level over the past two to three months. If fasting blood glucose is a snapshot, HbA1c is more of a time-lapse movie.
• Fasting insulin: This test assesses how much insulin your body is producing. If it’s higher than normal, that could indicate that your pancreas is overproducing it to compensate for insulin resistance.
• HOMA-IR (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance): This calculation uses fasting glucose and insulin levels to estimate insulin resistance.
• Lipid panel and liver function: These tests offer additional insights, since insulin resistance often coexists with abnormal cholesterol levels and fatty liver disease.

Health Implications of Insulin Resistance

While insulin resistance is commonly associated with type 2 diabetes, it’s also involved in several other disease processes.

1. Type 2 Diabetes

The most well-known outcome of insulin resistance is type 2 diabetes, which is defined as having an A1c of 6.5% or more (while prediabetes is diagnosed at 5.7–6.5%). However, elevated blood sugar is a symptom, not the cause. It’s actually insulin resistance that raises blood sugar levels, because if sugar can’t get into the cells, where it’s needed, it tends to build up in the blood.

When blood sugar is high, the pancreas gets the message that there isn’t enough insulin, so it ramps up production. But it also tells your body, “Hey, stash this extra fuel as fat” — leading, over time, to obesity and, eventually, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. That fat makes your cells even less responsive to insulin, creating a negative feedback loop.

When your cells ignore insulin’s friendly knock on the door, your pancreas raises the volume, sending more insulin to do the same job.

Keep the cycle spinning long enough, and your overworked pancreas may sputter out, losing its ability to produce insulin at all, and leaving you dependent on injected insulin. This process can essentially compound type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance) by also giving you a form of type 1 diabetes (lack of endogenous insulin).

2. Cardiovascular Disease 

Insulin resistance can accelerate plaque buildup in arteries (that is, atherosclerosis), which fuels the development of heart disease and stroke. Too much insulin and high blood sugar also cause oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, damaging blood vessels and the heart.

This all contributes to high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, and increased LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

3. Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)

Insulin resistance is a central driver of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat builds up in the liver. While alcohol consumption is a well-known cause of liver disease, NAFLD is named to distinguish this condition from liver damage caused by drinking. In NAFLD, poor insulin sensitivity, not alcohol, is the main culprit behind fat accumulation in the liver.

Over time, NAFLD can progress to NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, if you’d like to cultivate a collection of liver-based acronyms), fibrosis, and even cirrhosis.

NAFLD is closely tied to obesity and metabolic syndrome, both of which often stem from poor insulin sensitivity.

For more on NAFLD and other liver conditions, and how to protect yourself, check out our full article here.

4. Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, and high blood sugar.

Insulin resistance can contribute to obesity (especially visceral fat) and metabolic syndrome. And they can, in turn, worsen inflammation and promote insulin resistance. Together, these factors greatly increase the risk of both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

5. Other Disorders

Insulin resistance can also lead to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), cognitive decline, and sleep disorders.

Can Insulin Resistance Be Reversed?

In many cases, especially when caught early, lifestyle changes can significantly improve or even fully reverse insulin resistance. Your body has an incredible ability to heal and adapt when given the proper support.

There are several lifestyle strategies that you can use here, including diet, exercise, weight management, sleep hygiene, and stress management.

Improving Insulin Resistance Through Diet

For many decades, the mainstream dietary advice to diabetics has been to avoid carbohydrates of all kinds. The thinking goes like this: Diabetes is a disease of high blood sugar. Carbohydrates are made up of simple sugars. Therefore, it makes sense to reduce carbohydrate intake significantly to keep blood sugar low.

And sure enough, many people who check their blood sugar with a finger prick see a spike after eating carbs. It’s an understandable argument. But here’s the catch: As we’ve seen, high blood sugar isn’t the root cause — it’s a symptom. The real issue is that your body isn’t processing those carbohydrates properly. Due to insulin resistance, the glucose from your food gets stuck in your bloodstream instead of making its way into your muscle cells.

Cutting all carbohydrates is like “solving” a blocked toilet by not using it. Wouldn’t it be more effective to plunge the toilet to remove the blockage?

Proponents of a low-carb diet aren’t entirely off-base, however. They’re right that some carbohydrates can fuel insulin resistance; specifically, added sugars and refined carbohydrates that are not accompanied by fiber.

But some carbohydrates can be profoundly beneficial. Eating whole plant-based foods, which tend to be high in fiber, resistant starch, and other healthy carbs, is one way to unblock the insulin receptors in your muscle cells. A diet rich in whole, plant-based carbohydrate-rich foods (like beans, oats, fruits, and veggies) offers fiber-rich, anti-inflammatory benefits that help your body become more insulin sensitive.

A 2018 study explored whether adopting a low-fat, plant-based diet high in carbohydrates and fiber for 16 weeks would help overweight people lose weight and improve how their bodies handled insulin. Those on the plant-based diet lost weight, reduced body fat, and had better insulin sensitivity than those who kept their usual diet.

Although saturated fats and trans fats are linked to increased risk of insulin resistance, healthy fats can reduce inflammation and improve insulin resistance. These good fats, especially the omega-3 fatty acids, can calm inflammation in important areas like the brain (hypothalamus) and fat tissue, helping the body control hunger better and store fat safely, reducing problems linked to insulin resistance.

Monounsaturated fats, such as those found in avocados, almonds, and olive oil, can also fight insulin resistance.

Engage in Regular Physical Activity

When you exercise, you flip a metabolic switch that invites sugar out of the bloodstream and into working muscle. Each contraction summons GLUT‑4 transporters to the surface of your muscle cells, allowing glucose to flow in even when insulin levels are low or baseline insulin signaling is sluggish. And when insulin is present, the two pathways work together for an even bigger payoff.

The magic doesn’t stop when you cool down. Once the contraction‑driven glucose rush subsides, your muscles stay extra receptive to insulin for hours — and in many people, for a full day or longer — after a single workout.

String together these sessions, about 30 minutes of moderate‑intensity movement, three to five times a week, and that post‑exercise “afterglow” can deliver a lasting upgrade in insulin sensitivity and glycemic control.

Prioritize Quality Sleep

Sleep is another huge piece in the insulin sensitivity puzzle. We know that chronic sleep deficiency increases insulin resistance in women, especially postmenopausal women. Biomarkers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A, are associated with poor sleep and glucose intolerance.

Another metabolic marker related to insulin resistance affected by sleep is GLP-1. This compound is having its moment in the sun, thanks to the popularity of weight loss and anti-diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro that increase the activity of GLP-1 receptors.

Study after study shows us that adequate sleep is necessary for maintaining proper metabolic health. For more on the importance of sleep and the foods, tools, and practices proven to support good sleep, see our article here.

Manage Stress Effectively

Stress can also mess with your insulin sensitivity. When your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, stress hormones flood your bloodstream and tell your liver to dump glucose, making muscle and fat less responsive to insulin. All this is designed to help you run away from a tiger, but it wreaks havoc on your body in the long run.

Chronic exposure to stress ignites inflammation, derails lipid metabolism, injures pancreatic beta cells, and drives insulin resistance through several mechanisms. 

When you manage your stress effectively, you’re also improving your insulin sensitivity. Breathwork, yoga, laughter, or a nature walk dial down cortisol and let insulin signaling rebound.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Weight gain is generally associated with deterioration in metabolic health. And among people who are overweight, weight loss improves insulin sensitivity.

A 2019 study found that overweight people who are insulin resistant can improve their health by losing even a small amount of weight. The researchers discovered that shrinking belly fat and fat cell size were key to better insulin use and heart health, more than overall weight loss. So, focusing on losing belly fat with a healthy diet can significantly improve insulin sensitivity.

Recipes to Combat Insulin Resistance

Ready for delicious meals that work with your metabolism? Dive into a creamy Green Dream Avocado Smoothie, a crunch‑packed Farmer’s Market Salad with Miso Peanut Dressing, and a cozy Quinoa, Bean, and Vegetable Soup — each crafted to tame post‑meal glucose swings with fiber‑rich greens, plant protein, and anti‑inflammatory flavor. Your taste buds stay happy while your blood sugar remains steady.

1. Green Dream Avocado Smoothie

Think of this glass as a mini spa treatment for your metabolism. Velvety avocado delivers healthy fats that slow digestion, while spinach packs magnesium, a mineral many people with insulin resistance are low on. Hemp seeds add plant protein and omega‑3s to keep cravings in check, and soy milk provides an extra protein boost (shown in studies to improve post‑meal glucose response). The sweetness? It comes mainly from applesauce and a hint of maple (optional), cushioned by all that fiber and fat so you won’t see a glucose roller‑coaster. Blend, sip, and enjoy steady energy that lasts well past breakfast.

2. Farmer’s Market Salad with Miso Peanut Dressing

Picture every color of the produce aisle tossed into one bowl: kale, purple cabbage, sunset‑orange carrots, and juicy bell peppers. That fiber rainbow feeds your gut microbes, producing compounds that enhance insulin sensitivity. Then there’s the dressing — fermented miso plus creamy peanut butter. Fermentation brings probiotic power; peanuts supply arginine, an amino acid linked to better vascular and metabolic health. Chili, lime, and fresh ginger wake up your palate while calming inflammation behind insulin resistance. Top it off with crispy miso‑chickpea‑tofu croutons, and you’ll have crunch, protein, and satisfaction in every bite.

3. Quinoa, Bean, and Vegetable Soup

This isn’t just soup; it’s a one‑pot powerhouse for taming insulin resistance. Quinoa and two kinds of beans join forces to deliver 21 grams of plant protein and a blockbuster dose of soluble fiber — the duo proven to flatten glucose curves. Slow‑simmered veggies release antioxidants that counter oxidative stress, while oregano, garlic, and red‑pepper flakes add anti‑inflammatory flair. Bonus: The resistant starch formed as the soup cools down (even briefly) further improves insulin response when you reheat it. Cozy, filling, and wallet‑friendly, this bowl keeps you warm today and helps your cells listen to insulin tomorrow.

Conclusion

Insulin resistance may begin quietly, but its ripple effects can be far-reaching and devastating. The good news is that insulin resistance is detectable and often reversible. With consistent and positive changes to diet and lifestyle, you can support your body’s natural ability to restore balance.

Read Next:

• Are Canned Foods Healthy? Examining Their Pros and Cons

The post Insulin Resistance Explained: Signs, Causes, and How To Turn It Around appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

I’m speaking, of course, about flatulence.

It’s not exactly a secret that some of our favorite and healthiest plant-based ingredients come with, shall we say, a chorus of side effects.

If you’ve experienced that “aromatic wind beneath your wings” feeling on a diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes, don’t despair. You’re not alone, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.

Gas is a normal part of digestion, especially when you’re eating fibrous foods like whole fruits and vegetables. But that doesn’t mean it’s not sometimes uncomfortable, smelly, and potentially awkward in social situations.

So let’s explore how to minimize that gas and make eating and its aftermath a more comfortable and pleasant experience for you and everyone around you. We’ll identify potential causes of gas, reveal tips for reducing it, look at how to make foods easier to digest, and share a few plant-based recipes that should be easy on your digestion.

Why Do We Get Gas?

Being gassy doesn’t necessarily mean that anything’s wrong. Your digestive system produces gas because not all food gets fully digested in your small intestine. Some components, like dietary fiber and resistant starches (so named, I’m imagining, because they chant “Heck, no, we won’t go!” as they march through your digestive tract) make their way to your large intestine relatively intact.

And you get a lot more of these components on a plant-based diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds than on a diet of processed foods and foods of animal origin. (In fact, there is no fiber, and there is no resistant starch found in meat, dairy, eggs, bottled oils, or added sugar.)

Once these undigested carbohydrates arrive in your large intestines, they become food for your probiotic bacteria. As the gut microbes break down fiber and starch, they produce gas as a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. Think of it as your own private champagne cellar, where tiny bubbles build up enough “vintage” pressure (a fizzy bottle can hit 87 pounds per square inch!) to make you pop the cork at the least convenient moment. The “end product,” as it were, consists mostly of non-smelly gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and oxygen. The odor, if any, comes from trace compounds that pack a punch far beyond their tiny parts-per-million presence. These include various sulfur compounds, ammonia, volatile fatty acids, and others. Some people’s gas also contains a bit of methane, which can make flatulence technically flammable.

(Weird side note: A friend once told me she tested this with her husband holding a lit match above the scene of the crime. He claimed a tiny flare shot up. I do not recommend trying this at home.)

The amounts and types of gas produced can vary greatly based on your microbiome and your diet, as well as your genetics. In general, you can expect that there might be some gas after eating fiber-heavy meals.

If you’re experiencing excessive gas, painful bloating, or changes in digestion, it could be the result of adding too much fiber too quickly. It might also be a symptom of a more serious disorder, such as IBS, food sensitivities, or a lack of digestive enzymes.

For more on digestive enzymes, including how they work and whether they’re worth taking as supplements, check out our full article here.

Gas can come not just from your gut bacteria fermenting the fiber and starches in your colon, but also from swallowed air (like when drinking carbonated beverages or eating too quickly).

The Difference Between Gas and Bloating

On a plant-based diet, you may experience both gas and bloating, especially if you’ve recently increased your fiber intake. By identifying which symptom you’re dealing with, you can take more targeted steps to feel better. Let’s look at the differences.

Gas is pretty self-explanatory: You’ve got gas, and you’re either passing it or struggling heroically to keep it in (think elevators, airplanes, church, and first dates). And it comes with a feeling of pressure in your gut that can be (temporarily) relieved with each expulsion.

Bloating, on the other hand, is the feeling of fullness, tightness, or pressure in your abdomen. It can happen with or without gas and might not always result in noticeable flatulence.

Some causes of bloating include:

• Slowed digestion or constipation, which causes food to sit longer than it should in your digestive tract
• Water retention, often related to hormonal changes or salty meals
• Food intolerances
• Poor gut motility, where your digestive muscles aren’t moving food along efficiently
• Overeating or eating too quickly, which can lead to feeling backed up

The Most Gas-Producing Foods on a Plant-Based Diet

Many healthy plant-based staples are known for causing gas, especially when you first increase your fiber intake by adding large quantities of these foods to your diet in a short time. That means you don’t need to cut these foods out entirely — instead, you can reduce them and increase your consumption slowly and incrementally. (You’ll find more strategies for keeping things calm in your tummy later in this article.)

Let’s look at the top “contrib-tooters” to gasiness.

1. Beans and Lentils

Legumes are rich in fiber and contain oligosaccharides, a type of carbohydrate that’s tough to digest, at least by your digestive system. Your gut bacteria happily ferment them, and that fermentation creates gas.

For more on legumes, see our article here.

2. Cruciferous Vegetables

Veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are packed with fiber and sulfur-containing compounds. These can lead to gas and sometimes bloating, especially if you’re not accustomed to eating them regularly. And sulfur, which in medieval English was called brimstone and associated with the fiery torments of hell, can cause that particular “farty” aroma.

3. Whole Grains

Brown rice, oats, quinoa, whole wheat, and other whole grains contain fiber and resistant starch, which feed gut bacteria and produce gas as a byproduct.

4. High-FODMAP Foods

FODMAPs are a group of fermentable carbs found in many plant foods. (In case you find yourself on Jeopardy! and the category is Short-Chain Fatty Acids, the acronym stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols. And don’t forget to give your answer in the form of a question!)

FODMAPs are generally health-promoting, since they feed your beneficial gut bacteria, but they can cause digestive symptoms in some people. High-FODMAP foods include legumes, nuts, wheat, dairy, certain fruits, as well as onions and garlic, which deserve their own category thanks to their unique contributions to your signature scent.

5. Onions and Garlic

These and other members of the allium family (like leeks, chives, and scallions) contain fructans, a type of fermentable carbohydrate that can cause gas and bloating, particularly in people with IBS or a sensitivity to FODMAPs. They also have a high sulfur content, which, as we’ve seen (or rather, smelled), can produce odoriferous gas.

For much more about alliums, including their amazing health benefits, you can check out our full article here.

How To Make Plant-Based Foods Easier To Digest

Most people find they don’t need to remove these foods from their diet to vanquish persistent, frequent, and smelly gas attacks. Here are several proven strategies to help your gut bacteria digest them more completely with fewer unwanted byproducts.

First, soak and rinse legumes and whole grains before cooking them. You can soak grains for a few hours or even overnight. Legumes can soak for 48 hours, as long as you pour off and replace the water every 12 hours to prevent the beans or lentils from fermenting in the bowl. Do a final rinse just before cooking.

Soaking and rinsing grains and legumes helps break down the alpha-oligosaccharides, which means your gut microbes have to do less digesting. That subdues the fermentation party, which means less tooting.

As an added benefit, soaking and rinsing can start the sprouting process and increase nutrient bioavailability.

You can also reduce flatulence by cooking grains and legumes for longer periods. Slow cooking and simmering can reduce the amount of undigested starch that reaches the large intestines.

For more on healthy, plant-based slow cooking, check out our article on The Joys and Benefits of Slow Cooking.

Another way to reduce flatulence is to add a strip of kombu to cooking legumes. Kombu, a type of sea vegetable in the kelp family, leaches an enzyme into the bean water that predigests some of the short-chain carbohydrates. It also tenderizes the skin of the beans, allowing some of their natural sugars to migrate into the cooking water.

Some spices, including cumin, fennel, and ginger, also act to reduce fermentation and gas production in the large intestines.

A fundamental strategy that I’ve already mentioned but which bears repeating is to introduce higher levels of fiber into your diet gradually. Dr. Will Bulsiewicz, author of The Fiber Fueled Cookbook (one of our Top 12 plant-based cookbooks), likens your digestion to a muscle that gets stronger with training.

You wouldn’t start weight training by trying to deadlift 250 pounds; you’d start with a light barbell and work your way up. Similarly, you can build up your gut’s capacity to handle and benefit from fiber and resistant starch by starting small and building up — resistant starch resistance training, if you like.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends not increasing total fiber intake by more than five grams each day until the desired intake is reached. For some people, increases should be spread over the course of weeks or even months. How much fiber should you aim for at the high end? At least 40 grams of fiber per day appears to be optimal.

In addition to what you eat and the amounts, how you eat is also important. Eating slowly and chewing thoroughly activates enzymes in your saliva that can jumpstart digestion in the mouth and esophagus, leaving less work for the bacteria in your colon.

Finally, adding probiotic and prebiotic foods into your diet can improve digestion over time by supporting the growth of colonies of beneficial bacteria.

Natural Remedies and Strategies To Reduce Gas

Beyond food, other remedies can help tame the toots.

Herbal teas (peppermint, ginger, chamomile, fennel, lemon balm, etc.)

A warm mug of herbal tea can do more than soothe your spirit — many herbs contain volatile oils that relax intestinal smooth muscle, speed gastric emptying, and let trapped bubbles escape upstream as a demure burp instead of migrating south.

Randomized trials and clinical reviews show that peppermint tea, in particular, cuts abdominal pain, bloating, and flatulence in people with functional gut disorders, with no serious side effects when taken as tea or enteric-coated capsules (which stay intact in the stomach so they can do their thing once they reach your intestines).

Chamomile, lemon balm, star anise, and fennel have weaker (but still positive) evidence and are considered safe for most people. Sip a cup about 20 minutes after the meal, and skip it only if you have reflux, since the same muscle-relaxing effect can sometimes loosen the upper esophageal sphincter and allow food that’s reached your stomach to pop back up into your food pipe.

Gentle movement or yoga after meals

Staying put after eating encourages gas to pool in the bends of the colon. A 2006 study found that patients who gently pedaled on a stationary bike in short five-minute sets cleared nearly twice as much gas as when they lay still. They also reported less bloating and abdominal distension.

Light walking, “wind-relieving” yoga poses, and seated torso twists work the same magic by using gravity and core muscle contractions to herd bubbles toward the rectum for an early exit. This doesn’t reduce flatulence, but enables you to deal with it quicker and with less discomfort.

Activated charcoal

Charcoal’s porous surface can adsorb gases and the odor-causing compounds that ride with them. (I had to look up “adsorb.” It means to attract and hold molecules of another substance on the surface only, as opposed to “absorb,” which is where the substance soaks into the interior, like water into a sponge.)

Charcoal binds other things, like medications and micronutrients, so reserve it for occasional heavy-bean nights, take it at least two hours away from prescriptions or supplements, and avoid long-term daily use.

Digestive enzyme supplements

If your digestive system feels overwhelmed by beans, crucifers, or other fiber-rich all-stars of a plant-based diet, digestive enzymes might be helpful. These supplements can provide your body with a boost of the very enzymes it needs to help break down tough-to-digest carbohydrates, proteins, and fats — before they cause bloating, gas, or discomfort.

While your body naturally produces digestive enzymes, some people don’t make enough, especially as we age, or during times of stress or chronic inflammation. That can mean more undigested food reaching your colon and more fermentation (read: more gas). Enzyme supplements help take the pressure off your digestive tract, easing the workload and making mealtimes more comfortable.

One of the most effective and well-studied enzymes for gas relief is alpha-galactosidase, the active ingredient in products like Beano®. It targets hard-to-digest sugars in beans and cruciferous vegetables, working in your small intestine to reduce fermentation before it even starts.

But for broader digestive support — including help with proteins, starches, fats, and fibers — you might want a more comprehensive enzyme blend. (At FRN, we like MassZymes by BIO Optimizers. You’ll find more info about their product, and a link to get an FRN member discount, in the Editor’s Note at the bottom of this article.)

For more on digestive enzymes, see our article here.

Limit consumption of carbonated beverages and sugar alcohols

Seltzers, sodas, and even some “sugar-free” sweet snacks can contribute to gas. The carbonation itself introduces air into the digestive system (as many class clowns discovered when a big swig of soda pop enabled them to burp the entire alphabet).

Sugar alcohols, common in sugar-free snacks, such as sorbitol and xylitol, ferment in the gut and can be hard to break down. Small amounts — like what’s found in chewing gum or mints — are unlikely to be a problem, but using sugar alcohols as a sweetener in desserts might not feel great to your tummy.

For the low-down on sugar alcohols and other sugar alternatives, we’ve got a comprehensive review here.

Mindfulness

Your gut and brain run on the same nerve highway: when you’re tense, digestion slows, gut sensitivity rises, and even normal amounts of gas can make you feel like a blown-up balloon about to meet a very sharp needle.

A 2002 study found that mindfulness-based stress reduction and acceptance-oriented cognitive-behavioral therapy, which incorporates mindful exposure, improved IBS symptom severity and quality of life. Daily five-minute breathing or body-scan sessions won’t eliminate gas production, but they can help dial down the discomfort and the urge to clench, allowing bubbles to pass easily and quietly.

Gas-Friendly Recipes To Support Digestion

Looking for plant-based meals that are gentle on digestion? These gas-friendly recipes are designed with your gut in mind, featuring ingredients and techniques that help reduce bloating and support comfort after eating. From fermented cabbage with carminative herbs to pressure-cooked beans and a soothing digestive juice, each dish brings flavor and function to your plate (or glass).

1. Homemade Green Cabbage Saurkraut

This Homemade Green Cabbage Sauerkraut isn’t just tangy and crunchy; it’s crafted to support better digestion. Made with green cabbage and a blend of fennel, caraway, and mustard seeds, this naturally fermented recipe delivers probiotics that help nourish your gut while the gas-inhibiting herbs work to reduce bloating and digestive discomfort. A forkful with meals can make a big difference in how you feel after eating.

2. Creamy Instant Pot Pinto Beans

If beans usually leave you feeling bloated, these Creamy Instant Pot Pinto Beans are a gut-friendly upgrade. Soaking and pressure cooking the beans helps break down gas-producing compounds, and cooking them with a strip of kombu (a digestive-supportive sea vegetable) enhances their tolerability even more. The recipe includes onion and garlic for depth of flavor, but they’re completely optional for those with sensitive stomachs or who don’t tolerate alliums well. With warming spices and tender beans, it’s a satisfying and soothing dish for any digestive system.

3. Digestive Wellness Juice

Packed with soothing and anti-inflammatory ingredients, this Digestive Wellness Juice is designed to calm the belly and support smooth digestion. Ingredients like fennel, ginger root, and pineapple are well known for their ability to relieve gas, reduce bloating, and support gut motility. Combined with kale, turmeric root, and lemon juice, this refreshing blend offers a daily dose of digestive wellness in every glass.

Conclusion

Gas on a plant-based diet is not uncommon, especially if you’ve recently made the switch or have started eating more fiber-rich foods. By experimenting with small changes, you can often reduce symptoms without giving up the foods you love.

The long-term benefits of eating more fiber — better digestion, a healthier gut microbiome, lower inflammation, and improved overall health — are well worth a little trial and error in the beginning. And many people find that once their gut adjusts, gas becomes much less frequent and less bothersome.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you ever had to adjust your diet because of gas or bloating?
• What foods or tricks have helped you tame the toots?
• Any funny (or awkward!) stories you’d be brave enough to share?

Read Next:

• Plant-Based Protein: Best Sources & How Much You Actually Need

Featured Image: iStock.com / Aamulya

The post How to Prevent Gas on a Plant-Based Diet: Tips, Foods, and Recipes appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

By Ocean Robbins • Adapted from Ocean Robbins’ forthcoming book 31-Day Food Revolution (Grand Central Life & Style, February 5, 2019). Featured image source: https://downtoearthorganics.com.au. Originally published on: August 8, 2018.

Deep in your gut, 40 trillion chemists are hard at work helping you digest your meals, making essential nutrients you can’t produce on your own, protecting you from disease, and even shaping which parts of your DNA manifest and which remain dormant.

These talented creatures are fungi, bacteria, and other single-celled organisms. And they are a bigger part of who you are than you have probably ever imagined!

While your body includes about 22,000 human genes, it also hosts as many as two trillion microbial genes that are technically not “you,” but rather benevolent guests working in exquisite harmony with your body. Some of these microbes flourish on your skin, but the vast majority take up residence in your digestive tract.

Study of the microbiome — the community of microorganisms living inside your body — could well be the most compelling frontier of health science.

The digestive process breaks down food and beverage particles so that your body can absorb the nutrients it wants and excrete the rest. Trillions of organisms join in the effort.

These microbes also play a critical role in shaping your appetite, allergies, metabolism, and neurological function. In fact, scientists have found that gut bacteria produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA, all of which play a key role in determining your mood.

Studies suggest that your gut microbiota may factor into your risk of developing neuropsychiatric illnesses like schizophrenia, ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

In other words, the bacteria living in your gut have a huge impact on the way you feel.

Which One Are You Feeding?

There’s an often-told story, reportedly from Cherokee folklore, about a Cherokee elder who is teaching his grandson about life.

“A fight is going on inside me,” he says to the boy. “It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, false pride, and ego.

The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, and compassion. The same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thinks for a minute and then asks, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee replies, “The one you feed.”

When it comes to the bacteria in your gut, every time you eat, you are feeding somebody. Unfortunately, the modern industrialized diet is all too often feeding the bad guys and, just as important, starving the good.

To put it simply, “bad” bacteria tend to feed on sugar and unhealthy fats (yes, I’m talking about you, junk food!). And the single most important nutrient that good bacteria need to thrive inside you is fiber.

When they have plenty of fiber, they can do their job — and your digestion, mental function, and even your mood reap the benefits.

It’s clear that fiber is critical to gut health. But less than 5% of Americans get the recommended 25 to 30 grams per day.

It’s estimated that our Paleolithic ancestors got an average of up to 100 grams per day. Compare that to the average Brit, who gets only 20 grams per day, and the average American, who gets even less — just 15.

Most of us are literally starving the good bacteria that would, if we only gave them the chance, be digesting our food and making the brain-boosting chemicals we need to thrive.

How to Nurture the Good Guys and Support Your Gut Health

We know that junk food, lack of fiber, glyphosate, antibiotics, and other toxins can compromise the bacteria upon which your digestion and brain health depend. Is there anything you can do about it?

Yes! There’s a lot you can do to nurture a healthy microbiome and to support a flourishing collection of beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract.

1) Don’t kill the good ones.

When you steer clear of unnecessary antibiotics, glyphosate, and environmental toxins, you help to create the conditions for microbial health. Organic food, anyone?

2) Don’t feed the bad ones.

A diverse population of health-promoting flora protects your gut from the less helpful strains. But not all flora are good for you. A diet high in sugar, unhealthy fat, and processed food can feed the very kinds of flora that will cause gas, discomfort, bloating, and chronic inflammation.

3) Feed the good ones.

Probiotics are the so-called “good” microorganisms inside your gastrointestinal tract. They aid in digestion and keep your tummy happy. Like all living things, probiotics must be fed in order to remain active and vibrant.

Prebiotics are the food that probiotics need to thrive. They’re a type of plant fiber that humans can’t digest and that take up residence inside your large intestine. The more of these prebiotics you feed to your probiotics, the more efficiently they’ll do good work inside you.

The simplest way to think of it is this: If you want to nurture good bacteria, eat lots of fiber. Whole plant foods — especially fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains — have the most.

As New York Times personal health columnist Jane Brody writes, “People interested in fostering a health-promoting array of gut microorganisms should consider shifting from a diet heavily based on meats, carbohydrates, and processed foods to one that emphasizes plants.”

If your probiotic bacteria were in charge of the menu, they’d want abundant sources of prebiotic fibers like inulin and oligofructose, as well as pectin, beta-glucans, glucomannan, cellulose, lignin, and fructooligosaccharides (FOS). If you don’t know how to pronounce these names, don’t worry. Luckily, you don’t need a degree in biochemistry to eat good food.

Some top superfoods that provide an abundance of the best microbe-fueling nutrients include gum arabic (sap from the acacia tree, often sold as the supplement acacia fiber), chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, baobab fruit, dandelion greens, garlic, leek, onion, asparagus, wheat bran, banana, jicama, apples, barley, oats, flaxseed, cocoa, burdock root, yacon root, and seaweed.

4) Eat the good ones.

The word probiotic comes from the Greek for “support of life.” The two main ways to consume probiotics are in dietary supplements and in fermented foods. Probiotics have been found to be helpful in treating irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, colitis, acne, and eczema.

But they don’t always work. A lot of people are taking probiotic supplements that are pretty much just a waste of money.

The challenge is that the vast majority of probiotic bacteria are active and effective in the lower portions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but to get there, they must survive the corrosive and highly acidic environment of your stomach.

When are the odds the best — on an empty stomach, or with a meal?

Researchers attempted to settle this question with a study reported in the journal Beneficial Microbes in 2011. (Yes, although it may never rival People magazine for newsstand popularity, that really is the name of a journal!)

The team built a fake digestive tract with a fake stomach and intestines, but complete with real saliva and digestive enzymes, acid, bile, and other digestive fluids. They put probiotic capsules into this stomach “empty” and with a variety of foods, and tested how many survived the trip.

What did they find? Probiotic bacteria had the highest rates of survival when provided within 30 minutes before or simultaneously with a meal or beverage that contained some fat.

This makes sense. Consuming probiotics with food provides a buffering system for the bacteria, helping to ensure safe passage through the digestive tract. But consuming them after a large meal could slow everybody down, making bacteria more likely to die in the corrosive stomach environment before reaching their intended new home in the lower intestine. So right before, or with, a meal that includes some fat seems the best way to go.

Which Probiotic Supplements Are Best?

There are thousands of probiotic products on the market, with each company or retailer telling you theirs is best.

The factors I look at in evaluating a probiotic supplement are:

1. Price. No one likes to waste money.
2. CFUs (Colony-forming units). This is the total count of all the bacteria in the probiotic. There’s a huge range, with brands offering anywhere from 1 billion to 100 billion CFUs per dose. The bigger the number, the more beneficial bacteria you get.
3. Strains. The total number of different types of bacteria in each probiotic varies greatly. Diversity is good. Every expert has a favorite combination, but the reality is that we know very little about how the various strains interact with the human body. A broad spectrum of different kinds is likely to give you the best odds of success.
4. Expiration date. Some probiotic supplements get so old that the bacteria are literally dead by the time they reach the consumer. Check expiration dates.

One probiotic supplement that’s also a food is a coconut water kefir made by inner-ēco. It’s a naturally effervescent and mildly sweet refrigerated product that provides 50 billion CFUs per tablespoon. I often take a tablespoon with breakfast or dinner. It has the added benefit of being delicious.

What About Fermented Foods?

Fermentation helps to preserve food and creates beneficial enzymes, B vitamins, and numerous strains of probiotics.

Natural fermentation has been shown to preserve nutrients and to break some foods down to a more digestible form.

The most studied is kimchi, a traditional Korean food made from fermenting salted cabbage with a variety of vegetables and spices (sometimes salted shrimp or anchovy is included, as well).

In addition to, or perhaps in part because of, its probiotic properties, studies have shown that kimchi can help fight cancer, obesity, effects of aging, and constipation while contributing to your immune system, skin health, and brain health.

Other popular fermented foods include sauerkraut, yogurt (which can be made from cow, soy, coconut, or almond milk), kefir, miso, natto (made by boiling and fermenting soybeans with bacteria), beet kvass (a fermented beet drink), vinegar, and kombucha.

Some fermented foods are used in condiments, while others make a tasty snack or topping. Remember not to cook them if you want to preserve the probiotics.

Keep in mind that some probiotic kefirs and yogurts come loaded with added sugar. Even if there are beneficial bacteria in these probiotics, the sugar will feed “bad” bacteria already in your gut. Always check labels for sugar content.

If you want to do your own fermentation, I recommend finding a good book or website to guide you. A book to consider is Fermented Vegetables by Christopher and Kirsten Shockey.

Some people using homemade fermented foods are experiencing great benefits.

Like Emily Iaconelli, for example. At the age of 17, after growing up on the modern industrialized diet, Emily developed irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, and emergent arthritis. She suffered from massive bloating and chronic pain, and became resigned to a life of embarrassing pain and urgent bathroom runs.

After 20 years of misery, she joined a Food Revolution Network event I was hosting and decided to turn her kitchen upside down.

Emily began enjoying a whole-food, plant-powered diet that featured an abundance of fermented foods, such as kimchi, fermented vegetables, tempeh, homemade almond milk yogurt, and miso. Her fiber consumption went up dramatically, providing abundant nourishment for the probiotics now streaming into her body every day.

The journey was difficult. Emily had to squeeze in all her learning and food preparation while working full-time and raising a two-year-old daughter. But every step she took seemed to give her more energy and stamina, which fueled her actions as well as her determination.

Eventually, her irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, and emergent arthritis all disappeared. And her daughter, now five, loves to cook and has decided that her favorite food is… broccoli!

Listen to Your Gut

True gut instincts can provide an essential source of wisdom, clarity, and discernment. Does your gut tighten when you confront danger, or soften in the presence of an epiphany?

Whatever your relationship is with your gut, and however clearly it does or doesn’t speak to you, I’d like to invite you to consider a possibility.

What if you didn’t think of your gut as being yours alone? What if you conceived of it as being home, also, to trillions of microbes that can tell you what’s good for you or let you know when you’re hungry (because they are)?

When you’re in a symbiotic relationship with the community of critters inside you, you can feel pride in feeding the good ones. You can feel gratitude for how they help you digest food, secrete brain-boosting neurotransmitters, and protect you from harm. And you can feel it’s your responsibility to protect and work in harmony with them for your own ultimate well-being along with theirs.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Ocean Robbins’ forthcoming book, 31-Day Food Revolution: Heal Your Body, Feel Great, Transform Your World (Grand Central Life & Style, February 5, 2019). Order your advance copy here today!

Do you want even more practical tips on how to break free from a toxic food culture?

Grab your free breakfast recipes sample chapter today!

In his new book, Ocean Robbins – CEO and co-founder of Food Revolution Network – explains simple steps that you can take NOW to live your healthiest life.

Tell us in the comments:

• Does this help you understand gut health?

• What is your experience with healing your gut or keeping your gut happy?

Read Next:

• 10 spices to improve your digestion naturally and keep your gut happy 

The post Why Your Gut Health Is More Important Than You Probably Think appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The challenge is, how do you program it to eat enough without overdoing it? Too little, and it starves. Too much, and its extra weight could be a liability in avoiding predators and other dangers.

Nature came up with a genius solution to this problem: hunger hormones.

These tiny chemical messengers are like the game’s code, running in the background to balance hunger, satiety, and energy storage. They’re the reason you feel ravenous when your body needs fuel and why you (ideally) stop eating when you’ve had enough food.

Sure, the science behind them is mind-blowingly complex, but the feelings they create are simple.

Hungry? Go eat.

Full? Stop. (Oh, and maybe pile on a little extra, just in case, because life’s unpredictable, right?)

In other words, hunger is your body’s way of signaling that it needs more energy and nutrients to function optimally. And while hunger feels like, well, just a feeling, it’s actually a complex interplay of hormonal signals, brain activity, and external influences that drive when, what, and how much you eat.

Your body relies on hunger hormones to regulate appetite and maintain energy balance. When they work well, you don’t have to think about how much or how often to eat — you consume the right amounts naturally.

Unfortunately, factors like poor sleep, chronic stress, ultra-processed foods, and erratic eating patterns can disrupt these signals, leading to persistent cravings, overeating, and difficulty managing weight.

In this article, I’ll explain the science of hunger, delve into the key hunger hormones, and discuss lifestyle strategies for regaining control over your appetite. Understanding and optimizing these internal signals can reduce cravings, maintain a healthy weight, and support long-term well-being.

What Are Hunger Hormones?

Hunger hormones are biochemical messengers that regulate the body’s appetite, satiety, and energy balance. They work to create “negative feedback loops” that trigger you to eat when you need energy and stop when you’ve got enough — like a thermostat that turns the heat on when it senses cold and turns the heat off when the room temperature gets warm enough.

Hunger hormones ensure that your body gets the nutrients it needs in the proper amounts and on the correct timetable while maintaining your weight within a healthy range.

Several different types of hunger hormones work together to create this feedback loop. The main ones are ghrelin, leptin, insulin, cortisol, peptide YY, and cholecystokinin. Let’s look at each of them.

Ghrelin

Ghrelin is produced primarily in your stomach and tells your brain it’s time to eat. In healthy people, ghrelin levels follow a circadian rhythm, rising around meal times to get you to the table and decreasing after eating, so you push away before you overeat.

If your ghrelin levels are chronically elevated, you’ll probably feel hungry all the time — even if you’re stuffed — and will, therefore, gain weight. Two factors that increase ghrelin concentrations are sleep deprivation and stress, which is one reason that missing sleep and feeling anxious are both linked to overeating.

Interestingly, when fat stores drop, the body responds by increasing ghrelin to stimulate hunger, which is a key reason weight regain is so common after dieting.

Ghrelin also regulates the activity of growth hormone, which makes sense because once you’re triggered to eat, it’s your growth hormone’s job to turn some of those nutrients into useful parts of you while balancing energy requirements.

Leptin

Leptin is known as the satiety hormone. It’s produced in the small intestine and adipose (fatty) tissue. By signaling fullness to the brain, it helps regulate long-term energy balance and body weight.

Some researchers see obesity as the result of leptin resistance, meaning the brain no longer responds to leptin signaling. This leads to persistent hunger despite the body’s high energy (fat) stores.

Insulin

Insulin, which is secreted by beta cells in the pancreas, deals with glucose control. When you eat, the carbohydrates in food get dumped into your bloodstream and then travel to all the cells of your body (where, ideally, they are processed into energy). Insulin determines the rate of that conversion, making sure your blood sugar doesn’t get too high or too low and keeping your energy levels within a healthy range.

When your blood sugar levels are high, more insulin is released to help your body store glucose in your muscles. When those muscles have taken in all the glucose they can handle, the rest gets stored in your liver. Once that’s also at capacity, the excess glucose gets dumped into adipose tissue, where it’s turned into fat for long-term storage.

Over time, if insulin levels remain chronically high due to frequent spikes in blood sugar, your cells may start becoming resistant to its effects — forcing your body to produce even more insulin to get the same job done, which can contribute to insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction.

Insulin is a hunger hormone because unstable insulin levels can trigger food cravings.

Cortisol

Cortisol is produced and secreted by your body’s stress system, consisting of three glands: the hypothalamus, the pituitary, and the adrenal (together known as the HPA axis).

Cortisol comes from cholesterol and is the body’s main stress hormone, flooding your body when you need to convert stored energy into instant alertness and movement quickly. But it’s a lot more than that, impacting just about every system in your body.

Cortisol is a hunger hormone in that it stimulates appetite and makes you especially tempted by very palatable foods (fatty and sweet desserts, for example). This makes sense because stress is a prediction of danger, which might mean a need for urgent action or limited access to food in the immediate future. In such circumstances, it’s smart to grab some sweet or calorically dense food immediately — just in case you need a quick burst of energy to fight or flee or to store fat for an impending period of scarcity.

Peptide YY (PYY) & Cholecystokinin (CCK)

These hunger hormones are released by the gut and promote satiety after meals when the gut says, “OK, full now! Turn off the food chute.” Peptide YY and Cholecystokinin (affectionately known as PYY and CCK) are stimulated specifically by the presence of nutrients, especially fat, in the small intestine.

They’re the opposite of ghrelin, which increases when food stores are low and says, “Time to eat.”

Health Benefits of Keeping Hunger Hormones Balanced

The more we learn about these hunger hormones, the more we discover they’re important in many other bodily processes and systems. Let’s take a look at some of the ways hunger hormone balance affects things other than appetite.

Heart Health

Hunger hormones can impact heart health, but in ways that are still not fully understood. Leptin can act like a double-edged sword: higher levels are linked to increased risks of heart issues like high blood pressure, but it can also help the heart by improving metabolism and preventing harmful fat buildup.

Whether leptin helps or hurts appears to depend on overall health status. High leptin levels are often found in people with heart issues, diabetes, and related conditions, where it can cause inflammation that harms the arteries. In healthy folks, however, leptin may have protective effects.

Type 2 Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes and obesity often develop leptin resistance, which disrupts the brain’s ability to regulate appetite and energy balance. Normally, leptin signals that fat stores are sufficient, reducing hunger and promoting calorie burning. But when the body becomes resistant to leptin, the brain doesn’t receive that signal properly — leading to persistent hunger, overeating, and further weight gain. This, in turn, can worsen insulin resistance, creating a vicious cycle that accelerates weight gain and metabolic dysfunction. Ghrelin also factors into the progression and symptoms of type 2 diabetes. It slows down insulin release in the pancreas, which can be beneficial for people who don’t have the condition. However, people who do have diabetes tend to have lower ghrelin levels and fewer cells that produce it.

Muscle and Bone Health

Ghrelin isn’t just about hunger; it also plays a key role in keeping your bones and muscles strong and healthy.

Leptin also affects bone and muscle health, influencing bone metabolism. Researchers have found that leptin therapy (usually through an injection) can normalize bone density in individuals with low leptin levels.

Mental Health

Hunger hormones appear to be intimately connected with mood and mental health. Abnormal cortisol levels often accompany mental disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. Maintaining normal cortisol secretion is important because the hormone influences neuroplasticity (the ability to form new connections, which is vital because it allows the brain to adapt to stress, experiences, and environmental changes).

Insulin also plays a major role in mental health. A 2021 study found that insulin resistance almost doubled the risk of developing depression over 9 years.

Ghrelin is also linked to mental well-being. A 2024 study found that lower ghrelin levels are associated with more severe anxiety symptoms in youth with certain types of restrictive eating disorders. Ghrelin may also have protective effects against anxiety and depression.

Brain Health

Ghrelin plays a role in learning and memory formation, and a 2019 study linked ghrelin resistance to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Beta-amyloid, a toxic protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, can block a special receptor in the hippocampus — a part of the brain important for memory — that’s normally activated by ghrelin. Researchers are looking for ways to turn on the ghrelin receptors to slow or prevent the damage that leads to cognitive decline and dementia.

CCK impacts memory and brain plasticity. It may also protect neurons from the damage caused by neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s by reducing brain inflammation and restoring mitochondrial function in neuronal cells.

Factors That Disrupt Hunger Hormones and How To Combat Them

Hunger hormones can interfere with how your body functions and various conditions and diseases can mess with your hunger hormones. So, how can you interrupt this loop and return to health?

Here are several actionable factors that can disrupt your hunger hormones and several powerful levers you can pull to get them back into balance.

Poor Sleep

When you don’t get enough good sleep, your ghrelin levels rise (making you feel hungrier), and your leptin levels drop (reducing sensations of fullness). Leptin, in particular, is influenced by circadian rhythms. When it’s in sync with your sleep patterns, you feel hungry in the morning, right before your body thinks you’ll need a boost of energy, and you feel full at bedtime, when it’s time to rest and digest.

People who are sleep-deprived have stronger cravings for high-calorie, sugary foods. If that’s you, prioritizing better sleep can help you manage hunger and cravings. (Most adults require seven to nine hours of sleep each night to recharge fully.)

Since hunger, eating, and sleep all influence each other, one way to get higher-quality sleep is to create and stick to a consistent mealtime schedule.

For more on sleep, check out our article: Sleep Hacks: How To Sleep Better With Diet And Lifestyle.

Chronic Stress and High Cortisol Levels

Cortisol, the stress hormone, increases appetite, especially for “comfort foods” high in sugar and fat. (I don’t know of many people who tend to stress-eat broccoli and kale.)

This can be a hard habit to break because these foods work, in the very short term, to reduce the experience of stress. The problem is that they further disrupt hunger hormones, which can lead to a vicious cycle of worsening food addiction.

Long-term stress, which promotes emotional eating, leads to fat accumulation. A 2024 study of Brazilian women with obesity found that the higher the participants’ stress levels (as measured by questionnaires and blood cortisol readings), the more fat they put on around the belly. This visceral fat is more dangerous to health than the subcutaneous fat that accumulates under the skin.

There are several ways to overcome stress eating. Mindful eating can combat it directly. Other techniques done throughout the day can lower cortisol levels and reduce cravings for unhealthy foods. Both meditation and breathing exercises have been shown to reduce stress and help facilitate intentional food choices.

Processed and High-Sugar Foods

Whether you’re in the grip of a craving or not, consuming refined carbohydrates (like white flour and sugars) can trigger short-term dopamine and insulin spikes that can fuel food addiction. The blood sugar ups and downs can further trigger hunger and cravings.

Ultra-processed foods (or, as Michael Pollan refers to them, “food-like products”) can do extra damage. They can disrupt the gut hormones PYY and CCK, which signal fullness when working properly. And they can also contribute to depression, which (as anyone who started “dating” ice cream after a breakup can attest) can also impact food choices.

High sugar and processed carbohydrate diets contribute to insulin resistance, which makes hunger harder to regulate. That’s because it keeps energy out of our cells, which keep signaling to the rest of the body that they’re depleted.

In short, eating a well-balanced diet of whole rather than processed foods can help maintain a healthy blood sugar balance.

Excess Body Fat

Overweight people can have high levels of leptin (which, if you recall, signals fullness) and still have the urge to eat. That’s because obesity can make the brain resistant to leptin signaling.

In other words, the body no longer recognizes fullness as a reason to stop eating, which can lead to constant hunger and overeating — even with incredibly high levels of willpower. So not only does overeating lead to putting on excess body fat, but it works in the other direction in a potentially vicious cycle: excess body fat increases hunger, which causes overeating that contributes to further weight gain.

One weight management approach that can be powerful here is to proactively choose foods that won’t pack on the pounds, even if hunger drives you to overeat them somewhat.

Try binging on fresh broccoli, cucumbers, or whole apples, and you’ll quickly realize that some foods naturally limit their intake — while still nourishing your body without excessive calories.

If you’d like to learn more, here’s an article about 11 Top Weight Loss-Friendly Foods.

Dieting and Extreme Calorie Restriction

It can be tempting to consider “heroic” measures to lose weight, like fasting for days or severely restricting calories or volume of food. While these tactics can produce results in the short term, they typically backfire hard over time.

That’s because crash diets increase ghrelin levels. Additionally, long-term calorie restriction can lower leptin, making it harder to lose weight. In other words, the less you eat, the hungrier you feel.

Your body pays much more attention to your caloric “cash flow” (what you’re taking in and spending each day) than your caloric “bank balance” (how much energy you have in fat reserves).

If you’re eating many fewer calories each day, your body is liable to go into “starvation mode.” It reasons, “Since there’s not enough food in the environment, I’d better increase hunger so that all attention is focused on finding what little there is. And while I’m at it, I’ll slow down metabolism so less food is needed to function.” A sluggish metabolism makes weight regain following a restrictive diet much more likely.

Focusing on nutrient density — getting the most micronutrients per calorie — instead of calorie counting is a more sustainable way to adjust your diet.

For more on calories and whether they matter for weight management and health, here’s an article: Should You Count Calories? How Daily Calorie Intake Fits into Health.

Sedentary Lifestyle

Not getting enough exercise may contribute to leptin resistance and reduce insulin sensitivity. While exercise can increase appetite (which makes sense since if you’re burning more calories, you generally want to consume more — like filling up your car’s fuel tank more frequently if you start driving longer distances), it also has been found to make people more sensitive to fullness signals, so they eat less overall.

A 2024 study looked at biochemical changes that occurred when men with obesity spent an hour on a stationary bicycle. Researchers found that they experienced less hunger right after working out, due at least in part to regulation of their hunger hormones.

So regular exercise, including resistance training, can be useful for weight control, cravings, and all-around health.

Dehydration

Many people mistake thirst for hunger, which can lead to overeating. (After all, the main beverage humans have evolved to drink is water, which contains zero calories and can trigger sensations of being full thanks to stretch receptors in the stomach.)

While proper hydration supports digestion and helps regulate ghrelin levels, drinking water isn’t an answer all by itself, though, especially for someone who is overweight or obese. While filling up on water can reduce sensations of hunger and bring many other benefits, it hasn’t been reliably linked to people eating less food.

Here’s an article on how to stay hydrated: Quench Your Thirst: The Science and Benefits of Proper Hydration.

Healthy Hunger Hormone-Supporting Recipes To Keep You Satiated

Eating to support healthy hunger hormone balance has never been easier — or more delicious! These recipes are designed to satisfy you with nutrient-dense ingredients that help regulate appetite, stabilize energy levels, and naturally curb cravings.

Whether starting your day with a hearty porridge, enjoying a protein-packed wrap, or sipping on a refreshing smoothie, each dish is a simple and nourishing way to fuel your body while keeping hunger in check.

1. Overnight Three-Grain Breakfast Porridge

Wake up to a warm, nourishing bowl of comfort that keeps hunger in check and energy levels steady. This wholesome Overnight Three-Grain Breakfast Porridge blends ancient grains with warming spices and naturally sweet fruit, supporting blood sugar balance and preventing those mid-morning cravings.

Packed with fiber, protein, and healthy fats, this dish helps keep leptin and ghrelin in harmony so you feel satisfied without energy crashes. Make it ahead of time for a no-fuss breakfast that fuels your day from the first bite.

2. Lentil Quinoa Collard Wraps

These protein-packed Lentil Quinoa Collard Wraps combine lentils, quinoa, and crunchy veggies in a nutrient-dense collard leaf for a meal that fuels energy and promotes fullness.

Balancing fiber, plant protein, and healthy fats helps curb stress-induced cravings. And a creamy, tangy sriracha mayo adds a flavorful kick, while pickled onions bring gut-friendly health benefits. Perfect for a light yet satisfying lunch that won’t leave you reaching for snacks.

3. The Unsweet Smoothie

Skip the sugar and fuel your body with a smoothie rich in flavor and nutrients. This energizing Unsweet Smoothie blends fruits, seeds, and leafy greens to help keep hunger hormones balanced while delivering a steady energy source.

Flax and hemp seeds provide essential fats supporting brain function and cortisol regulation, while tart cranberry juice, blueberries, and bananas create a satisfying, refreshing taste. Packed with goodness, this smoothie is a smart and delicious choice any time of day.

Take Back Control of Hunger Hormones

Modern lifestyle factors can throw your hunger system out of sync, leading to persistent hunger, cravings, weight gain, and even food addiction. Fortunately, there are things you can do to regain control over your hunger hormones.

By prioritizing nutrient-dense whole foods, managing stress, getting quality sleep, staying active, and practicing mindful eating, you can help regulate ghrelin, leptin, insulin, and other appetite-related hormones. Small, consistent changes can reduce cravings, support a healthy metabolism, and improve your relationship with food.

Featured Image: istock.com/nensuria

Tell us in the comments:

• What are your strategies for dealing with cravings?
• Which lifestyle factor adjustment could give you the biggest benefit to your hunger hormones right now?

Read Next:

• Deliciously Simple 7-ingredient (or Less!) Recipes for Easy Plant-Based Meals

The post The Science of Hunger: Understanding Hunger Hormones and How To Control Them appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Eating fruit in season isn’t just tasty; it provides optimal nutrition for your body and reduces the environmental impact of transporting foods from far away.

I hope you have fond memories of eating fresh fruits in summertime, whether you picked them yourself from a bush or tree, or selected the best ones from a beautiful display at the store. (I especially loved having watermelon-seed-spitting contests with my friends, and picking fresh berries in the Canadian wilderness.)

Let’s explore some of the juiciest, yummiest, most iconic summer fruits — watermelon, mango, strawberries, peaches, and blueberries — and learn how these juicy gems can boost your health and enhance your summer meals.

After all, every summer offers the opportunity to try new fruits and create new memories that you and your loved ones can cherish (or “cherry-ish”?) for years to come.

Why Eat Fruit That’s in Season? 

In today’s global economy, many types of fruit are available year-round. In the Northern Hemisphere, you can eat nectarines in November, fresh figs in February, and mangoes in March, because they’re all imported from countries in the southern hemisphere.

But local and in-season fruits can be tastier, better for you, and more sustainable for the planet.

Seasonal Fruit Tastes Better

Bite into a perfectly ripe strawberry at the peak of summer, and the first thing you’ll notice is how sweet, juicy, and flavorful it is compared to mild-tasting grocery store berries in the dead of winter.

Seasonal fruits taste better because they’re allowed to ripen naturally under ideal conditions, developing their fullest flavor and texture.

When fruits are grown out of season or transported long distances, they’re often picked before they’re fully ripe to avoid spoilage. These fruits are forced to ripen artificially during transportation, meaning their natural sugars and flavors may never fully develop.

Eating fruits in season allows you to enjoy them at their natural peak, offering vibrant taste and optimal nutrition.

Seasonal Fruit Is Healthier

Research consistently shows that fruits picked when ripe contain more beneficial nutrients than those harvested prematurely. For instance, a study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that strawberries harvested at peak ripeness had significantly higher levels of vitamin C and natural sugar than those picked early.

When summer fruits mature in their natural growing conditions, they develop deeper pigments (meaning higher antioxidant content), richer flavors, and more complex nutrients. This means your body receives more of the health-promoting compounds it needs — exactly when nature intended.

Seasonal Fruit Supports Sustainability

Choosing seasonal fruits isn’t just good for your health — it can also be better for the planet.

Research shows that eating locally grown and seasonal produce can significantly reduce environmental impacts like carbon emissions and resource use.

Out-of-season produce often travels long distances, known as “food miles.” A 2022 study found that global food miles account for about 20% of all food production-related emissions. However, not all transportation methods are created equally. Shipping by sea or rail is relatively efficient, while air freight and refrigerated trucking — often needed for fresh berries, asparagus, or meat — are far more carbon-intensive. That’s why flying in raspberries in winter carries a much higher climate cost than transporting shelf-stable legumes or apples.

By choosing seasonal fruit, you support local farmers, lower your carbon footprint, and help build a healthier, more sustainable food system — a choice that benefits you and the world around you.

That’s not to say you should never enjoy fruit out of season. Thanks to freezing, dehydration, and modern storage, fruit can be a nutritious part of your diet year-round. But summer is a uniquely abundant time — and a perfect moment to savor the full spectrum of seasonal fruits when they’re at their freshest, juiciest, and most climate-friendly.

Seasonal Fruit Connects You to the Living Earth

Eating with the seasons also helps you stay in rhythm with nature. Our bodies shift with the time of year, adapting to changes in temperature, sunlight, and even the types of foods we crave.

And when the weather is hot and activity levels are high, sweet and hydrating fruits are not only refreshing — they’re often just what your body wants.

Can You Eat Too Much Fruit?

If fruit is so good for you, can you overdo it? It’s a fair question, especially with concerns about sugar. While fruit contains natural sugars, it also delivers fiber, water, antioxidants, and nutrients that dramatically change how your body processes that sugar. In fact, research shows that even for people with type 2 diabetes, eating more fruit does not worsen blood sugar control, and may help improve it. One study found no downside when participants were asked to eat more fruit, and in some cases, the added fiber and antioxidants led to better overall health markers.

In fact, researchers have tested what happens when people eat as much fruit as they want — even up to 20 servings a day — and found no negative impact on weight, blood pressure, or cholesterol. Quite the opposite: participants saw improvements in several health metrics. So, while it’s wise to limit added sugars from sodas, pastries, and processed foods, the sugar in fruit isn’t something most people need to worry about. For the vast majority of us, the biggest fruit problem isn’t eating too much — it’s not eating enough.

5 Super-Healthy Summer Fruits You’ll Love

Nature offers a colorful array of fruits each summer, making it the perfect time to explore, sampling the sweetness and variety of the season. Eating seasonal fruits like watermelon, mango, strawberries, peaches, and blueberries can keep you healthy, hydrated, and energized all summer long.

Let’s look at what makes these five summer fruits uniquely delicious and beneficial, and how to incorporate them into your meals creatively.

Watermelon

With its bold red color and sweet, juicy crunchiness, watermelon is the quintessential summer fruit. You’ll likely see it at many parties, picnics, and BBQs in the summer months. Many people eat watermelon on its own, but it’s also a fabulous treat as a star player in fruit salads, mocktails, and homemade popsicles.

Besides being fun to eat, watermelons are incredibly good for you, too.

As the name suggests, watermelons are mostly water, which makes them ideal for staying hydrated in the heat. They’re also a good source of potassium, an electrolyte that’s essential for your nerves, muscles, and heart.

As a red-colored food, watermelons provide the antioxidant lycopene. In addition to making watermelon flesh pretty, lycopene provides anticancer and anti-inflammatory benefits, and is good for fertility, heart health, brain health, and skin health.

You can grow watermelons anywhere there are long, hot summers that bring no risk of frost, provided you have sufficient water and decent drainage.

In the northern hemisphere, watermelon season lasts from May through September, and most US watermelons are grown in warmer states like Florida, Georgia, California, and Texas.

For more on the health benefits of watermelons and how to choose, store, and use them in recipes, check out our full article, Is Watermelon Healthy? (Spoiler alert: heck yeah!)

Mango

With their golden-orange colored flesh and irresistibly sweet flavor, mangoes are a summer fruit favorite around the world. You’ll often find them in smoothies, fruit salads, salsas, or simply sliced and enjoyed on their own.

Mangoes are rich in vitamin C, which helps boost the immune system, and are a good source of dietary fiber. They also have even more potassium per serving than watermelons, which helps with electrolyte balance.

These tropical fruits are high in a class of antioxidants called carotenoids, giving them a golden color. Lutein, zeaxanthin, and the provitamin A beta-carotene (it’s called a provitamin because your body converts it into vitamin A, and not because it gets paid) help protect your eyes from blue light damage, fight free radicals, and may play a role in cancer prevention and heart health.

Globally, India is the largest producer of mangoes, followed by China, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Mexico. The Alphonso or hapus mango is the most popular cultivar in India, and its fame is spreading worldwide as more foodies and chefs experience its butter-smooth flesh.

In the United States, mangoes are grown in warm climates like Florida, Hawaii, and southern California. Peak mango season in the US typically runs from May through September, although imported mangoes may be available year-round.

For more on the health benefits and sustainability of mangoes, check out our full article, Are Mangoes Good for You — and the Planet?

Strawberry

For many people, the taste of fresh strawberries means summer has arrived. In fact, June’s full moon was first called the Strawberry Moon by the Algonquin, Dakota, Lakota, and Ojibwe tribes of North America because it signaled the right time to gather wild strawberries.

Whether tossed into a salad, blended into a smoothie, or eaten by the handful, strawberries are an essential warm-weather treat.

Strawberries are especially high in vitamin C, even more than citrus fruits! (I guess oranges just had a bigger advertising budget.) But did you know that when you remove the cap leaves or calyx, you can tear cells in the fruit, activating an enzyme that destroys vitamin C? So it’s wise to keep those leaves on the berries until just before consuming or serving.

Strawberries are also high in fiber, folate, and manganese, along with a wide range of antioxidants, including anthocyanins and quercetin. These plant compounds are especially powerful in reducing the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other inflammatory conditions.

Thanks to their low glycemic index and antioxidant profile, strawberries may also help regulate blood sugar levels and protect against insulin resistance.

The United States is one of the top producers of strawberries, with California accounting for nearly 90% of the country’s crop. Other major producers include China, Turkey, Mexico, and Egypt.

In the northern hemisphere, strawberry season typically runs from April through June, though some regions with milder climates may extend the season into early summer. For the freshest and most flavorful berries, check out local farms or farmers markets during this time. If you’re in California, try picking your own strawberries at a U-Pick farm.

One caution about US-grown strawberries: they have the highest pesticide residues of any fruit or vegetable. Buy organic when possible or try growing your own strawberries.

And if they’re out of season, fear not! Frozen strawberries pack a wonderful nutritional (and culinary) punch, too.

For more on the benefits and downsides of strawberries, check out our full article, Just How Healthy Are Strawberries? (Again, spoiler alert: very very!)

Peach

Velvety on the outside and lusciously soft on the inside, peaches are a sensory delight — and they’re just as good for you as they are satisfying to eat. From cobblers and crisps to salsas and salads (hey, that should be a line in “My Favorite Things!”), this stone fruit is one of summer’s most versatile stars.

Beneath their soft fuzz and irresistible aroma, peaches are bursting with nutrients that help your body thrive. They’re a natural source of vitamin C to support your immune system and keep your skin glowing, along with vitamin A to protect your vision on bright summer days. Peaches also deliver potassium for heart health, fiber for smooth digestion, and smaller but still valuable amounts of copper, niacin, and vitamin E.

Like the other fruits in this article, peaches also boast beneficial carotenoid antioxidants like beta-carotene and lutein, which help protect your cells from damage and support healthy aging. Some studies even suggest peaches may have anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties, thanks to their unique mix of plant compounds.

Peaches originated in China, where they were traditionally considered a symbol of immortality. Today, they’re grown in countries all over the world, with top producers including China, Italy, Spain, and the United States.

In the northern hemisphere, you’ll find peak peach season between May and August, especially in states like California, Georgia, and South Carolina. For the best flavor, look for local peaches that are fragrant and slightly soft to the touch.

Blueberry

With their deep blue hue and burst of tart-sweet juice, blueberries are delicious in everything from morning oatmeal to summer pies. And they’re just as enjoyable by the handful, fresh from the bush.

Often called a superfood, blueberries are a perfect example of how good things come in small (and seasonal) packages. They provide a good source of manganese, copper, vitamin C, and vitamin K. And these little berries are also rich in antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins — the pigments that give them their bluish color.

Antioxidants help protect your body’s cells from oxidative stress and have been linked to improved brain health, reduced inflammation, and a lower risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Wild blueberries may have even higher concentrations of antioxidants, especially polyphenols, than their cultivated cousins.

Native to North America, wild blueberries have been harvested for thousands of years, and traditionally, they were a staple food for many Indigenous peoples. Today, the United States and Canada are still leading producers of blueberry varieties, along with countries like Chile and France.

In the northern hemisphere, blueberry season typically runs from May through August, depending on the variety and region. For the freshest, most flavorful berries, look for plump, deep-blue fruit at local farms or farmers markets — and don’t be surprised if they disappear quickly! Frozen blueberries are another great option since berries are picked and frozen at peak freshness.

Sadly, blueberries join strawberries on EWG’s Dirty Dozen list of most pesticide-contaminated produce, although they’re considered lower risk than their red counterparts. In the last testing cycle, over 90% of commercially grown blueberry samples had detectable levels of pesticides. This is a good reason to buy organic when possible, grow your own, or forage for them with a trusted expert. And again, as with strawberries, frozen blueberries can be a great and less costly option year-round.

For more on the benefits and downsides of blueberries, check out our full article, Are Blueberries Really As Healthy As They’re Claimed to Be?

Loads of Summer Fruits to Enjoy

How to Find Out Which Fruits Are in Season Near You 

Not all of the listed summer fruits may be available in your area. These websites and others may help you find which fruits are grown near you during the summer months:

• US: Seasonal Food Guide or Local Harvest for specific places near you that carry seasonal fruits
• Canada: Canadian Food Focus
• Australia: Sustainable Table
• UK: Eat the Seasons
• India: Times of India — “The 4 Indian seasons and the fruits and veggies cultivated in them”

Creative Ways To Use Summer Fruits

Of course, the simplest way to eat seasonal fruits is to just eat them. But if you want to get creative, here are a few ideas to get you started.

• In fruit salads or mixed with green salads
• Grilled or in kebabs and skewers (look for fruits that can withstand a stab without falling apart, like pineapple chunks and banana slices)
• In frozen desserts like popsicles and n’ice creams
• In mocktails, juices, and smoothies
• In baked goods like cobblers, galettes, and cakes
• In breakfasts like overnight oats, oatmeal, chia pudding, or smoothie bowls
• In salsas, dressings, and other sauces
• In gazpachos
• As jams or preserves

Summer Recipes Featuring Seasonal Fruit

Celebrate the vibrant flavors of the season with these easy, versatile, and downright delicious summer fruit recipes! Whether tossing them into salads, blending them into smoothies, or baking them into naturally sweet treats, these recipes make the most of nature’s juicy gems — no fuss, just fresh and flavorful bites all summer long.

1. Tropical Delight Smoothie Bowl

Savor the taste of summer with this luscious Tropical Delight Smoothie Bowl! Featuring a creamy blend of pineapple, mango, banana, and plant-based milk, it’s a sunshine-filled base that’s as nourishing as it is refreshing. Topped with juicy kiwi, crunchy pistachios, chia seeds, and a sprinkle of coconut flakes, every spoonful brings a tropical twist to your day — no passport required.

2. Grilled Watermelon and Pineapple Skewers

Grilling watermelon and pineapple bring out their natural sweetness in the most unexpected, mouthwatering way. Add a drizzle of zesty, nutty tahini lime sauce, and you’ve got a flavor combo that takes summer grilling to a whole new level. It’s a fresh, bold twist that’ll surprise your taste buds — in the best way!

3. Cherry Waldorf Salad

Meet your new favorite sunny-day salad: a vibrant twist on the classic Waldorf! This Cherry Waldorf Salad brings together tart Granny Smith apples, juicy cherries, crisp cucumber, celery, and a pop of red onion, all tossed with buttery raw walnuts for that crave-worthy crunch. It’s finished with a creamy Lemon Dijon Dressing made with plant-based yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, and a hint of maple to tie it all together. Sweet, tangy, crunchy, and totally refreshing — it’s plant-powered perfection for picnics, potlucks, or any summer spread!

4. Cold Peach Tomato Soup

This light and refreshing soup embodies the tastes and colors of summer! Sweet and juicy peaches are the perfect pairing for savory tomatoes and cooling cucumbers. Blended with shallots, basil, and a fresh squeeze of lime, the complementary flavors are sure to be an invigorating delight to your palate. This recipe also comes together easily for a healing plant-based dish that’s ready in a snap.

5. Sheet Pan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

There’s something special about enjoying peak-season summer fruits, especially when they come together in a naturally sweet, fruit-forward dish like this Sheet Pan Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Juicy strawberries and tart rhubarb shine in every bite, celebrating the best of summer’s bounty. All it takes are two bowls, a baking sheet, and a few simple ingredients to bring this vibrant, feel-good crisp to life. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla n’ice cream for an easy way to savor the season’s freshest flavors.

Celebrate Your Summer With the Sweet Taste of Fresh Fruit 

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy fruits at their freshest, when they’re not only more flavorful but nutritious. Seasonal fruits like watermelon, mango, strawberries, peaches, and blueberries are naturally packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and hydration-boosting benefits — exactly what your body craves during the warmer months.

By choosing fruits that are in season, you’re not only treating yourself to better taste and health benefits, but also making a more sustainable choice by reducing the need for long-distance transport and storage.

So go ahead — fill your plate with nature’s sweetest summer offerings and savor the season, one delicious bite at a time.

Featured Image: iStock.com/inaquim

Tell us in the comments:

• What are your favorite summer fruits?
• What are your favorite memories of eating summer fruits?

Read Next:

• Eat the Rainbow: Why Is it Important to Eat a Colorful Variety of Fruits and Vegetables?

The post Summer Fruits: Delicious Seasonal Choices With Incredible Health Benefits appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The problem was that there was no easy way to get the food out. So French soldiers ended up stabbing the cans with knives and bayonets (and sometimes shooting them with rifles) to access their dinner. Not very safe — or hygienic.

These days, with the advent of manual and electric can openers and pop-top lids, canned food often beats fresh when it comes to ease, convenience, and sometimes even food safety. But what about nutrition? Are canned foods good or bad for you? How do you best store them? And what should you look for to ensure you get the healthiest canned food items?

What Are Canned Foods?

Any food sterilized and preserved by heat treatment in hermetically sealed (airtight) containers, and thus made shelf-stable, is canned food. Just as the processing of French military rations made them last longer, modern canning practices preserve otherwise perishable foods.

This allows them to be shipped over long distances without wilting or spoiling and makes them shelf-stable for months, if not years or even decades.

Some canned foods are ultra-processed (think Spam and SpaghettiOs). But other canned foods, such as tomatoes and beans, are considered minimally processed foods.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s NOVA classification system lumps unprocessed and minimally processed foods together, defining the category as “edible parts of plants or animals that have been taken straight from nature or that have been minimally modified/preserved.” These foods retain most of their original nutritional value and are often preserved using simple methods like water, brine, or natural juices.

So canned foods can range from highly processed convenience products to wholesome, minimally altered staple foods. Understanding this range helps clarify that “canned food” doesn’t automatically equate to unhealthy.

Are Canned Foods Good for You?

Let’s start with the other benefits of canned food before exploring whether it offers any nutritional advantages.

Canned food is convenient. Much of it is ready-to-prepare (or even ready-to-eat, if you picture people eating beans or canned chili by a campfire).

Food that’s been canned lasts a really long time. Many canned products have a shelf life of one to five years, which helps minimize food waste.

And canned food is cost-effective, too. The fact that it doesn’t need to be transported or stored in a fridge or freezer translates into real savings for the consumer.

When seasonal produce isn’t available, canned food can offer year-round variety to your diet. This can fill food and nutrient gaps in regions where growing a wide variety of foods is difficult.

Now, let’s talk about canned food nutrition. On the positive side, fruits and vegetables are often picked at peak ripeness and canned shortly after harvesting. And the modern canning process leaves many nutrients, including minerals, fat-soluble vitamins, protein, fat, and carbohydrates relatively unchanged. What’s more, the heating process may increase the bioavailability of some antioxidants, such as lycopene in tomatoes.

This means that canned foods can provide nutritious options for a balanced diet. A 2007 study compared frozen, fresh, and canned foods and found that all three offered comparable nutritional benefits. Some nutrients, like carotenoids, were actually higher in canned foods than their fresh counterparts.

A 2015 study also found that people who ate a lot of canned foods got more of 17 essential nutrients, including potassium, calcium, and fiber, than infrequent consumers of canned foods.

Canned Foods’ Bad Side

Canned foods aren’t without their negatives and cautions, however.

Many foods degrade in flavor and texture when they’re canned. I know many people who, to this day, hate peas, green beans, and spinach because their first exposure to these wonderful veggies was from a can.

And while many nutrients remain, water-soluble vitamins may be lost due to the high heat required to kill pathogens during the canning process. That means you may get fewer of these vitamins, including the all-important C and B vitamins.

Plus, to restate the obvious, not all canned foods are healthy. Some are obviously ultra-processed. Exhibit A: May I present Cheeseburger in a Can?

But even healthy-sounding items, like baked beans, may be swimming in a puddle of added sugar, salt, and preservatives.

If you’re canning your own food, there’s also the risk of mold growth or bacterial contamination. Make sure to follow home canning guidelines to avoid foodborne illness.

And while commercially canned foods are highly unlikely to give you botulism or salmonella, there are some real concerns about packaging safety. The BPA linings of traditional cans, exposure to aluminum, and potential leaching of other chemical contaminants used in can linings have been linked to health problems.

BPA and Canned Foods

When people talk about canned foods, BPA is one of the top concerns. Modern aluminum cans typically have a lining to prevent corrosion, changes in taste, and bacterial contamination. For decades, one of the most common can linings contained a plastic chemical called BPA (short for bisphenol A).

The CDC’s 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed that over 90% of US consumers had detectable BPA in their urine. This finding sparked a flurry of research into whether this stuff was harming us.

Here’s what we’ve learned: BPA that leaches into foods and drinks from BPA-lined cans is an endocrine disruptor and may even contribute to cancer development. BPA exposure may also be linked to behavioral problems in children. Furthermore, some research points to a potential connection between BPA and type 2 diabetes and even heart disease.

As a result, many canned food manufacturers say they have gradually phased out BPA linings. A trade group for the canned food industry claims that most cans do not contain BPA anymore. But recent studies have concluded that it’s still in use and exposes people to harmful health effects. As a result, the European Commission recently banned BPA in food-contact packaging.

Although many BPA-free alternatives are now in use, the long-term safety of alternative can-lining materials — including acrylic, polyester, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and oleoresins — is still being studied. Some researchers suggest that some of these alternatives could also leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals into food.

One promising replacement for BPA, oleoresinous enamel, is a mixture of oil and resin extracted from plants such as pine or balsam fir. It could be the safest option (although more study is needed). Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for highly acidic foods like tomatoes.

Tips for Safer and Healthier Canned Foods

To help you choose the best canned foods for your health, here are some tips from the Environmental Working Group on buying canned food:

• Look for that BPA-free label. If the label doesn’t say, contact the company to ask what chemicals they use in their can liners.
• Avoid purchasing canned foods that are highly acidic, like tomato, citrus, or pineapple, since liner toxins are more prone to leaching into acidic foods. Instead, get these foods in a glass container or choose frozen options.
• Reduce your exposure to BPA and other potentially harmful chemicals by including a variety of fresh and frozen foods in addition to canned.
• Look for low-sodium, no-salt-added, and no-added-sugar options. Opt for fruit canned in its juice or water instead of syrup. Choose savory foods canned in water or brine rather than oil.
• Look for organic canned foods to minimize your consumption of pesticides and additives.
• Avoid dented, rusted, or otherwise damaged cans to prevent bacterial contamination.

How To Store Canned Foods

Store canned goods in a cool, dry place where the temperature is below 85 F (50–70 F is ideal). For you metric folks, that’s below 30 C, with 10–21 C as the sweet spot.

Practice the FIFO rule. No, this has nothing to do with an international soccer federation. It stands for “First In, First Out,” meaning you use the oldest cans first rather than letting them gather dust in the back of your pantry. And abide by the “best by” date stamped on the can.

Store unused food from a can in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer, not in the original can. Why? Because once opened, the metal from the can may leach into the food and affect its taste, quality, and safety.

According to Food Republic, leftover canned beans and coconut milk can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thanks to their high acidity, leftover canned tomatoes can be stored in the freezer for up to a year.

Best Practices for Incorporating Whole Canned Foods into Your Diet

It’s always good practice to read nutrition labels for packaged foods, and canned foods are no exception. If a canned food is high in sodium, it’s a good idea to rinse and drain it using a colander or sieve — especially if you’re on a sodium-restricted diet.

If the sodium content is low (you can check the label — the US Food and Drug Administration considers anything below 140 grams of sodium per serving to be “low sodium”), you may want to include the canned liquid in your cooking. Doing so can minimize food waste while enhancing the flavors in a dish.

The liquid from canned beans is starchy and can be used as a thickening agent for soups, stews, and sauces, and even as a substitute for broth. The liquid from canned chickpeas, in particular, (also known as aquafaba — “bean water” in Italian), can be used to make vegan meringue-style toppings for desserts or as an egg white substitute in baking.

Another reason not to drain away the liquid in cans is that it may contain water-soluble vitamins and minerals that would otherwise be lost. The liquid from canned vegetables and beans can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to three days or frozen for up to three months.

Pair canned foods with fresh foods to balance nutrition, flavors, and textures. For example, canned beans and beets go well in a fresh green salad. You can also use canned veggies, beans, and fruits in soups, stews, grain bowls, and smoothies.

Recipes Using Canned Foods

Canned foods don’t have to mean compromise. These healthy, flavor-packed recipes highlight how a few simple pantry picks — like canned beans, pumpkin, jackfruit, and hearts of palm — can turn into dishes that feel anything but ordinary.

Whether you’re craving something cool and zesty, warm and comforting, or sweet and tropical, these recipes make canned ingredients shine.

1. Aguachili Verde

This refreshing Aguachile Verde makes the most of pantry power, featuring canned hearts of palm in place of seafood for a light yet satisfying plant-based twist. Tossed with crisp cucumber, radish, and creamy avocado, the real magic comes from a punchy salsa verde blended with lime, cilantro, and chilies.

Want even more convenience? Swap in canned jalapeños for the fresh — it’s quicker, tangier, and just as bold. Proof that canned ingredients can bring vibrant, fresh flavor to the table in a way that’s healthy, simple, and seriously delicious.

2. Hearty Pumpkin Chili

This one-pot wonder is what cozy evenings are made for. This chili is spiced just right and layered with the natural richness of canned pumpkin, diced tomatoes, and protein-packed black beans. It’s hearty without being heavy, with zesty lime and a sprinkle of fresh toppings like avocado and pepitas for balance.

Nearly everything comes from a can or pantry staple in this recipe, making this Hearty Pumpkin Chili as practical as it is comforting. Canned convenience has never tasted so warm and satisfying.

3. Tropical Jackfruit Popsicles

These creamy, dreamy Tropical Jackfruit Popsicles turn canned jackfruit and light coconut milk into a tropical treat that feels indulgent but is refreshingly simple. Blended with mango and a splash of lime, they’re naturally sweet, tangy, and full of fruity sunshine.

No peeling, chopping, or fancy equipment required — just a blender and a freezer.

With canned fruit doing the heavy lifting, this is a healthy dessert you’ll want on repeat.

Be Wise With Canned Foods

Canned foods can offer nutrient-dense, economical, and wholesome options and expand variety when fresh or frozen aren’t available or affordable. When selecting canned foods, consider the packaging and check ingredient labels to ensure you’re not getting unwanted chemicals or additives.

Aim for BPA-free cans or glass containers and avoid highly acidic canned foods like tomato and pineapple unless they’re in glass.

Stocking your pantry with canned foods is an excellent way to have nutrient-packed plant-based foods readily available for quick and easy plant-powered meals, and to help you maintain a healthy and balanced plant-based lifestyle.

Tell us in the comments:

• Have you ever canned your own food?
• Do you use canned foods in your cooking?

Read Next:

• Are Hot Dogs Healthy? Exploring Their Nutrition, Risks, and Alternatives

Featured image: istock.com/CatLane

The post Are Canned Foods Healthy? Examining Their Pros and Cons appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

In both cases, however, the side effects are considerable, including, for Cooper, long blackout periods and impending death; and for Johansson, merging with a supercomputer and vanishing into the space-time continuum.

I’m not tempted to take either fictional drug, even if it would give me a bunch of extra IQ points. But what if there were real foods that optimized your brain health — meals that could prevent cognitive decline and dementia (or delay them by decades)? And what about ingredients that could help you achieve lifelong cognitive wellness?

Well, good news!

Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, renowned neurologists and authors of The Alzheimer’s Solution and The 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution, have dedicated their careers to studying how nutrition and lifestyle affect brain health.

The Sherzais have discovered that there are entire classes of foods that provide the brain with essential nutrients while minimizing harmful foods that contribute to decline. And in a time when Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are on the rise, this knowledge is more crucial than ever.

So what have the Drs. Sherzai found? The eating patterns that most powerfully support lifelong cognitive wellness all have one thing in common: lots of whole plant-based foods. And they’ve identified nine extra-powerful brain-boosting foods, which they’ve alliteratively dubbed the NEURO 9.

In this article, we’ll explore the NEURO 9, along with foods to avoid that may increase cognitive risk. And you’ll also get seven delicious, nutrient-rich recipes that make it easy to incorporate brain-healthy choices into your daily routine.

The Science of Brain Health: Why Diet Matters

Before we get to specific ingredients and foods, let’s talk for a minute about why your brain is so sensitive to your dietary choices. For one thing, the brain is one of the most energy-demanding organs in the body. While it weighs around 3% of body weight, it consumes around 20% of daily calories.

And the foods you eat directly influence how your brain functions. By impacting inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular health, food affects three of the key factors in cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

One of your brain’s best “tricks” is neuroplasticity, the ability to learn and change by making new neuronal connections. It turns out that diet plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity by providing essential nutrients that support brain cell growth and repair.

That’s right: nutrient-dense foods (containing omega-3s and antioxidants specifically) can support learning, memory, and recovery from brain injuries. And these plant-based foods not only provide good stuff for your brain but can also fight some harmful factors contributing to cognitive decline.

The MIND Diet

One of the plant-forward, brain-friendly diets even has a clever acronym: MIND. The MIND Diet stands for Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, and is a fusion of two other popular diets: Mediterranean and DASH (whew, another acronym!).

The Mediterranean diet is all about enjoying plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats. It’s been associated with lower heart disease rates and might even help you live longer.

DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It focuses on reducing sodium intake to help manage blood pressure while encouraging a mix of nutrient-packed foods. One large study found that long-term adherence to this diet was associated with healthier blood pressure and reduced cognitive decline.

The MIND diet combines elements from both of these diets, but it specifically highlights foods and nutrients that research suggests are beneficial for brain health. A 2015 study compared all three diets — Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND — and found that all three reduced Alzheimer’s risk when followed pretty much to the letter. The MIND Diet was also found to be effective in lowering dementia risk at what the authors called “moderate adherence.”

The MIND Diet limits the intake of animal and high saturated fat foods while emphasizing natural plant-based foods, especially berries and green leafy vegetables. But berries and greens aren’t the only foods shown to protect cognitive function.

The NEURO 9: Top Brain-Boosting Foods

The NEURO 9 are the top foods that research has shown are crucial for optimizing brain health and function through their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai recommend these foods to protect your brain through mid-life and beyond.

1. Green Leafy Vegetables

Leafy greens are packed with folate, vitamin K, and antioxidants for brain protection.

A 2018 study discovered that these superfoods were way more powerful than anyone could have guessed. People who ate an average of one and a third servings per day slowed their cognitive aging by 11 years, compared to people who ate almost no leafy greens.

To put that in perspective, the study defined a “serving” as half a cup of cooked greens or a full cup of raw ones. Not exactly a mountain to climb!

Some of our favorite leafy greens include collards, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, lettuce, and other salad greens.

2. Beans

Beans are high in plant-based protein and fiber, both of which may halt or significantly slow Alzheimer’s progression by preventing the formation of amyloid-β plaque. The fiber, in particular, seems to play a leading role in brain protection, promoting the growth and flourishing of bacteria in the gut microbiome that influence brain health and neuroinflammation.

For optimal brain health, aim for at least three servings of beans per week. Popular bean varieties include black beans, kidney beans, and chickpeas.

For more of me singing (metaphorically only, thank goodness) the praises of beans, here’s a comprehensive article on bean benefits.

3. Berries

These sweet or tart treats are high in flavonoids and antioxidants that help improve memory and combat oxidative stress. A study of female nurses found that those with the highest levels of blueberry consumption delayed their cognitive aging by two and a half years.

Some of the most popular and easily accessible berries, available fresh seasonally and frozen year-round, include blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries.

4. Nuts

Nuts support cognitive function thanks to their healthy fats, vitamin E, and anti-inflammatory antioxidants. These compounds fight oxidative stress that can damage cells, thereby maintaining cell membrane integrity and supporting cell functioning.

Nuts are full of healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats, which also support brain health.

Popular nuts include walnuts, almonds, and cashews. For more on nuts, read our comprehensive article, Nut Health Benefits: You Won’t Believe How Good They Are for You.

5. Seeds

Many seeds are rich in vitamin E and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. These fats have been shown to combat cognitive impairment thanks to their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on the brain.

Some of the most awesome seeds come from hemp, chia, flax, and sunflower plants.

6. Herbs & Spices

As a group, and individually, herbs and spices have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Some of the best-studied “brain buddy” spices include turmeric, sage, and ginger.

Turmeric, in particular, has an incredible capacity to bind to amyloid protein, the harmful protein associated with Alzheimer’s development.

7. Cruciferous Vegetables

Vegetables in the cruciferous family are brain-boosting all-stars. They’re high in vitamin K, which has been shown to sharpen memory; beta carotene, which helps to slow cognitive decline; and antioxidants such as sulforaphane, which can protect the brain from toxic free radicals.

Examples of cruciferous veggies to include in your diet include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.

8. Whole Grains

Whole grains fuel your brain with essential nutrients like B vitamins and fiber. A comprehensive literature review published in 2023 reported that people who consume whole grains on a regular basis have a lower risk of cognitive decline.

Some of the healthiest whole grains include oats, buckwheat, and quinoa.

9. Tea

Rounding out the NEURO 9 is perhaps a surprising entry: a beverage made from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). But it may be less surprising once you realize that tea leaves contain catechins and L-theanine, which assist focus and support cognition.

One of the catechins found in green tea, EGCG (try that five times fast), has been shown to be an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory and may promote the growth of neuronal dendrites and axons.

Green tea, white tea, and black tea are all neuroprotective tea beverage varieties.

Beverages and Foods To Avoid for Brain Health

The NEURO 9 are a fantastic brain-friendly bunch, but even they can’t overcome a diet full of foods that damage your body and brain. Here are four of the worst food groups for brain health. Avoid these if you want your best chance at a long life with a clear, active mind.

1. Processed and Fried Foods

Fried and processed foods are high in saturated fats and trans fatty acids, both of which are associated with insulin resistance. This triggers cell oxidation and inflammation, especially in the blood vessels that carry nutrients to your neurons and remove waste products from them. Over time, too many saturated and trans fats can have a significantly negative impact on brain function.

2. Refined Sugars & Artificial Sweeteners

Your brain loves sugar, but only the natural kind — in fruit. When you consume refined sugar absent the fiber that naturally accompanies it in an apple, peach, or banana, your brain gets “shocked” by it. In turn, your brain responds with inflammation and oxidation, which are linked to insulin resistance, brain fog, and cognitive decline.

3. Excessive Animal Products

Meat consumption is most closely associated with increased Alzheimer’s risk, followed by eggs and high-fat dairy products. One plausible theory is that saturated fats and cholesterol contribute to vascular issues affecting the brain, essentially cutting off some blood flow, which both starve neurons of nutrients and clog the brain with waste that doesn’t get disposed of quickly enough.

4. Excess Alcohol

Alcohol is a case where dose may matter a great deal. Some research shows that low intake of alcohol (four drinks a week or less), especially red wine, may actually be protective for brain health. At the same time, excess consumption (defined by the CDC as four drinks per day for women and five for men) can have a detrimental effect on sleep, cognitive function, and brain recovery over time. It may, in fact, be a risk factor for the development and progression of Alzheimer’s.

Lifestyle Factors Beyond Diet: The NEURO Plan

The Drs. Sherzai focus their brain research on more than just food. While the first letter of their acronym NEURO stands for Nutrition, there are four additional letters, each equally important as a lifestyle factor for long-term cognitive health.

In total, NEURO stands for Nutrition, Exercise, Unwind, Restore, and Optimize.

Exercise

Exercising regularly can create more connections between neurons and reduce the risk of dementia. The Sherzais recommend exercising 150 to 300 minutes per week, divided into 3 or 4 sessions.

Unwind

People who experience chronic “bad” stress tend to have higher levels of adrenaline and cortisol in their circulation, which has been associated with neurodegenerative changes in the brain. Managing stress through meditation, yoga, mindful breathing exercises, time spent in nature, and having a supportive community are all effective ways to unwind.

Restore

Sleep has been proven to improve memory recall, regulate metabolism, and reduce mental fatigue. Suffering from a sleep disorder raises your risk of dementia by 17% over 10 years. For most people, seven to eight hours of regular, detoxifying sleep is essential for the brain.

Optimize

Unlike bad stress, which is based on the perception of threat, good stress is triggered by the perception of challenge. And good stress has a positive impact on brain health.

You can challenge your brain through learning new skills, solving problems, volunteering, learning a new language, or learning to dance or play a musical instrument. These activities, known as “multimodal” because they require multiple types of cognition at once, challenge and engage many of your brain’s capacities just as lifting weights strengthens your muscles. Bonus benefit if these challenging activities involve social interactions.

7 Brain-Boosting Recipes

Fuel your focus and nourish your mind with this collection of plant-powered recipes, each crafted with ingredients that support brain health, boost clarity, and calm inflammation. From cozy stews to energizing snacks and feel-good drinks, these dishes are as delicious as they are smart. Let food be your brain’s best friend!

(Each recipe incorporates NEURO 9 ingredients and avoids harmful foods.)

1. Blueberry Walnut Banana Pancakes

Wake up your taste buds and your brain with these Blueberry Walnut Banana Pancakes! Blended with brain-loving ingredients like omega-3-rich flax meal, hemp seeds, and walnuts — plus antioxidant-packed blueberries and memory-boosting oats — these pancakes aren’t just delicious, they’re a stack of smart choices. Sweetened naturally with banana and a splash of maple syrup, every bite is fluffy, wholesome, and bursting with feel-good fuel. Your brain (and brunch crew) will thank you!

2. Blueberry Earl Grey Chia Parfait

Give your brain a little love with this vibrant, flavor-packed Blueberry Earl Grey Chia Parfait. Infused with citrusy Earl Grey tea and layered with warming spices like ginger and cardamom, this parfait isn’t just a treat for your taste buds — it’s full of ingredients that support focus, memory, and overall cognitive health. Omega-rich chia seeds help keep things sharp, while blueberries bring their antioxidant A-game. Finished with a burst of bright orange zest and a swirl of naturally sweet blueberry sauce, it’s a refreshing way to nourish your mind and start your day with intention.

3. Cruciferous Crunch Bowl

This Cruciferous Crunch Bowl brings serious flavor, texture, and nourishment to the table. Roasted broccoli and radish team up with hearty lentils and fluffy quinoa for a satisfying base, while crisp leafy greens, tangy pickled onions, and crunchy peanuts keep every bite interesting. Drizzle it all with a bold, umami-rich miso peanut sauce and you’ve got a bowl that’s bursting with plant-powered protein, fiber, and brain-boosting nutrients — no boring bites here. It’s the kind of meal that keeps you feeling energized, focused, and fully nourished.

4. Lentil Stuffed Sweet Potato

Lentil Stuffed Sweet Potato isn’t just comfort food — it’s brain food in disguise. Sweet roasted potatoes cradle a fragrant mix of lentils simmered with cumin, garlic, turmeric, and mustard seeds — spices known to support cognitive health and reduce inflammation. A creamy tahini lime drizzle adds richness and balance, making every bite a delicious blend of earthy, sweet, and zesty. Nourishing for the body and satisfying for the mind, this dish is smart eating and craveable.

5. Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato, Chickpea, and Spinach Stew

Let your spoon travel somewhere warm and nourishing with this Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato, Chickpea, and Spinach Stew. It’s filled with brain-friendly all-stars like fiber-rich chickpeas, antioxidant-packed sweet potatoes, and a medley of aromatic spices known to support cognitive health. Spinach and lemon add a bright finish, while each bite wraps you in cozy, feel-good flavor. It’s simple, satisfying, and a great choice for your next one-pot meal.

6. Energizing Pumpkin Seed Snack Mix

Snack smarter with this Energizing Pumpkin Seed Snack Mix — a crunchy, sweet-savory blend that’s as good for your brain as it is for your taste buds. Toasted pumpkin seeds bring protein, iron, and zinc to the mix, while antioxidant-rich dried blueberries and cacao nibs add brain-boosting flair. A touch of maple syrup and warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg make it totally crave-worthy. It’s the perfect handful to power through your afternoon or fuel a focus-friendly break.

7. Soothing Spiced Matcha Tea

This Soothing Spiced Matcha Tea is like meditation in a mug: grounding, warming, and full of brain-loving benefits. With antioxidant-rich matcha and anti-inflammatory spices like turmeric, cinnamon, and nutmeg, it’s crafted to help calm the mind and support long-term cognitive health. Blended with creamy plant-based milk and just a touch of heat from black pepper, it’s the perfect daily ritual for clarity, comfort, and focus from the inside out.

Final Thoughts & Key Takeaways

The foods we eat play a profound role in shaping our brain health. By incorporating the NEURO 9 and avoiding or minimizing harmful foods, you can protect your brain against inflammation, oxidative stress, and cognitive decline.

Just as importantly, embracing a brain-healthy lifestyle — that includes regular exercise, quality sleep, stress management, and lifelong learning — can further enhance cognitive function and longevity.

Your brain is incredibly adaptable, and every nourishing choice you make helps build a foundation for sharper thinking, stronger memory, and long-term cognitive well-being.

Editor’s Note: 

Featured Image: Image Created with the Help of Sora

Read Next: 

• Fresh Herbs: How To Store, Use, and Enjoy Them Without Waste

The post The NEURO 9: Top Brain Healthy Foods and Recipes for Optimal Health appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

Protein also gives your body energy, although that’s not its main role. It can also help keep your immune system strong (because proteins are a component of your immune system). Eating protein also has the benefit of keeping you feeling full longer. If weight loss is a goal, it’s helpful to know that protein can help ease hunger, boost metabolism, and reduce cravings.

What we call protein is made up of 21 amino acids. Your body can make 12 of them, but there are 9 that are called the “essential” amino acids because you need to get them directly from your food.

As long as you’re eating a variety of whole foods and getting enough total calories and overall protein, you should meet your needs for all nine essential amino acids. The notion that you need to combine foods (especially plant-based foods) to get the right balance of amino acids (also referred to as complete proteins) is a myth.

For more on the protein-combining myth, watch this video from Dr. Michael Greger:

Animal Protein vs Plant Protein: Protein Sources Matter for Health

Where your protein comes from matters, and contrary to popular belief, animal-sourced proteins like meat and whey protein may be inferior to plant protein when it comes to your long-term health.

In a 2018 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, researchers followed 81,337 participants for 6–12 years. The researchers looked at the percentage of protein from animal and plant sources for these participants. They found that the risk of cardiovascular death steadily climbed with higher consumption of meat protein, but fell steadily with increased protein consumption from nuts and seeds.

In addition, a 2003 research review published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed that diets lower in meat consumption led to greater longevity.

The researchers also noted that the longer a person’s adherence to a plant-strong diet, the lower their risk of mortality and the higher their life expectancy.

At least one of the reasons may have to do with insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Research suggests that animal protein, in particular, causes higher levels of IGF-1, which may increase your risk of cancer and many age-related diseases.

Of course, it’s also the case that many animal-based protein foods — like red meat, bacon, and full-fat dairy — come with a lot of saturated fat. Eating too much saturated fat can raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol, which may lead to heart disease, and it may also increase your risk of dementia.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

According to the Mayo Clinic, on average, most people need about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. However, requirements vary: as we age, particularly after age 65, our bodies may benefit from up to 1.2 grams per kilogram per day to help preserve muscle mass.

Active people, especially endurance and strength athletes, as well as pregnant and lactating women, might need between 1.2 and 1.7 grams per kilogram daily. The good news is that if you exercise a lot or are making a baby in your womb, you are also likely to eat a lot more calories, which will help you meet your protein needs.

To shed a bit more light for Americans, who are not used to thinking in the metric system, I want to lead you in a quick math calculation. (Leave it to Americans to mix grams and pounds — because why make nutrition simple when it can be a math puzzle?!) In general, protein requirements are tied to healthy body weight. So if you’re obese, you might not need to base your requirements on your current weight, but rather on what you would weigh if you were not obese. If your healthy weight is 150 pounds, that’s 68 kilograms. If it’s 120 pounds, that’s 54 kilograms. If you’re over age 65, and your goal is 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight, and if you weigh 120 pounds, you’re going for 65 grams per day. If you weigh 150 pounds, you’re going for 82 grams daily.

Now, if you eat 2,000 calories per day, and you’re getting 15% of your calories from protein, which is pretty typical across the plant kingdom, then you’re getting 300 calories from protein in a day. There are 4 calories per gram of protein, and 1/4 of 300 is 75. This means that if you are eating 2,000 calories a day, and 15% of your calories are coming from protein, then you’re getting 75 grams of protein each day — again, if you weigh 120 pounds and are over age 65, you might need 65. And if you eat as many calories as the average American, which is more than 3,600 per day, you may get 135 grams of protein daily.

That’s all based on getting 15% of your calories from protein, which is very doable on a plant-based diet. But the key thing to remember is that there are a lot of calories, but there is no protein in bottled oils or added sugars. There is very little protein in white flour. So, if you are a vegan consuming a lot of ultra-processed packaged vegan food, or if you aren’t eating enough total calories, then protein could start to be a concern. That’s another reason to base your diet around whole foods — and to eat enough food overall.

A Note About Plant-Based Protein Absorption and Fiber

Plant-based protein comes from plants like legumes, nuts, seeds, and other natural foods. But although plant-based protein appears to be generally healthier than animal protein, its digestibility and bioavailability can be hampered by the fact that it’s generally accompanied by fiber.

Fiber is critical to maintaining gut health, as well as preventing a number of medical conditions. However, as fiber sweeps out materials in the intestine, it carries a small amount of protein with it.

As a result, protein digestibility on a plant-based diet can be about 10% less than on a more meat-based diet. So, how much protein do vegans need? Some dietitians recommend adding 10% more protein to calculated needs based on the standard RDAs for protein.

This is not as much of a consideration if you regularly consume relatively low-fiber, high-protein plant foods such as meat analogs and tofu, or if you occasionally consume animal products. But if you’re meeting or exceeding your recommended fiber intake, as many plant-based eaters eventually do, you may want to aim for slightly more protein to compensate.

Protein Deficiency Is Shockingly Rare

In 2024, the IFIC Food & Health Survey reported that 71% of US consumers said they wanted more protein in their diet. But do they need it?

This may come as a surprise, but protein deficiency is virtually nonexistent in industrialized countries, even among plant-based eaters.

Most American adults eat substantially more than the recommended amount, averaging more than 100 grams of protein per day. Most Europeans also get more protein than they need.

If you’re eating enough food so you don’t lose weight and eating a variety of whole foods, it’s not hard to consume enough protein.

In general, the only people truly deficient in protein are those who aren’t eating enough calories, which is a serious and potentially life-threatening concern for hundreds of millions of people on the planet who don’t have enough food to eat.

Since there’s no protein in sugar or bottled oils, and very little in fries, chips, or donuts, protein deficiency can also become a problem for “junk food vegans” who eat a lot of processed foods.

Protein deficiency can also be a problem for alcoholics, people with eating disorders such as anorexia, and people struggling with drug addiction — all of whom tend to have diets that are deficient in many essential nutrients.

However, with these exceptions, inadequate protein consumption is almost unheard of in the industrialized world, where starvation is relatively rare.

As surprising as it may sound, we’re beginning to understand that far more people may be suffering from the health effects of getting too much protein than from getting too little.

Can You Get Too Much Protein?

When you consume more protein than your body needs, it isn’t stored as protein. Instead, it’s converted to fat or eliminated through your kidneys, contributing to osteoporosis and kidney stones.

And that’s not the only problem too much protein can cause. The International Scholarly Research Network published a meta-analysis of 31 studies on protein intake and disease, concluding that overconsumption of protein was associated with higher rates of cancer, osteoporosis, renal disease, disorders of liver function, and coronary artery disease.

In some of the most important nutritional research conducted in recent years, Valter Longo, PhD, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, and his team published a study in Cell Metabolism in 2014 that tracked 6,381 adults over the age of 50 for nearly 20 years.

The study found that between the ages of 50 and 65, participants who ate a high-protein diet (defined as 20% or more of calories coming from protein) were four times more likely to die of cancer than those who consumed a low-protein diet (with less than 10% of calories coming from protein).

The increase in cancer risk associated with a high-protein diet during these years was on par with smoking 20 cigarettes per day!

Once over the age of 65, however, cancer mortality data leveled off, indicating that for people over age 65, there is no meaningful cancer-fighting benefit to a lower-protein diet. At each age studied, however, those participants who ate a high-protein diet had a fivefold greater risk of mortality from type 2 diabetes.

Overall, the study found that people with a high-protein diet were 74% more likely to die of any cause within the 20-year study period than their low-protein counterparts.

What if we’ve had it all backward? Is it possible that most of us are getting too much protein?

Dr. Longo thinks so. He summarized the findings and concluded that the study provided “convincing evidence that a high-protein diet — particularly if the proteins are derived from animals — is nearly as bad as smoking for your health.”

However, the study’s findings showed that the negative health associations of eating too much protein were mitigated or even eliminated under one condition: when the protein came from plants.

What if You Want or Need More Protein?

If you want to boost your protein levels for any reason, aim for plant-based sources. You’ll see a list of whole plant-based foods that are good sources of protein below.

But should you add refined protein supplements to your diet?

In 2018, the Clean Label Project tested the most popular protein powders on the market — 134 products. They discovered at least one heavy metal in almost all of them. Additionally, 55% of the powders contained BPA, a chemical found in plastics.

Strangely, the plant-based and organic protein powders were not exempt from these problems, and in many cases, fared worse.

Many of the protein powders on the market also contain additional sweeteners, flavorings, fillers, preservatives, and gums. And conventional protein supplements are often made with whey, a dairy protein, which is a by-product of the cheesemaking process.

If you’re going to add more protein to your diet, start with real, plant-based foods. Shelled seeds (hemp, flax, and chia seeds are excellent) or seeds that have been ground into a powder are excellent “supplemental” sources. If you decide to use a protein powder, look for ones that have been third-party tested and don’t use whey or harmful additives.

The good news is, so long as you eat a varied diet based around whole foods and get enough total calories, chances are you can get enough protein from food.

14 Top Plant-Based Protein Sources

Some of the best plant-based protein sources are beans and other legumes. And the percentage of calories coming from protein in foods like tempeh, tofu, and green lentils is higher than in bacon or cow’s milk.

Here are some of the best plant-based protein sources:

1) Organic Tempeh
(1/2 cup, cooked) 16 grams of protein

This fermented soy food has loads of plant protein. Try it as a substitute for bacon on a BLT, chopped up on a tasty salad, or in a stir-fry with some colorful veggies. Tempeh also makes a great addition to chili.

2) Lentils
(1 cup, cooked) 18 grams of protein

Lentils are one of the best plant-based proteins and are a delicious addition to many meals. At an average cost of under $2 per pound (before cooking), they’re a pretty affordable source of protein, too!

Try red, green, brown, yellow, or black lentils. Add them to a power bowl, make lentil soup, or use them in burritos or tacos.

3) Organic Edamame
(1 cup, cooked) 17 grams of protein

This Asian staple is soy in its most natural state. And it can be quite easy to fall in love with!

Eat edamame out of the shell, wrapped in summer rolls, or as a regular protein source in your salad rotation. Just be sure to look for organic edamame varieties to avoid GMO soy.

4) Chickpeas
(1 cup, cooked) 16 grams of protein

Also known as garbanzo beans, chickpeas are a highly satisfying plant-based protein. They’re also the main ingredient in one of my favorite spreads: hummus!

Add chickpeas to salads and bowls, or roast them for a crispy, on-the-go treat.

5) Black Beans
(1 cup, cooked) 12 grams of protein

Chow down on these protein-rich beans any time of the day.

Combine them with whole grains for a protein-packed combo, turn them into a savory spread, or whip them into a nourishing soup. There are even a bunch of black bean brownie recipes online that are not half bad!

6) Hemp Seeds
(3 tablespoons) 10 grams of protein

These tiny seeds pack a powerful dietary punch. They’re rich in plant protein and omega-3 fatty acids.

Small but mighty, hemp seeds are great in smoothies and bowls or sprinkled on salads. Instead of adding protein powder to your smoothies, scoop in some hemp seeds.

7) Quinoa
(1 cup, cooked) 9 grams of protein

This increasingly popular seed (yes, it’s technically a seed and not a grain, even though it cooks and tastes like a grain) seems to be on menus everywhere these days.

Try quinoa instead of rice as a base for bowls, or use it to make a quiche.

8) Organic Tofu
(3 ounces) 9 grams of protein

If you’re not a fan of tofu, you probably just haven’t found your favorite way to eat it. (I sound like a tofu fanatic here, I know, but hear me out!) The possibilities are almost endless with this ancient plant-based protein staple.

Try the extra-firm tofu variety in stir-fries, marinate it in your favorite sauce, bake it, or plop it in a soup. And like edamame, opt for organic varieties of tofu to avoid GMO soy.

9) Almonds
(1/4 cup, raw) 8 grams of protein

A perfect on-the-go snack, almonds are high in healthy fats and other good-for-you ingredients, including fiber, magnesium, and B vitamins.

Eat almonds on their own, smother sandwiches or apples with almond butter, or chop them up and add them as a crunchy addition to your favorite dish.

10) Sunflower Seeds
(1/4 cup, raw) 7 grams of protein

These little seeds have plant-based protein superpowers!

Try sunflower seeds on their own, sprinkled on salads or zoodle dishes, or even made into sunflower seed butter.

11) Oats
(1 cup, cooked) 6 grams of protein

Not just for breakfast anymore, oats can be included in so many recipes!

Make some overnight oats, try sweet or savory oatmeal, throw some into your smoothie, or make oat waffles.

12) Broccoli
(1 cup, cooked) 6 grams of protein

Broccoli is a healthy cruciferous vegetable and a surprisingly good protein source.

Add it to salads, make it into soup, sauté it, or add it to a grain bowl for a protein-packed dish.

13) Chia Seeds
(2 tablespoons) 6 grams of protein

Ch-ch-ch-chia! Sound familiar? For many folks, their only experience with chia seeds growing up may have been via the infamous Chia Pets. But these teeny little seeds are now becoming an increasingly popular superfood because of their high protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acid content.

You can make chia seed pudding, use chia seeds in smoothies, or add them to salads and oatmeal. And here’s an important tip: Like flaxseeds, it’s best to grind your chia seeds to ensure you absorb the most nutrients possible.

14) Pumpkin Seeds
(1 ounce, cooked) 4 grams of protein

For many people, roasting fresh pumpkin seeds from a jack-o’-lantern is a fun (and delicious) fall activity. But even if it’s off-season, you can buy these hearty seeds (the hulled version is known as “pepitas”) almost anywhere.

You can eat them as a snack when you travel, throw them on top of salads and bowls, or whip them into hummus or other dips.

Plant-Based Protein Recipes

Getting the protein your body needs is much easier than you think! The wonderful thing about having an abundance of plants in your diet is that protein is found in many plant-based foods, especially nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, and whole grains. When you use them as part of satisfying plant-diverse meals, you’ll never need to ask, “Am I getting enough protein?” again.

Omega Baked Oatmeal is filled with fiber, protein, and omega-3-rich flax, hemp, and chia seeds.

Chickpea Quinoa Salad is light, refreshing, and loaded with plant-based nutrients. Plus, this tasty meal packs in a significant amount of protein to keep you satisfied all afternoon.

Buckwheat, Tofu, and Broccoli Curry is a one-stop shop for flavor and texture galore with creamy coconut milk and fragrant curry. It also takes satiety to the next level with the protein-rich blend of chewy buckwheat and baked tofu.

Enjoy these meals together as a protein-rich meal plan, or spread them throughout the week to incorporate with your favorite plant-based recipes.

1. Omega Baked Oatmeal

Nothing is more comforting than a hearty bowl of oatmeal, especially when you add even more wholesome and healing ingredients.

Omega Baked Oatmeal has no shortage of superfoods to fuel you for a sunshiny day. Omega-3-rich flax, hemp, and chia seeds are full of heart-healthy fats and plant-powered protein. And let’s not forget about our beloved rolled oats, which are an excellent source of fiber as well as, you guessed it, protein! When paired together, this hearty bake provides 15 grams of protein per serving.

This nutrient-packed baked oatmeal is a great way to start your morning. It’s truly the breakfast of champions!

2. Chickpea Quinoa Salad

Chickpeas are among the best plant-based proteins (along with lentils and other legumes). Bonus that they’re fiber-rich and super tasty, too!

Chickpea Quinoa Salad is sure to become one of your favorite lunchtime staples. Chickpeas, fresh herbs, nutty quinoa, and peppery arugula combine for a delightful salad with 18 grams of protein per serving. Now that’s a salad!

3. Buckwheat, Tofu, and Broccoli Curry

Hearty, satisfying, and invigorating, thanks to curry spices, plant-based proteins, chewy buckwheat, and crunchy broccoli, this dish delivers flavor, texture, and nutrition. Our wholesome curry bowl is packed with 33 grams of protein per serving!

Here’s a fun fact about buckwheat: It’s a cousin of rhubarb, so it’s not technically a grain. But its nutrients, high protein content, nutty flavor, and appearance have allowed it to be classified as one.

Bonus Recipe! Ocean’s Protein-Powered Smoothie

The next time someone asks, “Where do you get your protein?” share this tasty, protein-powered recipe with them!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Serves 1–2

Ingredients:

16 ounces unsweetened organic soy milk (Eden Soy has the highest protein)

2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons hemp seeds (shelled)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 frozen banana

1 cup frozen cherries, berries, mango, or other fruit

Directions:

Blend until smooth, and drink.

If you use EdenSoy unsweetened soy milk (which provides 12 grams of protein per cup), this recipe delivers 40 grams of protein (less if you use a different kind of plant milk), phytoestrogens, antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and fiber — and it tastes pretty good, too. It’s not a bad way to start your day on a protein-powered path!

The Best Protein Is From Plants!

Protein is essential for your body. And if you want to stay well and avoid disease, it’s best to source most of your protein from plants. Luckily, the plant kingdom makes it easy. There are many high-protein plant-based foods to enjoy!

If you’re over age 65, pregnant, nursing, or an athlete, you may need a little more than the rest of the population. Most likely, you can meet your needs with legumes, nuts, seeds, and other protein-rich foods. But if you struggle to eat enough calories, can’t tolerate soy and other legumes well, or just want an extra boost, you may want to consider adding a supplement.

Tell us in the comments:

• Does this change the way you think about protein?
• What are your favorite plant-based protein foods?

Read Next:

• 7 Healthy Dinner Recipes for Two — Ready in Under 1 Hour!

Featured Image: Image created with Sora

The post Plant-Based Protein: Best Sources & How Much You Actually Need appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

“Oh, you know,” someone replies. “Things. Cars. Hornets. Hugs. Rusty barbed wire.”

To make accurate judgments, we need a lot more specificity and context. That’s especially true of one of the loudest and most rancorous debates in the wellness world these days: the effects of seed oils on human health. As you’ll see, many very different substances are being lumped together in one category — a shortcut that makes rational discussion impossible.

Some folks thought the debate had been settled decades ago when governments encouraged the food industry to replace animal fats with “heart-healthy” alternatives like canola, soybean, and sunflower oil. Lately, however, these vegetable oils have come under fire from critics who claim they contribute to inflammation, chronic disease, and obesity.

At the same time, animal-based fats, including beef tallow (a rendered form of animal fat largely phased out of mainstream cooking decades ago), are experiencing a revival.

Advocates argue that animal-based fats are more “natural” than processed seed oils and, therefore, healthier.

In this article, we’ll cut through the controversy surrounding seed oils. We’ll examine the health claims against seed oils, explore if seed oils might have any benefits, and look at the healthiest ways to cook.

What Are Seed Oils? 

Seed oils are refined and processed oils made from the seeds of plants. All seed oils are vegetable oils, but not all vegetable oils are seed oils. Olive, avocado, palm, and coconut oils are examples of vegetable oils that come from fruits, not seeds.

Seed oils are widely used in cooking and in processed and fast foods. The seed oils most commonly used for these purposes are canola (also known as rapeseed), corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, soybean, sunflower, rice bran, and peanut oils. Dr. Cate Shanahan, a vocal critic of these oils, dramatically refers to them as the “hateful eight.”

Other seed oils, used in smaller quantities for flavor or their potential health benefits, include flaxseed, black seed, pomegranate seed, walnut, and sesame oils. These are more often cold-pressed or minimally processed, and may retain more of their natural nutrients.

How Are Seed Oils Made?

Most commercial seed oils undergo a two-step extraction process:

1. Mechanical extraction, often via expeller pressing
2. Chemical extraction, typically using hexane, a solvent derived from petroleum, to increase yield

After extraction, many oils undergo refinement, known as RBD: Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized. These steps are designed to remove impurities, odors, and pigments, resulting in a clear, neutral-tasting oil that’s stable for high-heat cooking and long shelf life.

• Refining: High heat or steam, sometimes with chemical additives, is used to purify the oil.
• Bleaching: Bleaching clay is added to absorb pigments and reduce color.
• Deodorizing: Steam or heat neutralizes strong smells or flavors.

While this level of processing is standard for many cooking oils on the market, not all seed oils go through these steps. Cold-pressed or unrefined seed oils skip chemical solvents and RBD processing, resulting in oils that may offer more flavor and nutritional value. However, they’re also less stable and more perishable.

The Health Claims Against Seed Oils 

So, what are the health risks of consuming seed oils? Critics make three main claims:

• High in Omega-6 Fatty Acids — Seed oils are rich in omega-6 fats, which can promote inflammation when consumed in excess, especially in relation to omega-3 intake.

• Harmful Processing Methods — The RBD process, involving high heat, chemical solvents, and deodorization, may degrade the oil and produce harmful byproducts. Cooking with these oils at high temperatures can potentially make them even more damaging.

• Linked to Chronic Disease — Some believe that regular consumption of seed oils contributes to conditions like heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Let’s look at the evidence related to each of these claims.

Claim 1: Inflammatory and High in Omega-6 Fatty Acids

The real problem with omega-6 fatty acids in seed oils is when they have an unbalanced relationship with another category of essential fatty acids, the omega-3s. (This is starting to sound like a sorority movie about singing groups.)

Omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids work together to regulate inflammation in the body. While a 1:1 ratio is sometimes cited as ideal, most experts agree that a ratio of up to 4:1 in favor of omega-6s is still considered healthy. The real trouble starts when that balance tips too far, which spells bad things for your health.

Unfortunately, it’s estimated that the average ratio in the US is around 16:1, largely due to the fatty acid composition of seed oils found in processed foods. But that’s not the whole story.

It turns out that different seed oils have quite different omega-6 to omega-3 ratios. As you can see in the following chart of the so-called “hateful 8”, some of the seed oils are astronomically lopsided in favor of omega-6s. But others — notably soybean and canola — are much more balanced. Canola oil, at 2:1, and soybean oil, at 8:1, are in the healthy ballpark. And don’t forget about hempseed oil, which is 3:1, and flaxseed oil, which actually pushes in the other direction, with a 5:1 omega-3 to omega-6 ratio!

A couple of nuances often get lost amid the shouting. First, while it’s true that an imbalance of omega-6s over omega-3s can be inflammatory, it’s difficult to separate correlation from causation. Most of the omega-6 heavy seed oils in the modern diet are consumed in fried and processed foods. People who eat a lot of these foods are prone to all sorts of problematic health outcomes. So it’s possible (maybe even likely) that other factors in those foods, besides the omega-6 fatty acids in the seed oils, also contribute to inflammation.

Some groups of people may also be more susceptible to the health effects of excess omega-6s than others. Africans, Indigenous Americans, Greenland Inuit, and Latinos tend to metabolize omega-6 fatty acids faster, which can turbocharge inflammation.

In summary, there’s some truth to this claim, but it depends on the seed from which the oil is made. My takeaway: if you’re looking to mitigate the risk of excess omega-6 fatty acids, and you want to consume seed oils, you may want to lean towards flaxseed oil (which should never be heated), hempseed oil, or organic canola or soybean oil.

Claim 2: Cooking & Industrial Processing Makes Seed Oils Harmful

We’ve seen that refined seed oils go through a pretty extensive process just to get them ready for food use. And several chemical byproducts of the refining process are pretty alarming. Let’s take a look.

• Glycidol

One of these chemicals is glycidol, a carcinogen that forms during the deodorizing process in oil refining. It’s genotoxic, which means that it can damage your genes, contributing to the development of cancer. Because of this mechanism of harm, no consumption level of glycidol is considered safe. Basically, any amount is too much. Foods fried in seed oils are some of the worst offenders when it comes to glycidol content.

• 3-MCPD

Another potentially toxic chemical contaminant that finds its way into processed seed oils is 3-MCPD (not a Star Wars droid but a colorless liquid whose full name is HOCH2CH(OH)CH2Cl). Palm oils and palm fats are the largest contributors to 3-MCPD in the modern industrialized diet. Although this chemical is not genotoxic, it may still contribute to cancer development.

• Hexane

The third nasty compound found in processed seed oils is hexane, which is derived from the other kind of oil (the fossil fuels that power motors and engines). Used in the refining process, hexane is neurotoxic to humans and has long been listed as a cause of occupational diseases in several European countries.

• Free Radicals and ROS

There are also other harmful compounds that can form if the oils are not heated and cooled properly during processing. These compounds can come from the degradation of nutrients, the formation of toxic chemicals such as acrylamides, and oxidation. This last one reduces the quality of the oil and makes it dangerous to human health.

Once processed seed oils have been cooked, high-heat reheating and microwaving can rapidly break down the unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients in these oils. This process can create free radicals — unstable compounds that can cause damage to your DNA, proteins, and cell membranes.

Foods cooked in oil heated repeatedly (like in fryer vats that go through multiple batches before the oil is replaced) also increase the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS), accelerating oxidation.

Again, there’s a lot of truth to the claim that seed oils contain harmful chemicals created during processing. Luckily, small-batch or cold-pressed oils — those that have not undergone the RBD refinement process — may not have all these issues and be significantly less problematic, if not downright healthy for you.

Claim 3: Seed Oils Are Linked to Chronic Diseases

Critics of seed oils cite claims that consumption can cause chronic health conditions, including heart disease, metabolic dysfunction, obesity, and migraine headaches. Let’s see what the evidence says.

• Cardiovascular Disease Risk

A 2018 article reviewed data from lab experiments, animal studies, and human trials. ​​(Our view on the use of animals in medical research is here.) The authors found strong evidence that diets high in omega-6 fatty acids increase the amount of a harmful form of cholesterol called oxLDL, worsen inflammation, promote oxidative stress, and increase atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). These can all hasten the development of heart disease.

But remember, not all seed oils are super-high in omega-6s, so their contribution to the risk of heart attack may vary depending on the type. The risk seems to depend on the amounts of omega-6s and omega-3s in the overall diet as well as in the particular oils.

And with every question about whether a food or ingredient is good for you or not, you have to ask: compared to what?

In this case, it turns out that if you replace animal fats and trans fats with polyunsaturated fats like those found in seed oils, you can actually reduce cardiovascular disease risk. A 2021 study found that consumption of canola and corn oil lowered the risk of death compared to butter and margarine.

But just because they’re better than butter and margarine doesn’t mean they’re healthy, or that there’s no risk. Excess butter, margarine, or oil in your diet can be detrimental to cardiovascular health, especially for someone who already has heart disease.

• Seed Oil Consumption and Obesity

Here, too, results are mixed. A 2024 meta-analysis looked at 42 studies and found evidence that rice bran, soybean, and sunflower oils were all associated with weight gain, while sesame oil seemed to lead to weight loss. (The study used canola oil as the standard of measurement, so the other oils were either more or less likely than canola to contribute to weight gain.)

Canola oil has been shown to reduce body weight but does not affect other markers of obesity, such as waist circumference, hip circumference, or waist-to-hip ratio. Safflower oil may reduce the amount of fat stored in the trunk region of the body.

And when combined with other non-seed oils such as olive and coconut, some seed oils may even protect against obesity (at least, according to one study, in rats).

• Type 2 Diabetes

Some seed oils appear to protect against the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, at least compared to alternative fat sources. Soybean, canola, and sesame oils have been associated with lower type 2 diabetes risk than peanut oil, refined and blended plant oil (which typically contains soybean, rapeseed, sunflower seed, and rice bran oils), and lard.

Some seed oils, such as pomegranate, sesame, and sunflower seed oils, show potential therapeutic benefits in managing type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders. However, results vary depending on the person’s overall diet and health.

• Migraines

A 2022 study found evidence that consuming oils rich in antioxidants, including vegetable oil, may help reduce the severity of migraines due to their anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio seems to be a factor here as well.

What About GMO Seed Oils?

Many seed oils are bioengineered. Ninety percent of the four most common seed oils — canola, soybean, cottonseed, and corn — are from GMO crops.

The plants are bioengineered mainly to allow farmers to treat them with herbicides such as Roundup that would kill non-GMO plants. This means they absorb and, in turn, deliver some of the weed killer glyphosate, a probable human carcinogen.

Glyphosate may disrupt hormones, alter metabolic processes in the human body, and promote tumor formation.

The best way to protect yourself against this is to avoid canola, soybean, cottonseed, and corn oil unless grown organically or certified non-GMO.

A Word About Canola Oil

Canola oil has some passionate critics who claim that it’s “toxic,” blaming it for everything from inflammation to cognitive decline. But these claims don’t hold up under scrutiny. Most are rooted in outdated concerns or confusion with industrial rapeseed oil, which is high in erucic acid (a compound mostly bred out of modern canola). In reality, canola oil is consistently associated with lower cardiovascular risk compared to animal fats. Of course, it’s highly processed and often genetically engineered, which is why moderation and choosing organic or non-GMO versions make sense. But it’s hardly the supervillain of healthy eating.

Seed Oils vs Beef Tallow and Other Animal Fats

Since many wellness influencers continue to pit seed oils against animal fats like beef tallow, let’s see how they compare.

The Problem With Animal Products

Butter, ghee, lard, bacon grease, and beef tallow have all been used to cook food across cultures. However, these animal products have been shown to trigger inflammation that is detrimental to health.

Animal fats are also high in saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature and are associated with higher LDL cholesterol levels and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Although foods sourced from animals are sometimes thought of as more “natural” or closer to what our ancestors may have eaten (a central tenet of the Paleo diet), there’s nothing natural about how most animal products are produced these days in factory farms.

There are also major ethical concerns with these products, including their impact on the environment, human health (including via the creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria), and the suffering of the animals themselves.

What the Research Says

A significant body of evidence suggests that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats, like those found in many seed oils, can benefit heart health.

In a major Cochrane meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials involving over 59,000 participants, researchers found that reducing saturated fat intake led to a 21% reduction in cardiovascular events, especially when the saturated fat was replaced with polyunsaturated fat.

And this isn’t exactly new news. Researchers have known for more than 40 years that saturated fat was associated with increased risk of heart disease.

Starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many US fast-food chains began replacing beef tallow (high in saturated fat) with vegetable oils, in line with public health guidance that was aimed at reducing cardiovascular disease.

This change was part of a broader shift in national dietary patterns and public health interventions. And during the decades that followed, between 1990 and 2019, US deaths from heart disease declined by nearly 50%. While many factors contributed to this drop, including improved medical care, reduced smoking rates, and increased awareness of heart disease risks, it’s entirely probable that the reduction in saturated fat consumption played a supportive role.

While this isn’t definitive proof that the fast-food oil swap alone saved lives, it fits into a larger pattern of research showing that replacing saturated and animal fats with unsaturated and plant fats can improve cardiovascular outcomes.

And new research continues to back this up. Most recently, a 2025 study found that higher butter intake was associated with increased total mortality and cancer mortality, while higher intake of plant-based oils was associated with lower total, cancer, and cardiovascular disease mortality.

The Type of Fats Matters

The story is more complicated than “seed oils good, animal fats bad,” however.

For one thing, vegetable oils that are partially hydrogenated are high in trans fats, which might be more harmful to health than animal fats.

As of 2018, the US government banned the use of trans fats in processed foods, although there are still loopholes, including a 0.5-gram reporting limit (less than that per serving is considered zero) and the use of trans fats to coat baking pans.

For another, the source of the seed oil matters.

A 2010 review of seven randomized controlled trials found that seed oils’ impact on heart attack risk depends on the type of oil used. This corroborated an updated analysis of data recovered from an extensive dietary study conducted in the 1970s. In it, researchers examined the effects of replacing saturated fats, such as beef tallow, with seed oils. While this substitution consistently led to lower cholesterol levels, it did not always reduce the risk of death from heart disease.

The research suggests that replacing saturated fats with seed oils with a lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, like soybean oil, can lower the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular mortality. However, when seed oils with a higher omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, such as corn oil, are used instead, the risk of heart disease-related death may increase.

What about non-seed oils like olive and avocado oil? While technically fruit oils, they are often lumped into the broader “vegetable oil” category and deserve special attention. Both are rich in monounsaturated fats — especially oleic acid, which has been linked to lower inflammation, improved cholesterol profiles, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

Avocado oil shares many of olive oil’s benefits, and it’s especially heat-stable, making it a solid option for sautéing or roasting. Both olive and avocado oils also contain beneficial antioxidants and polyphenols that may support brain function and reduce oxidative stress. While more expensive than most seed oils, their nutrient profile and potential health benefits make them worth considering as go-to options when oil is used sparingly in home cooking. For more on olive and avocado oil, see our article here.

Nutritional Benefits of Seed Oils (and Alternative Sources)

Some seed oils (like flaxseed and canola) contain beneficial omega-3s and a favorable omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. Canola oil has the most balanced ratio of the most commonly used oils, while flaxseed oil tilts firmly in the omega-3 direction, boasting five times more omega-3 than omega-6.

All seed oils also contain polyunsaturated fats, which are generally healthier for you than saturated fats. (Note: you can also get these healthy fats from whole foods, such as flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, and other foods.)

Some seed oils contain beneficial compounds called tocopherols, including vitamin E. (Again, you don’t need to rely on oil for these nutrients; many whole plant-based foods contain vitamin E.

And losing excess weight is typically easier if you prioritize getting your nutrients from whole foods rather than processed oils. That’s because oil is the most calorically dense food, delivering roughly 4,000 calories per pound!

The Economic Advantage of Seed Oils

Health benefits and effects aside, seed oils are significantly cheaper than other cooking fats. While an 11-ounce jar of beef tallow costs $16, and a 17-ounce bottle of quality olive oil can run you upward of $10, you can get 17 ounces of organic canola starting at $7.

If you’re low-income or on a budget, it’s worth noting that using canola or another inexpensive seed oil can make cooking at home more accessible.

A Plant-Based, Low-Oil Approach

The evidence shows that the question of whether seed oils are healthy or dangerous is a complicated one, arriving with big doses of “compared to what” and “it depends.”

So what’s the bottom line here?

Remember that not all seed oils are the same — some have benefits, and others may be harmful.

For the most part, no matter what you cook at home, it will be better for your health than eating out at most restaurants, especially fast food, or bringing in processed dishes from the supermarket. And that’s especially true if you’re already struggling with a chronic disease or excessive weight.

Restaurant food and fast food tend to be high in trans fats, oxidized oils, excess sodium, high fructose corn syrup, processed carbs, and factory-farmed meat and dairy.

In addition to the source of the oil, how it’s processed and used in cooking will also make a big difference to its effects. A cold-pressed oil in your homemade salad dressing or drizzled on your kale is going to be much kinder to your body than oil that sits in a deep fryer for a week, turning out hundreds of batches of donuts or battered chicken.

And, as we’ve seen, whole foods like nuts, seeds, and avocados can provide fats in a more natural form. So getting your fat from seeds, instead of seed oils, is generally a healthier option, giving you fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds.

Should You Avoid Seed Oils?

Completely avoiding seed oils is a personal choice, based on many of the pros and cons we’ve presented thus far. But if you’re looking for a to-do list to protect your health, here’s what I can leave you with:

• Avoid highly processed foods, regardless of the fat source.
• Avoid deep-fried foods (made with repeatedly heated cooking oil) found in restaurants and fast food.
• Prioritize whole plant foods over isolated fats like oils.
• Sauté with water or broth.
• If you choose to include oils in your diet, choose a non-GMO oil with low omega-6s or a favorable omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (such as flaxseed, olive, or avocado oil).
• And if you do use seed oils (especially the four commonly bioengineered ones — soy, corn, canola, and cottonseed), look for organic or non-GMO project-certified brands.

Less Is More When It Comes to Oil

While many seed oils are highly processed and found in unhealthy processed foods, they are not inherently harmful in all contexts. Some provide beneficial polyunsaturated fats, particularly when omega-6s are balanced with omega-3s. However, the refining process and excessive consumption of omega-6s in modern diets raise legitimate questions about their long-term health effects. And there’s nothing healthy about deep-fried foods, no matter what fat source they’re fried in.

Beef tallow and other animal-based fats promoted as a “natural” alternative have their own serious health and ethical concerns.

Ultimately, the healthiest approach may be minimizing added oils — whether from plants or animals — and focusing on whole food sources of fat like nuts, seeds, and avocados. Cooking with less oil is a simple, sustainable way to sidestep the debate while supporting long-term health.

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you cook with seed oils?
• Now that you’ve seen the pros and cons of seed oils, how do you feel about them?

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• Fresh Herbs: How To Store, Use, and Enjoy Them Without Waste

Featured Image: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen

The post Are Seed Oils Healthy or Harmful? What the Hype — and the Science — Really Say appeared first on Food Revolution Network.

The recent popularity of food bars has been fueled partly by a growing wellness trend among many consumers looking for healthier snack choices.

If I were the kind of writer who’d make a pun for cheap laughs, I might say that they’re trying to “raise the bar.”

(Don’t worry — that’s my last “bar” joke. Bar none. That bar is closed. I’ve barred the door.)

The thing is, though, not all snack bars are created equal. Some offer genuine nutritional benefits (including boosting energy, increasing protein intake, or delivering specific nutrients), while others are little more than glorified candy bars.

Clever marketing can fool most consumers into thinking that highly processed food bars loaded with added sugar, saturated fat, and artificial ingredients are health foods.

The question becomes, how can you tell what’s good for you, and what’s not?

In this article, we’ll explore various types of snack food bars, identify the ingredients to look for and avoid, and expose common pitfalls.

Plus, we’ll show you how to make your own nutritious snack bars at home. Not only will you enjoy a healthier, more affordable alternative without any unwanted additives, but you’ll also save a bunch of money — maybe enough to buy a gold bar!

What Are Snack Bars?

Snack bars are convenient, portable bar-shaped foods that provide supplemental nutrition between meals. Most store-bought bars are processed, although some may be considered minimally processed if there are only a few whole food ingredients.

There are many different types of snack food bars:

• Protein Bars: Higher in protein, these bars support muscle recovery and promote satiety. They typically source the protein from powders made of plant or animal sources.
• Energy Bars: Designed for quick energy boosts and replenishment, often used by athletes and hikers. They sometimes contain stimulants like caffeine, yerba maté, or green tea, as well as nootropics (“brain boosters”) like L-theanine and maca root.
• Meal Replacement Bars: More calorie-dense and nutrient-rich, these bars are formulated to substitute for a small meal.
• Weight Loss Bars: These are generally lower in calories than other types, and may contain appetite suppressants.
• Nutrition Bars: Convenient, portable, bar-shaped snack foods that provide additional nutrition outside of meals. They may include nutrient-dense “superfoods” such as acai, chia, or spirulina.

Many of these snack food bars target specific markets or diets, including vegan, vegetarian, Paleo, keto, organic, gluten-free, and raw.

Snack bars can also vary widely in nutritional quality. The best of them can offer meaningful health benefits and might earn a place in a high-quality, whole foods diet.

The Benefits of a Well-Made Nutrition Bar

The big benefit of nutritionally sound bars is convenience. They’re designed to be “grab and go,” meaning they’re individually packaged, portable, relatively non-perishable, and preparation-free.

They can be helpful when you need a quick and easy meal or snack, don’t have the time, resources, or energy to whip up a “real” meal, and don’t want to spend time or money at a restaurant or supermarket hot bar.

Because they tend to be low in water, snack bars pack a lot of calories per weight and volume, making them convenient for backpacks, purses, pocketbooks, briefcases, fanny packs, shoulder bags, and however else people are schlepping their stuff around these days. They can also be great to have on hikes or other outings.

Truly nutritious food bars can also assist with satiety, filling you up with relatively good stuff so you don’t reach for junk food made up of empty calories. They can also provide a physiological and psychological energy boost to pick you up when your body begs for a nap, but your schedule demands total focus (or at least verticality).

Food bars can help you sustain energy throughout your day by balancing macronutrients: healthy fats, protein, carbohydrates, and fiber. They can also be useful as a pre-exercise “fill’er up” or post-workout nutrient replenishment so your muscles have the raw ingredients to rebuild after you’ve torn them down.

The healthiest bars feature nutrient-dense whole food ingredients to provide balanced nutrition that your body recognizes as food. Nuts, seeds, and dried fruits provide macronutrients, as well as micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Some, like protein bars and diet-specific bars, are formulated to meet specific nutritional needs, too.

How to Tell if a Food Bar Is Healthy

Given the vast difference in how healthy different snack bars are, it’s important to become bar literate so you can pass the “healthy bar exam.” (Please, stop me before I pun again!)

The main elements of healthy food bars are whole food ingredients. Since ingredient labels list items in weight order from most to least, pay special attention to the first few ingredients on the list. Look for things like nuts, seeds, dried fruit (which isn’t a 100% whole food since the water’s gone, but pretty close), rolled oats, puffed quinoa, and so on.

If they’re sweetened, look for natural sweeteners such as dried fruit, dates, maple syrup, or honey. Dates are often ideal because they are a whole food high in fiber and provide natural sweetness.

You may also want to check for quality assurance seals, such as Certified Organic or Non-GMO Project, for cleaner ingredients.

One thing not to pay attention to is marketing language describing how great the product is. For example, “natural,” “all-natural,” and “wholesome” have no actual meaning, and may be attempts at either “health-washing” or “green-washing” the food item.

Finally, focus less on terms that say what isn’t in the food (sugar-free, fat-free, gluten-free, pun-free, etc.) and more on what is in them.

(If you want tips for reading labels and understanding what they mean, check out our guide: How to Read Food Labels: Your Complete Consumer Guide.)

What ingredients might you want to avoid in snack bars? Here are a few red flags to watch out for:

• Added sugars and artificial sweeteners
• Preservatives and unnecessary additives, flavorings, and colorings
• Processed protein isolates
• Eggs, dairy, and other animal-derived ingredients

The Healthiest Snack Bar Is Homemade

Why are homemade bars the best? Because you have complete control over the ingredients you include, you can set your own quality standards. That means whole ingredients, no preservatives or highly processed foods, and low sugar content.

Also, homemade bars can be much more affordable than store-bought options with similar ingredients. And although buying is more convenient than making your own, you can stack the deck in your favor by making bars in bulk and freezing what you don’t use right away.

Finally, you can customize your bars to fit your dietary and flavor preferences. If a blueberry-chocolate-peanut-butter-soursop-jalapeño-oat bar is your thing, no one’s gonna stop you!

There’s a simple formula for making your own food bars: 

1. Base: nuts, seeds, dried fruit, oats, puffed quinoa, etc.
2. Binders: dates and date paste, nut butter, maple syrup (discover the best sweeteners here)
3. Flavorings: vanilla, salt, spices
4. Add-ins: cacao nibs, protein powder, greens and green powders, coconut flakes, etc.

Homemade Nutrition Bar Recipes

Homemade nutritional snack bars are a simple, satisfying way to enjoy snacks that are as nourishing as they are convenient. Unlike many store-bought options, these DIY bars are made with wholesome ingredients that offer a balanced blend of plant-based protein, fiber, and healthy fats — all without the excess sugar or preservatives.

Whether you’re looking for an energizing pre-workout bite or a midday pick-me-up, these food bar recipes make it easy to stay fueled with real food you can feel good about.

1. Morning Energy Breakfast Bars

There is no shortage of get-up-and-go power with these nutty Morning Energy Breakfast Bars. This wholesome blend of almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and sesame seeds provides the ideal amount of supercharged nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, protein, omega-3s, and some seriously satisfying crunch. Kissed with just the right sweetness, these homemade treats are the perfect breakfast or snack. Make them ahead of time so they’re ready to go for busy days!

2. No-Bake Nut and Seed Bars

These No-Bake Nut and Seed Bars are a perfect example of how easy it can be to make healthy, homemade snacks that are both nourishing and convenient. Naturally sweetened and made with fiber-rich, heart-healthy ingredients, they offer lasting energy without the additives found in many store-bought options. With no baking required, they come together in minutes and make a simple, satisfying snack you can feel good about all week long.

3. Apricot Cashew Butter Energy Bars

These Apricot Cashew Butter Energy Bars have a soft, almost cookie-like texture and a naturally fruity punch. Blending pantry staples is a great option when you want something nourishing but a little more out-of-the-box than your average bar. The sweet-tart apricot pairs beautifully with the creamy cashew butter for a snack that feels both indulgent and energizing — perfect for when you need a little lift.

4. Crispy Quinoa and Goji Berry Bars

Crispy, lightly sweet, and packed with texture, these Quinoa Goji Berry Bars are a standout option for homemade snacking. Made with nutrient-dense ingredients like quinoa puffs, hemp seeds, and goji berries, they deliver a satisfying crunch and a hint of natural sweetness. Ideal for batch prep, these bars strike a thoughtful balance between function and flavor — perfect for powering through the day without relying on store-bought options.

5. Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bars

These Pumpkin Pecan Granola Bars are a no-bake snack that feels like a slice of autumn — cozy, spiced, and naturally sweet. The combination of pumpkin, dates, and warm spices makes them comforting, while pecans and hemp seeds add crunch and staying power. They’re easy to prep and perfect for fall-inspired snacking anytime. Want a sturdier texture? Pop them in the dehydrator for a firmer, travel-friendly bar.

How To Store Snack Food Bars

Because one of the main reasons to buy or make snack bars is to have them handy before you’re too hungry to make good decisions, you’ll want to know how to store them so they’re fresh and yummy when it’s time to take a bite.

Store homemade bars in an airtight container in your fridge (for up to 2 weeks) or freezer (up to 3 months). I recommend glass containers so you can see how many you have left and start preparing the next batch before you run out.

Most store-bought bars are shelf-stable. By law, they must have an expiration date, but depending on the brand and ingredients, they might last well past that date. On the other hand, if you’ve waited three years to unwrap it, maybe it was never destined to be a part of your routine, and you should find one you like better.

Some store-bought snack bars need to be refrigerated for optimal taste and texture, so be sure to read the label. If the bar is refrigerated at the store, it probably wants to receive the same treatment at home.

Choose Your Food Bars Wisely

As the demand for on-the-go, nutritious snacks grows, so does the variety of options available. But while some nutrition bars provide genuine health benefits, others are loaded with added sugars, artificial ingredients, and misleading health claims. Understanding how to read ingredient labels and identify truly nutritious bars is key to making the healthiest choice.

The best nutrition bars are those made with whole-food ingredients. And while there are some great store-bought options, making your snack and protein bars at home is often the healthiest, most affordable, and customizable alternative.

Tell us in the comments:

• Do you have a favorite food bar?
• Have you ever made your own healthy snack bar?

Featured image: istock.com/jenifoto

Read Next:

The post The Healthiest Snack Bars: What to Look for and How to Make Your Own appeared first on Food Revolution Network.