Diets

A balanced diet is the key to maintaining a healthy body, in the UK, it is recommended that we eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day balanced with carbs, diary or diary alternatives, beans, pulses and protein. Diets vary from country to country and the Mediterranean diet is famous for its health benefits. With weight problems becoming an increasing concern in many countries, diets such as the Atkins diet, veganism and the 5:2 diet have taken the world by storm.

Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a section through healthy skin from the breast.

Here's the only science-backed way to lose belly fat

There’s a lot of advice about exactly what you should do to shift that spare tyre around your waist. Does any of it add up?

Photo of a bowl full of granola, fruit and porridge.

The diet change everyone should make to lower their cholesterol

We all know fibre helps digestion. But doctors now say it could be just as powerful for managing your cholesterol levels and heart health

A spread of different healthy breakfast foods on a blue wooden table. Taken from a birds-eye view

This is the best breakfast for fat loss, according to nutritionists

A light bite? A full plate? Or nothing at all? After years of mixed messages, new research may finally reveal the best morning meals for fat loss

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Clock alarm on the plate with cutlery on yellow background

Why fasting is a surefire way to lose weight (and keep it off)

Why restricting the hours you're allowed to eat could actually supercharge fat loss.

A selection of breakfast cereals on a messy table with milk

Are breakfast cereals actually healthy?

While some breakfast cereals deliver little more than sugar, others can be a vital source of vitamins and minerals

Image depicting blood sugar

We've been thinking about blood sugar all wrong. Here's why

These are the five biggest blood sugar myths, debunked by nutrition experts

Alarm clock, measuring tape and cutlery on yellow background, flat lay

Eating less protein could help you live longer. Here's how

From fasting to low-protein diets, the evolving science of dietary restriction might just offer the key to slowing ageing

Vitamin pills.

Taking common vitamin D supplement may actually lower your levels of vitamin D3

Yes, you read that right

Cuts of raw meat and fish lined up on a slate serving platter.

Most of us are overeating protein... and it’s driving up fat levels

We're likely over-consuming the world's most profitable nutrient – and it’s wrecking our waistlines.

Close-up Portrait of Tribe Leader Wearing Animal Skin Eating in a Dark Scary Cave at Night

No, our ancestors weren't carnivores. Here's what they really ate and why it matters

Our hunter-gatherer forebears weren’t the carnivorous cavemen we once thought

Photo of a bowl of granola with milk being poured into it from above off camera

Here's the single best way to reduce your cholesterol without statins

You don't need medication to improve cholesterol levels. A few simple dietary tweaks can make a serious difference

A pair of feet standing on weighing scales

How to overcome the biggest barrier to weight loss

Research suggests your fat cells have a memory, hence any weight you lose always seems to find its way back to your body

donut locked with a chain and padlock

This article is scientifically proven to improve your willpower

Scientists are discovering there are some mind tricks that can take your powers of self-control to the next level…

Close up of overweight man's hand holding his belly over gray background.

Here's the biggest factor controlling where your body gains fat

Whether it's bums and tums or your arms and hips, flab can gather in all sorts of places. Here’s what controls body fat distribution and how to change it.

Blood vessel filled with red blood cells and yellow bits of cholesterol.

Eating this breakfast staple every day could lower your cholesterol

This new study is no yolk

Aerial view of hands with knife cutting celery on wooden cut board

Are negative-calorie foods real?

Often touted as having zero, or even 'negative-calories', celery does indeed contain calories so it isn't a magical weight-loss food.

Healthy and unhealthy food inside hour glass.

The anti-ageing diet: 6 science-backed changes to protect your skin, body and brain from getting older

New research is revealing the links between what you eat and how you age… And the foods that might help you slow the ageing process down.

A high-fibre vegetarian salad bowl with avocado, pumpkin, lentils and pomegranate.

What are the best and worst foods to eat on Ozempic?

Semaglutide drugs like Ozempic work by mimicking a fullness hormone, but what you eat can help or hinder its effects

A woman touches her faces with her hands.

Can you avoid getting 'Ozempic face'?

What you can do to soften the visible effects of rapid change

Photo of someone in a pair of yellow socks standing on a blue set of scales.

The hidden rules of appetite that are ruining your weight loss plans

Obesity is on the rise, but as we blame our unhealthy food-ridden environment and look to wonder drugs to get rid of unwanted fat, what role do our genetics play?

Illustration of a person pouring beer into a glass from their stomach.

Could I brew alcohol in my body?

It's possible to brew alcohol in your gut if you have auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), which can make you appear drunk without having a drink.

Couple look at a plate of meat with disgust

Vegetarians react to eating meat like they would to eating poop, study suggests

Thanks, science

3D illustration of Blood cell and Blood vessels with Cholesterol.

Here's what actually causes high cholesterol (and how to cut it)

Despite its reputation as the main villain against heart health, cholesterol is still widely misunderstood

A variety of fruit and vegetables on a pink background.

Even protein-rich vegan diets may fall short on key nutrients, study suggests

A bold new study has found that you could be getting enough protein – but not enough amino acids