Nutrition

The cabbage soup diet of the 1950s allowed the indulgence in as much cabbage soup as one could consume.

The Seesawing History of Fad Diets

Since dieting began in the 1830s, the ever-changing nutritional advice has skimped on science

Manual breast pump with black bulb, dating to sometime between 1920 and 1959

The Sucky History of the Breast Pump

Efficient, double electric pumps are only 30 years young, but contraptions for expressing breast milk have been around for millennia

The female pandanus plant of the Asia Pacific region produces a vitamin- and potassium-rich pineapple-like fruit.

Good News

Eight Superfoods That Could Future-Proof Our Diet

These climate-resilient crops could find more prominent placement on our plates in the next few decades

Bronze and Iron Age miners' poop contained Penicillium roqueforti, which is still used to make blue cheese today.

Cool Finds

Europeans Enjoyed Blue Cheese and Beer 2,700 Years Ago, Study Suggests

Ancient poop from salt mines in the Alps contained the same fungi used in brewing and cheesemaking today

Western lowland gorilla Moke eating a snack

Smithsonian Voices

The Science Behind the Snacks Animals Eat

Meals to please the palates of giant pandas, flamingos and fishing cats

New research suggests the intrepid adventurer's persistent health problems stemmed from beriberi, a disease linked to vitamin B-1 deficiency.

What Mysterious Illness Plagued Polar Explorer Ernest Shackleton?

The Antarctic adventurer was initially diagnosed with scurvy, but new research suggests he actually suffered from beriberi

A close-up of fossilized plaque on an ancient human tooth.

New Research

Neanderthals Ate Carb-Heavy Diets, Potentially Fueling Brain Growth

Study finds evidence that ancient humans and their Neanderthal cousins ate lots of starchy, carbohydrate-rich foods

Researchers in France are testing which fish eggs are best suited to being launched to the moon. So far, European seabass are among the leaders.

Could Astronauts Rear Fish on the Moon?

Researchers in France aim to boldly farm fish where no one has farmed fish before

The Smithsonian Science Education Center recently launched "Pick Your Plate! Guía Global de Nutrición!"

Smithsonian Voices

Travel Around the World With a New Smithsonian Global Guide to Nutrition

Students are invited to virtually travel and eat their way across the world

An individual who opts for chicken over beef every day for a year could lower their emissions by roughly the same amount released by driving a car for 3,700 miles

Choose Chicken Over Beef to Dramatically Cut Carbon Footprint, Study Shows

By swapping beef for a poultry-based product just once a day, an individual can reduce their dietary carbon footprint by around 48 percent

New Research

Eating Your Veggies Is a Better Way to Get Your Vitamins Than Taking Supplements, Study Shows

Vitamins in some supplements were actually harmful at high doses, while exceeding the daily nutritional limit in food didn't show the same risk

Giusti founded Brigaid to bring professional chefs into public school cafeterias to create made-from-scratch menus.

This Former Noma Chef Is Revamping the School Cafeteria

Dan Giusti used to serve $500 lunches. Now he's working to deliver meals on a kid's budget.

Of 82 percent of American respondents who said they would be willing to try insects, 43 percent ate sushi on a regular basis

Your Opinion of Sushi Is a Good Predictor of How Willing You Are to Eat Insects

Individuals who frequently dine on sushi are more likely to try insects than their raw fish-rejecting counterparts

Trending Today

Syndemic: The Little-Known Buzzword That Describes Our Troubled Times

A new report argues that the epidemics of obesity, undernutrition and climate change should be treated as one global mega-problem

Pottery shards from Pulau Ay site

Ancient Precursor to Pumpkin Spice Latte? Archaeologists Uncover Earliest Human Use of Nutmeg

Shards of ancient ceramics on Pulau Ay reveal nutmeg's early history

These deficiencies are just the starting point for much bigger problems.

New Research

Climate Change Could Lead to Nutrient Deficiency for Hundreds of Millions

Carbon dioxide decreases zinc, iron and protein in food crops, which could add millions of people to the billions who don't get enough nutrition

If you stick to a diet of kale, brussels sprouts and similarly leafy greens, your salivary proteins will eventually adapt to their bitter taste

There’s a Scientific Explanation for Why Adults Are More Likely to Tolerate Leafy Greens

Just eat your veggies: Salivary proteins adapt to bitter tastes, making them more palatable over time

A UNICEF staff member measures the perimeter of an acute malnourished child's arm in Doolow, Somalia.

Can AI Tell if a Child Is Malnourished?

A new program may be able to spot malnutrition in a simple photo, making it easier to assess nutrition problems in volatile regions

An apricot seed and the kernels found within them

Man Poisons Himself by Taking Apricot Kernels to Treat Cancer

Many believe these seeds can fight cancer, but there's no scientific evidence to back up the claim

The company fills pills with 15 different supplements, each in amounts from 0 to 100 percent recommended daily allowance.

Smart Startup

What If You Could Take a Vitamin 3D Printed to Meet Your Personal Nutrition Needs?

Fred Parietti, CEO and cofounder of Multiply Labs, wants personalized nutritional supplements to start a whole new movement

loading icon