Nutrition News

3 Tips for Supporting Your Child's Immunity During Flu Season

When your family is cooped up inside, keeping your kids healthy and happy can seem like a challenge. Factor in the constraints of a pandemic, and life can seem even more complicated. That's where a trusted health and well-being strategy comes in. An immune- supporting plan can help keep your family strong and safe (and sane) throughout this year's flu season.

Ask the Expert: Which Foods Support Immunity?

In this series, our experts answer nutrition questions to help you nourish your best life at every age. To submit a question for consideration*, email us. 

Dedication & Resilience: 2020 is The Year of the Parent

2020 is the year of the working parent.  In many ways, the impact of COVID-19 forced parents into a new reality. Juggling children, working from home, trying to find childcare and ensuring e-learning has challenged families like never before. And while a global pandemic has pushed working parents' challenges to new heights, something else has bubbled up. Support. Parents are supporting each other. Communities are supporting parents.  Businesses are supporting parents. Companies have had to lean into flexibility in order to support parents more than ever before. National Working Parent’s Day This year, Abbott, makers of Similac, support working parents on this day because we know that the demands on them have been extraordinary, and still they’ve persevered and triumphed under very challenging environmental factors and nearly impossible everyday circumstances. Similac created the Promises Project to develop supportive communities that share positivity and help parents stay connected, which is more important than ever. The program communicates common struggles parents take on daily – whether juggling childcare, working from home and homeschooling, or simply feeling judged for decisions we make as parents – the Promises Project reminds all parents to encourage and lift each other up.

How to Promote Better Nutrition for Kids at Snacktime

Snacking gets a bad name, but maybe it shouldn't. Research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics shows that balanced snacks can provide important nutrition for kids and deliver essential vitamins, minerals and protein to support their rapid growth and development. The trouble is, not all snacks are created equal, nutritionally speaking. Some snacks for kids are packed with key nutrients, whereas, others are filled with salt, saturated fat and empty calories or don’t contain a balance of nutrients because they are mostly fat or carbohydrate. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children consume three meals and two snacks per day.  If you're wondering which snacks are best for your children, this guide can help.

How to Support Your Immune System Through Nutrition

These days, immune health is at the forefront of everyone's minds. While there are many components to immune health nutrition plays a key role. In fact, a recent review in the European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety found that a variety of vitamins and minerals play an important role in supporting immune health. Furthermore, the study also suggested that deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals can lead to a weakened immune system and greater susceptibility to infection. Thankfully, these nutrients are abundant in everyday foods. You can effectively support your immune system by eating a balanced diet that includes protein, iron  and antioxidants and other key vitamins and minerals. 

Keto-Friendly Recipes for the Holidays: Dishes and Strategies to Try This Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving around the corner, many people are starting to plan their menus and recipes for the holidays. But for anyone following the ketogenic diet, navigating the carb-rich spread of mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie can be tricky. Fortunately, you don't have to let one day derail your diet plans. Instead, you can use these tips and tricks to plan a Thanksgiving menu that has keto-friendly options. Here's what to know. What Is the Ketogenic Diet? A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb style of eating. Those on a keto diet typically consume around 75 percent of their calories from fat, 20 percent of their calories from protein and 5 percent of their calories from carbohydrates. When the body is deprived of carbs, it starts to break down fat molecules, and rely on ketones to help fuel  bodily functions. This is referred to as a state of "ketosis," hence the name "keto." The research on this style of eating is relatively limited but growing and a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that obese men following a short-term keto diet lost weight and felt less hungry compared to other dietary interventions.

How Targeted Nutrition Gives Airmen a Mental, Physical Edge

Nutrition has long been linked to better performance, whether it's propelling athletes toward big victories or helping students ace important tests. But more recently, experts have begun to wonder whether certain nutrients could impact performance in specific ways. As part of an ongoing collaboration between Abbott, the University of Illinois, and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, a new study set out to answer this question by examining nutrition's impact on the performance of men and women in the U.S. Air About the Study Researchers divided 148 men and women of the U.S. Air Force into two groups. For 12 weeks, one group did a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) routine, while the other performed the same exercise regimen while adding a targeted nutrition supplement to their diets. The group that combined exercise with this twice-a-day supplement saw better improvements in key mental and physical performance areas, including problem-solving and reaction time than the group that relied on exercise alone. Over and above the impact of HIIT, the group consuming the high-protein nutritional drink containing lutein, omega-3 fatty acid DHA, phospholipids and Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (HMB) displayed.

Abbott Scientists Rachael Buck and Ricardo Rueda-Cabrera Inducted into AIMBE's 2020 College of Fellows

Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence.” Two of Abbott’s top medical nutrition researchers have spent their careers questioning, and because of that innate curiosity, they have made major contributions to their field –creating widespread impact on the scientific community and in the field of medical nutrition.