A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB), published by Elsevier, examined how the cost of the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which serves as the basis for determining maximum SNAP benefits, varied across geographic regions, metropolitan areas, and seasons from 2012 to 2018. Researchers found that where a household is located plays a much larger role in the cost of a healthy diet than year-to-year inflation.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is proud to welcome six new registered dietitian nutritionists to the program of trained media experts who help translate nutrition science into clear, consumer-friendly information, including Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Dr. Jacob Mey. Dr. Mey is the first spokesperson from Pennington Biomedical and the only current Academy Spokesperson based in Louisiana.

A newly published peer-reviewed paper in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition synthesizes findings from a February 2025 scientific workshop.¹* The paper, authored by more than 20 international protein researchers, critically examines 11 widely held propositions about dietary protein needs and benefits and concludes that in some instances, the science is simply insufficient or not robust enough to interpret as support for select propositions.  

Magnesium is essential for both plant growth and human nutrition, yet how rice grains accumulate this mineral has remained unclear. A new study identifies OsMGR2 as a magnesium transporter required for moving magnesium into rice grains. Rice plants lacking this transporter produced smaller, shriveled grains with reduced magnesium content and poorer eating quality. The findings reveal how magnesium distribution affects grain development and could help support future breeding strategies for nutritionally improved rice varieties.

A seven-year collaborative study has revealed alarming fluctuations in the health of Hawaiʻi’s endangered insular false killer whales, with some individuals losing nearly a quarter of their body weight in just a few months. Published today in Endangered Species Research, the findings provide the first quantitative evidence that nutritional stress and environmental shifts may be driving the decline of this iconic population, which now numbers fewer than 140 individuals.