Consumers look to health professionals for sound advice about a myriad of nutrition and health issues, including the safety of food ingredients. In particular, some consumers might have questions about aspartame, a low-calorie sweetener that Internet rumors link to formaldehyde toxicity, cancer and other serious health problems.

Reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes is important to the long-term health of a growing number of people in developed countries around the world. Although there are well-known risk factors for these diseases, doctors have also noted a clustering of several of these factors, higher than would normally be expected, in some individuals.

The steep rise in obesity around the world has triggered myriad theories about what factors are contributing to this complex issue. One theory suggests this trend is linked to increased consumption of "liquid calories" from sugar-sweetened beverages such as soft drinks, which some have speculated don't satisfy the appetite as well as calories from solid foods.

Proper hydration is vital for your health and well-being. But, how do you know how much to drink each day? Or, what actually "counts" towards meeting hydration needs? To answer these questions and to better understand how advances in hydration science can benefit people at every age and stage of life, The Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness (BIHW) talked with noted hydration expert Ann Grandjean, EdD, FACSM, CNS.

Most health professionals know vitamin D for its critical role in increasing the efficiency of dietary calcium absorption and preventing rickets in children. In the past decade, emerging research has also uncovered other important relationships between vitamin D and bone health as well as new information indicating it could potentially play a significant role in strengthening the body's defenses against chronic and autoimmune diseases and in controlling the growth of cells (both normal and cancerous).

If you regularly enjoy a few daily cups of caffeinated coffee, tea or soft drinks, you may be relieved to learn that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has recently concluded that caffeinated beverages can contribute to your daily water needs. However, you may also wonder how this can be true, since like many people, you have probably always heard that caffeinated beverages don't "count" toward water needs.

Because epidemiological studies receive a good deal of media attention, consumers might ask health professionals about health risks associ­ated with drinking soft drinks. To help you address these questions, the Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness (BIHW) of the Coca-Cola Company asked leading obesity and nutrition experts Rebecca S. Reeves, DrPH, RD and Barry L. Zoumas, PhD to review the study and share their insights.

The US National Osteoporosis Foundation predicts that by 2010, about 12 million people over the age of 50 will have osteoporosis and another 40 million will have low bone mass. These numbers are expected to continue climbing.1 What's causing this public health crisis?