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The research: Eighty men and women recorded their weight every morning before breakfast for nearly a year. When researchers examined the numbers, they identified a distinct trend for weight gain on weekends and weight loss during the weeks. However, they found that what sets people who ultimately lose weight throughout the year apart from those who gain is that losers shed more pounds during the weekdays. They’re also more likely to adhere to this pattern than those who gain—losers hit their lowest weight around Friday 74% of the time....

We’re here to save you from awfulness: We made it our mission to find out once and for all the best-tasting brands of stevia that come as close as possible to real sugar. Here are our top five favorites: MORE: Ranked: Nine Most Popular Natural Sweeteners 5. Stevia in the Raw Zero-Calorie SweetenerBest for: If you like your coffee a bit on the saccharine side, try this brand. It’s got a powerful kick of sweetness thanks to a blend of stevia extract with dextrose, a corn-derived sugar....

“Most consumers buy clear juices because they think they’re purer,” says lead author Jan Oszmianski, PhD. “But the filtering process actually strips juice of the antioxidant-rich compounds.” You can find unfiltered varieties such as R.W. Knudsen Natural Apple and Nantucket Nectars Organic Cloudy Apple at most supermarkets. How Much Sugar Is in Your Juice?

Why are you still sweating over roasted veggies?! Tell your oven it has the rest of the summer off—it’s time to get your cold soup on. This easy recipe utilizes super cheap (and super healthy) frozen peas and clocks in at a cool 170 calories per serving. MORE: 8 Insanely Tasty Ways to Lose Weight with Mashed Peas Serves 4 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil1 yellow onion, finely chopped1 pkg (16 oz) frozen peas, thawed½ c packed fresh basil¼ tsp sea salt½ c unsweetened almond milk + 1 to 2 Tbsp for finishing1½ c low-sodium vegetable brothFresh mint or basil, plain Greek yogurt, and slivered almonds for garnish (optional)...

“There is a desire among Americans to search for some sort of magic bullet that’s going to solve a lot of their health problems,” says Glenn Gaesser, PhD, the study’s author and the director of the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at Arizona State University. “But we couldn’t find a single study published that supports a weight loss claim for a gluten-free diet.” (Looking for weight loss tips that actually work?...

As a fitness editor, I’m lucky enough get to check out all kinds of awesome fitness gear, whether it’s lacing up cool new running shoes or taking high-tech fitness trackers for a test drive. I’ve seen a lot of amazing gadgets and gizmos over the years, but if I had to pick just one tool for my at-home workouts (other than my yoga mat) it would be the mini exercise ball....

At least, that’s the conclusion made by a recent study published in Food Chemistry that found that the antioxidant content of deep-fried potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, and eggplant was significantly higher than sautéed or boiled veggies. It’s no secret among nutritionists that adding a fat source to vegetables—e.g., roasting them with olive oil or using full-fat salad dressing over the fat-free stuff—boosts absorption of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K....

In the study, done by researchers at Tulane, 150 obese men and women followed either a low-carb or low-fat diet, with no calorie restrictions. A year later, the low-carb group—which drastically cut its intake of digestible carbs (e.g., white bread, white rice, white potatoes) and upped its intake of fats, even the saturated kind—lost more weight and body fat and had more improved heart health than the low-fat group. We hate to be a buzzkill, but this new finding still does not justify all those “butter is back” headlines from a couple months ago....

Which is why it’s smart to talk turkey before you plop that 20-pounder in your shopping cart or drop half your paycheck on a heritage bird, says Ashley Koff, RD, a dietitian in Washington, DC. “From free-range and antibiotic-free to organic and non-GMO, all of the buzz words on turkey labels can be very confusing,” says Koff, who decodes them here: Free-range (or “free-roaming”): This means turkey producers must demonstrate to the USDA that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside....

In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, researchers followed 420 overweight and obese women over a 20-week span. Study participants were divided into two groups: Half of participants ate their midday meal (the largest of the day, comprising around 40% of total calories) before 3 o’clock in the afternoon, while the other half scarfed it down later on. Those in the second group lost 25% less weight, and experienced a slower rate of weight loss, compared to individuals dining earlier in the day....

Though farm shares have been around for decades, they’ve dramatically increased in number and popularity the last few years, and it’s no wonder: CSAs are a convenient way to eat delicious local, and often organic, food without going broke. There are now more than 3,000 of them listed on Localhavest.org, the largest CSA search portal online. And just last week, the environmental nonprofit Land Stewardship Project launched its own primer on finding—and making the most of—a farm share membership....

“Technology has become the center of our social world, compelling us to always keep checking in to see what we’re missing,” says Larry Rosen, PhD, author of iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession with Technology and Overcoming Its Hold on Us. This leads to the overuse of technology and what Dr. Rosen calls an “iDisorder,” where, according to his research, frequent users show signs of everything from obsessive compulsive disorder to attention deficit disorder....

Cure it with coffeeIs there anything that coffee can’t do? According to research presented at the 7th World Congress on Prevention of Diabetes and its Complications, drinking 3 to 4 cups of joe daily can curb your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And that’s not the only benefit to sipping some java: We’ve rounded up a few more for you to enjoy with your Saturday morning brew. Looking for a new job?...

Drink your coffee Your morning latte does more than wake up your brain—it can also perk up your bowels. “Caffeine is a stimulant, which means it can stimulate muscle activity in your colon,” says Chang. One study published in the European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology found that coffee is 60% stronger than water when it comes to triggering movement through the colon. There’s no research pinpointing the optimal amount of coffee to produce a poop, but Chang says one cup should do the trick....

What you’re worried about: contracting some bowel-razing strain of Salmonella, E. coli, or another illness-causing bug (that all lead to food recalls.). After all, you’ve been trampling on that floor in the same shoes you’ve worn…well, you don’t even want to think about all the subway stairs, city streets, or dirty fields they’ve crossed. flas100/shutterstock The very worst that could happen: Germaphobes, you’re allowed to say I told you so....

MORE: The Seven Best Fast-Food Chains for Real Food We get it. Because the truth is, the only healthy and sustainable way to lose weight is not some big secret, but something nutritionists and doctors who don’t hock diet plans have known for years: Eat clean. What is clean eating? In a nutshell, it means eating mostly real foods in their whole, unprocessed, or fresh form—think whole vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, seafood, plain dairy, and whole grains....

Two new reports in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine finds that the necessity of annual screenings really depends on who you are. If you’re at high risk for breast cancer (more on that in a bit), then starting annual mammograms at age 40 is a good call. If you’re not, then less frequent screenings may be your best bet. What’s the risk of too much screening, anyway? Experts say that for women under 50, annual mammograms can result in too many false-positive test results....

But do they? A new investigation published today in JAMA found that the FDA may be facing some serious impediments to food safety. The research team studied issues surrounding the agency’s GRAS program, short for “generally recognized as safe.” The GRAS approval process began in 1958 as a way for everyday foods, like vinegar, salt, and oil, to bypass FDA review and get on the market faster. But over the years, food additives latched onto the GRAS exemption route—an unintended consequence that’s resulted in an onslaught of unapproved chemicals in our food....