A team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found a possible mechanism explaining why use of the sugar substitute aspartame might not promote weight loss.

"With this discovery, we can start to look at whether we can use diet or pharmaceutical means to change the cellular make-up of the gut in order to treat a host of disorders."

Repeatedly losing and regaining weight, known as weight cycling or yo-yo dieting, may increase the risk of death from heart disease among postmenopausal women.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have demonstrated that the diets of organisms can affect the DNA sequences of their genes.

From calorie restriction and celebrity diets to carb-cutting and high-protein diets, which nutrition plans actually work? 

Taekwondo or rollerblading, anyone?

Some studies have argued that a meat-free diet will increase longevity, but the answer is more complex. 

"Here we have the intriguing prospect of a beneficial pharmacological switch."