Eggs have long been a breakfast staple, and for good reason. They're a nutritional powerhouse, packed with high-quality protein, essential vitamins, and minerals. According to the Food and Drug Association of US, each large egg contains about 6 grams of protein, making it a great way to start your day. But why limit yourself to eggs alone? Let's introduce a protein-rich partner: hummus.

Hummus is a creamy dip made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic, is not only delicious but also a fantastic source of plant-based protein. While the exact protein content can vary, a quarter-cup serving of hummus can provide around 4 grams of protein. By combining eggs and hummus, you create a dynamic duo that offers a complete package of nutrients.

What Are Some Benefits Of A Protein-rich Breakfast?

A protein-rich breakfast can set the tone for a healthy day. When you start your morning with a good dose of protein, you're not only fueling your body but also influencing various aspects of your health. Nutr Rev study 2024 protein aimed to understand how the amount of protein we eat at breakfast affects our muscle mass and strength. After carefully reviewing thousands of articles, we selected 15 studies for a deeper analysis.

Their findings suggest that eating a high-protein breakfast may help increase muscle mass, especially for older adults. However, the impact on muscle strength is less clear. More research is needed to confirm these findings and to determine the optimal amount of protein for breakfast. In conclusion, while a protein-rich breakfast shows promise for maintaining muscle health, more high-quality studies are necessary to provide definitive answers. Here are some ways it can benefit you.

Muscle Health

Protein is the building block of muscles. Consuming protein early in the day can help stimulate muscle protein synthesis, especially important for older adults and individuals engaged in strength training.

Appetite Control

Protein helps you feel fuller for longer. By including protein in your breakfast, you can reduce cravings and overeating throughout the day.

Improved Focus

Protein-rich foods can help stabilize blood sugar levels. This can lead to improved focus, concentration, and overall cognitive function.

Weight Management

A protein-packed breakfast can help you maintain a healthy weight. Studies have shown that people who eat protein-rich breakfasts tend to consume fewer calories throughout the day.

Mediterranean-Inspired Breakfast Ideas

The Mediterranean-inspired breakfast as well as the entire cuisine has been noted to be very nutritious and good for your health. It is a delicious and nutritious way to start your day. By combining the best of Mediterranean cuisine with a protein-packed twist, you can create meals that are both satisfying and healthy. According to Cleveland Clinic Mediterranean Diet is a healthy eating pattern that focuses on plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It also includes healthy fats, primarily from olive oil. This diet has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease and other chronic health conditions. A registered dietitian can help you tailor this diet to your specific needs and preferences. Here are some dishes you can try

Hummus and Veggie Dip

Cut up fresh vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Serve them with a side of creamy hummus. This combination provides a good dose of protein, fiber, and essential vitamins.

Hummus-Filled Omelet

Enjoy your classic omelet by adding a scoop of hummus to the egg mixture. The creamy hummus adds a unique flavor and a boost of protein. You can also add your favorite vegetables like spinach, mushrooms, or tomatoes to make it even more nutritious.

Hummus and Egg Sandwich

Spread a generous amount of hummus on a whole-grain toast. Top it with a fried or scrambled egg. You can also add some fresh herbs like basil or parsley for extra flavor.

The Indian Council of Medical Research–National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) has launched a new policy document aimed at tackling childhood obesity and promoting healthier diets and food environments for children and adolescents in India.

Released under the multi-institutional 'Let's Fix Our Food' (LFOF) consortium, which was launched in 2022, the policy comes as India faces a growing burden of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, hypertension, cancer and respiratory illnesses.

The document outlines evidence-based recommendations to improve food environments and encourage healthier dietary habits among children and adolescents.

"Evidence-based, multisectoral policy action is essential to create healthier food environments for children and adolescents. Collaborative initiatives such as the Let's Fix Our Food Consortium are important for addressing the growing burden of overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases in India," said Dr. M. Srinivas, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.

What Does The Policy Recommend?

The policy outlines recommendations across several areas, including:

• Healthy school food environments
• Nutrition literacy
• Front-of-pack nutrition labelling
• Regulation of unhealthy food marketing to children
• Taxation of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS)
• Healthier dietary fats
• Salt reduction
• Low-sodium salt substitutes
• Social and behavior change communication
• Youth engagement
• Fiscal measures to promote healthier diets.

India's Growing Obesity, Malnutrition Burden

The policy highlights India's growing double burden of malnutrition.

According to the National Family Health Survey-6 (NFHS-6) fact sheets for 2023–24, the prevalence of overweight children under five has increased to 3.4%, up from 2.1% in NFHS-4 and 1.3% in the previous survey.

The survey also found that although stunting among children under five has declined to 29.3%, acute malnutrition (wasting) remains unchanged at 5.2%, and only 15% of young children receive an adequate diet.

"Malnutrition is no longer only about undernutrition. Rising obesity, driven by unhealthy diets, challenges healthy growth among children and adolescents," said Marie-Claude Desilets, Chief of Nutrition, UNICEF India.

Key Recommendations

The Let's Fix Our Food Consortium was established to generate evidence and drive policy action for healthier food environments, particularly for children and adolescents. Based on multidisciplinary research and expert consultations, the policy recommends:

Stricter Advertising Rules

• Enforce legal restrictions on marketing HFSS foods to children and adolescents.
• Ban misleading health claims and deceptive advertising across all media.

Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels

• Introduce mandatory, easy-to-read nutrition labels on packaged foods.
• Help consumers quickly identify products high in fat, salt and sugar.

Healthier School Food Environments

• Restrict junk food in and around schools.
• Ensure affordable, healthy food options and monitor school food environments using NEAT-S.

Tax Junk Food

• Levy taxes on HFSS foods and sugar-sweetened beverages to discourage consumption.
• Use fiscal measures to make healthier foods more affordable.

Strengthen National Programs

• Integrate these measures into initiatives such as the Ayushman Bharat School Health and Wellness Programme to promote better nutrition and physical activity.

New Tools to Support Healthy Eating

The consortium also launched practical tools to help schools and adolescents make healthier food choices.

• Nutrition Environment Assessment Toolkit for Schools (NEAT-S): A framework to help schools assess and improve their food environments by promoting healthier canteens.
• Digital Literacy Modules: An interactive e-learning platform and comic books developed by ICMR-NIN to help adolescents understand food labels and reduce their intake of excess sodium and unhealthy fats.

The initiative is supported by several national and international organizations, including UNICEF India, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), and other partners.

Global hunger declined for the third consecutive year in 2025, but an estimated 645 million people still went hungry, while rising food prices linked to the Middle East conflict threaten to slow progress, according to a new UN report.

An estimated 7.8 percent of the global population—around 645 million people—were affected by hunger in 2025, down from 8.1 percent in 2024 and 8.6 percent in 2022, according to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 (SOFI 2026) report released on Tuesday by five UN agencies—FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO.

The figure represents 14 million fewer hungry people than in 2024 and 43 million fewer than in 2022, marking the third consecutive year of improvement.

"While we welcome the clear progress we have made in reducing hunger, a healthy diet still remains unaffordable for one in three people globally. Obesity is rising and progress on maternal and child nutrition is stalling," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Over 2 Billion People Still Face Food Insecurity

Also read: Want Healthier Lungs? Add More Kale And Spinach To Your Plate, Suggests Study

Despite the decline in hunger, 25.8 percent of the world's population—around 2.1 billion people—experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, meaning they were forced at times to compromise on the quality or quantity of the food they consumed.

This is down from 27.1 percent in 2024 and 28.7 percent in 2020, equivalent to 86 million fewer people than in 2024 and 135 million fewer than in 2020, although levels remain above those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Progress Uneven Across Regions

Africa is now home to the largest number of hungry people, with 309 million affected.

More than half (56.6 percent) of Africa's population experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025, compared with:

• 20.3 percent in Asia
• 22.9 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean
• 8.7 percent in North America and Europe

Women continue to be disproportionately affected by food insecurity, although the gender gap narrowed slightly in 2025.

Middle East Conflict Could Slow Progress

The report warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could delay global efforts to end hunger by driving up food prices through higher energy and fertilizer costs.

Depending on how long the crisis affects food inflation, 510–520 million people could still face hunger by 2030, compared with 503 million projected before the conflict, the report said.

It also noted that other risks—including extreme weather events such as El Niño in 2026 and 2027—were not included in these projections and could further worsen the outlook.

The report warned that the conflict, combined with extreme weather and declining humanitarian funding, threatens to reverse recent gains in reducing global hunger.

"This report is a stark reminder that food systems fail millions of children and families. Food, health, education and social protection must go hand in hand to protect the most vulnerable children and women from global shocks," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

Healthy Diet Now Costs 25% More

Nutritious food has become up to 25 percent more expensive over the past five years, leaving 2.69 billion people—nearly one in three globally—unable to afford a healthy diet.

The average global cost of a healthy diet rose to US$4.28 (PPP) per person per day in 2025, up from US$3.44 in 2021 and US$2.94 in 2017.

Dr Ghebreyesus urged governments to adopt policies that make "healthy food the easy choice," including promoting breastfeeding, front-of-pack nutrition labelling, taxing unhealthy products, and protecting children from harmful food marketing.

"Healthy diets are not a luxury—they are the foundation of health and must be within everyone's reach," he said.

Love your daily cup of coffee? The way you brew it could make a difference—not just for its taste, but also for your cholesterol levels.

A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA), published in the peer-reviewed journal Circulation, stated that for most healthy adults, drinking up to five cups of black caffeinated coffee a day (up to 400 mg of caffeine) is safe and may even benefit heart health.

However, the statement, based on a review of the latest evidence on caffeine and cardiovascular health, noted that the brewing method matters because some types of coffee contain compounds that can raise LDL, or "bad," cholesterol.

Black Coffee May Benefit Heart Health

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According to the AHA, moderate consumption of black, caffeinated coffee without added sugar, cream, or flavored syrups has been linked to several cardiovascular benefits.

A review of the latest evidence found that drinking three to five 8-ounce cups of regular black coffee daily was associated with a lower risk of:

• Heart disease
• Stroke
• Heart failure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Some abnormal heart rhythms.

"Caffeine consumed in coffee is a key part of daily life for millions of people, and in our review of the most recent research, for most adults, intake of up to 400 mg of caffeine/day, the equivalent of up to five cups of caffeinated coffee per day without added sugars or fillers, is safe and does not increase cardiovascular risk," said Gregory M. Marcus, chair of the scientific statement writing group and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

Why Brewing Method Matters

While coffee itself may support heart health, the AHA highlighted one naturally occurring compound—cafestol—that can raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol.

Cafestol is found in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, but its levels depend on how the coffee is prepared.

Cafestol, associated with increased LDL cholesterol levels, is high in unfiltered coffee, including:

• French press
• Espresso
• Turkish coffee
• Boiled coffee

In contrast, paper-filtered coffee and instant coffee contain little to no cafestol, making them a better choice for people concerned about cholesterol.

Read More: US Cardiologist Explains Why 2026 AHA Cholesterol Guidelines Recommend Starting Young

Coffee And Blood Pressure

The statement also found that coffee's effect on blood pressure is complex, and they called for more studies to better understand this relationship.

Yet the findings revealed that among people with normal blood pressure, drinking one to three cups a day was associated with a higher risk of developing hypertension, while consuming more than three cups daily was linked to a lower risk.

Coffee May Lower Diabetes Risk

Although caffeine may temporarily reduce insulin sensitivity, regular consumption of black caffeinated coffee has been linked to a lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. Researchers believe this benefit is likely due to compounds in coffee other than caffeine.

Energy Drinks Are Not the Same

The AHA cautioned that the findings do not apply to energy drinks or energy shots. These products contain much higher concentrations of caffeine—around 40–69 mg per fluid ounce, roughly three to four times more than regular brewed coffee—and have been linked to high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, and other cardiovascular risks, even in healthy adults under 30.

No Universal Recommendation

Marcus stressed that there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation for caffeine intake because people respond differently based on age, genetics, medications, underlying health conditions, and how quickly they metabolize caffeine.

He advised people to pay attention to how their body responds to caffeine and discuss their intake with their healthcare provider if they experience symptoms such as palpitations, anxiety, or sleep disturbances.