By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Americans throw out more than one third of the food produced in the U.S. each year – enough to fill 320,000 jumbo jets – with most of it going straight into landfills. “Becoming more observant of food that finds itself in the landfill rather than in a stomach can help shift our buying habits,” Brown added by email. “This can come in the form of ordering less food when dining out, freezing bananas before they over ripen, or even making a meal plan for the week to help cut costs and waste.” Waste can occur anywhere in the U.S. food chain, from farms, processors, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants and home kitchens, Brown and co-author Chris Vogliano note in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Researchers examined data from nearly two dozen trials and found that participants who ate about three quarters of a cup of legumes every day lost about three quarters of a pound more than those who didn’t eat legumes, regardless of whether the diets were geared to weight loss. Lead author Dr. Russell de Souza told Reuters Health that legumes – or pulses, as they are known in many parts of the world – are an important sustainable protein source, plus they’re high in fiber. “Legumes also have a low ‘glycemic index,’ which means the carbohydrates in them do not raise blood sugars as rapidly as things like white bread or white flour,” said de Souza, a researcher with the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

Researchers from global public health organization NSF International, Harvard Medical School, the National Center for Natural Products Research (NCNPR) at the University of Mississippi and the…