Macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans, can be regulated by diet, according to Tufts University research published in the journal Ophthalmology.

Q: Canned soups are sometimes too salty. Is there any remedy when reheating them?

Chocolate milk is gaining popularity as a post-workout recovery drink.

Keeping your holiday buffet healthy doesn't doom you to celery stalks and carrot sticks. There are plenty of options that are indulgent without leaving your guests feeling buffet-grazing remorse.

If you're not going to eat food right away, divide hot food into small portions in shallow containers and refrigerate them.

The California Walnut Board is seeking original recipes that incorporate walnuts in inventive ways to celebrate the season. For more details and to enter, visit www.walnuts.org. The contest concludes Dec. 4.

Baking and socializing are two of the best things about the holiday season. But, as schedules get squeezed, it's a challenge to find time for both.

Hundreds of recipes from the world's top chefs and cookbook authors will soon be available on the food site Epicurious.com. A partnership between the Conde Nast-owned Web site and publishing giant Random House will bring more than 100 recipes from chefs including Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pepin, Joan Nathan, Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Joel Robouchon to the Web. At least 200 recipes will be posted by the end of 2009, said Epicurious.com Editor-in-Chief Tanya Wenman Steel. Hundreds more will be added to the site's 140,000-recipe database each year.

Two months remain to enter in the CorningWare SimplyLite National Recipe Contest. Home cooks, 18 years and older, can submit original "lite" baked recipes, either savory or sweet.

Once upon a time, in a land called the USA, there was rice. It was called Uncle Ben's or Riceland. It was white or brown, converted or instant. It was pretty simple.

Who says you need to go to a restaurant to enjoy good food? With the recent crop of cookbooks by restaurateurs, you can make fabulous food at home. These offerings are from around the country.

Americans love rice. We eat an average of 25 pounds per person annually. But we are less likely to experiment with other whole grains. And we should. After all, they are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates. Whole grains also contain important vitamins, antioxidants and minerals.

Last year, an overwhelming number of start-ups hit the market with releases priced above $50, and some approaching $100. Even though these labels carry big-name vineyards or notable winemakers as consultants, these wines aren't selling in this economy.

Whether it's Valentine's Day treats, Christmas cookies or back-to-school temptations, cookie exchanges are a wonderful way to get together. You and each of your guests bake one kind of cookie -- enough to share with everyone else.

The walnut harvest has readers like Sheryl Edmondson of Modesto looking for sugar-coated walnut recipes. Here are two.