 In the fight against the growing obesity epidemic, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have emerged as a major enemy. Most people know that soda isn’t the most nutritious choice of beverage, but juice retains an image of healthfulness – after all, it originates from fruit and can be a good source of certain vitamins when consumed in moderation. The problem is that many beverages thought of as “juice” actually contain very little fruit-derived content and lots of added sugars. And while 100% juice drinks may add some vitamins to the diet, they can also contribute to excessive sugar intake, resulting in problems such as tooth decay and obesity.
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 “Are there nuts in that?” was a phrase that I heard over and over again throughout my childhood. My best friend (and current roommate) is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts like walnuts and almonds, and soy. She thinks about and questions every bite of food before it is deemed safe. She finds going out to eat, which for most people is a fun and relaxing social activity, to be frustratingly limiting at best and dangerous at worst. More people now know someone with a food allergy, but are we aware of the mental burden of chronic food avoidance and fear?
 In America, pregnant women receive a great deal of advice: Eat fish, but only the right kind and not too much. Don’t smoke. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t take certain over-the-counter medicines. The implication is that by taking these and other steps, a pregnant woman can ensure that her baby has the best possible start in life. But just how much can a pregnant woman do? How much responsibility does she bear for her uterine environment?
 When we think about poverty and hunger, many of us immediately picture the tragic scenes from areas afflicted by famine –people too weak to walk with ribs that can be counted and children with the skinny limbs and swollen bellies characteristic of kwashiorkor. However, in the US, and many other settings, the face of hunger is much more likely to have chubby cheeks.
 What if your experiences as a baby – even before you were born – helped determine whether you were overweight or obese later in life? There is evidence to suggest that this may be the case, and that the prenatal environment and the first two years of life are very important in the development of overweight and obesity. Our early life environments help determine our biological make-up for the rest of our lives. Some of this programming may occur in the bacteria in our stool, also known as the microbiome.
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