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We need protein to build muscle, produce hormones, regulate mood and appetite, and strengthen bones. But how much, and what kind, should you eat every day?

Eating protein is non-negotiable. Like carbs and fats, it’s a macronutrient that bodies need in relatively large, regular doses (compared with micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals). But our protein needs change throughout life, according to age, sex, activity levels and more. In fact our requirements can be highly individual and hence easily misjudged, especially when, says the dietitian Linia Patel, “There are conflicting messages around how much protein we should be eating.” On the one hand, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that we exceed our daily protein recommendations, which scientists say could shorten our lives. On the other hand, says Patel: “What I see in my own clinical practice is that around 80% of my clients are not eating quite enough.” The booming protein industry, with its bars, pouches and shakes, would have us believe the more is always the merrier. So how much protein should we be eating?

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In Fisterra in north-west Spain, a diet rich in seafood, fruit and vegetables survives, and has been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart-related conditions

Seagulls shriek, boats bob and the morning sun silvers the waters off the Coast of Death as two sailors take a break from winding up their conger eel lines to ponder the sudden interest in precisely what, and how, people here have eaten for centuries.

Like many in the small Galician fishing town of Fisterra – whose name is derived from the Latin for land’s end, because the lonely peninsula on which it sits is about as far west as you can go in mainland Spain – Sito Mendoza and Ramón Álvarez are a little puzzled by all the fuss over the Atlantic diet.

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Study shows delivery apps such as Deliveroo and Just Eat still popular after pandemic boom in orders

Delivery app riders pedalling through cities and tailbacks at drive-throughs were familiar signs of Britain’s hunger for takeaway food at the peak of the Covid pandemic . Now a study suggests it became an enduring habit.

After a boom in orders on Deliveroo, Just Eat and other platforms by locked-down consumers, research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests the popularity of takeaways, meal deliveries and food-on-the-go bought from retailer such as sandwiches and crisps has remained above pre-pandemic levels after the removal of Covid restrictions.

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A process called biofortification puts nutrients directly into seeds and could reduce global hunger, but it’s not a magic bullet

In 2004, Donald Davis and fellow scientists at the University of Texas made an alarming discovery: 43 foods, mostly vegetables, showed a marked decrease in nutrients between the mid and late 20th century.

According to that research , the calcium in green beans dropped from 65 to 37mg. Vitamin A levels plummeted by almost half in asparagus. Broccoli stalks had less iron.

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Shrinking portions, ‘very beige’ servings and rising costs leave schools and families bewildered

Parents and teachers have shared their own frustration with substandard school meals after a headteacher in Southampton complained about his school’s contract caterers, asking: “How difficult is it to bake a potato?”

Several parents and school staff who got in touch with the Guardian blamed the outsourcing of school catering for what they saw as declining provision. One headteacher in south-west England, who asked not to be named, remembers what lunchtime was like before budget constraints forced her to make the school’s cook redundant: “Children at playtime would go out and smell what was cooking for lunch and get excited. We felt it was making a difference to children’s diets”.

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Researchers in France believe subtle shift in facial attractiveness is down to changes in blood sugar and insulin

If you want to look your best in the morning, it may be worth swapping the ultra-processed pastries and fruit juice for wholemeal toast and tea without sugar.

Researchers in France found that people who ate a breakfast rich in refined carbohydrates were rated less attractive than those who started the day with healthier unrefined carbs.

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The growing evidence on UPFs merits sober discussion, but products marketed with a halo of ‘health’ are avoiding scrutiny

In the fevered world of diet and nutrition, the past year has been dominated by heated arguments about the evils (or not) of ultra-processed foods . These have not just been confined to the media but have, unusually, engendered equally fractious debate in academic circles. So what is the “truth” about UPFs? Are they as bad for health as many claim? And how are consumers, armed with this information, meant to navigate the supermarket aisles?

The processing of food, including cooking, fermentation, pickling, curing and smoking, is as ancient as humankind. These processes reduced the chances of food poisoning, increased nutritional availability and ensured that we had a predictable source of calories through seasonal changes in the availability of fresh food. They were critical to our ability as a species to survive and eventually thrive.

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World’s largest review finds direct associations with higher risks of cancer, heart disease and early death

Ultra-processed food (UPF) is directly linked to 32 harmful effects to health, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, adverse mental health and early death, according to the world’s largest review of its kind.

The findings from the first comprehensive umbrella review of evidence come amid rapidly rising global consumption of UPF such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food.

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