Among women 65 to 79, big apples performed better than plump pears on tests of memory and reasoning.

The more fructose American adults add to their diets, the higher their blood pressure tends to be. The new finding adds fuel to a simmering controversy about whether this simple sugar — found in fruits, table sugar, soft drinks and many baked goods — poses a health hazard that goes beyond simply consuming too many empty calories.

Resveratrol, a constituent of grapes and certain other plants, can fight the proliferation of fat cells and improve the uptake of sugar from the blood, a pair of new studies indicate. These observations offer some mechanisms to explain why grape products, including wine, have developed a reputation as heart healthy, obesity-fighting and beneficial for people developing diabetes.

Korean researchers describe pepper-triggered changes in genes that appear to underlie the fat-shunning changes of chilis — ones that point to how their fiery chemistry might be harnessed to fight obesity.