Apple cider vinegar, made from fermented apple juice, has been a folk cure sensation since 1958, when Vermont country doctor D.C. Jarvis wrote a book extolling its virtues for treating everything from arthritis to diabetes to weight gain.
Read more →
Hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose, can cause potentially life-threatening reactions in people with diabetes. But people who do not have diabetes can also have hypoglycemia, which cause shakiness, sweating, lightheadedness, difficulty concentrating and weakness.
Read more →
With it's rich flavor and juicy meat, duck makes a decadent addition to your diet. Overall, duck is fattier than many other types of meat, so opt for skinless breast meat to help limit your fat intake. Consume duck as a source of nutrients, and enjoy the health benefits associated with its nutritional value.
Read more →
Kidney infections, which are an upper urinary tract infection medically referred to as pyelonephritis, are a common occurrence in women, people with spinal cord injuries and older adults, and is medically treated with an antibiotic (see reference 1 under background para 1, under II.
Read more →
Diuretics wash extra fluid out of the body, but they can also wash out essential minerals. Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic often used to treat hypertension and also edema, or fluid retention, and congestive heart failure.
Read more →
While many foods are perfectly fine to eat right off the vine or out of the ground, red kidney beans are not one of them. Though many raw beans contain the toxin Phytohaemagglutinin, also called kidney bean lectin, kidney beans contain the highest toxin levels.
Read more →
Bay leaves, which grow on the sweet bay or laurel tree, were used in ancient Rome to make laurel wreaths. Today, the bay leaf is more often found as a seasoning agent in stews or soups than on someone’s head.
Read more →
White rice is a staple food for many Asian countries, serving as a main food source for over half the world’s population, according to Utah State University Extension Agent Jana Darrington. White rice, which has been refined, has the husk, bran and germ layers removed, so just the white inner kernel remains.
Read more →
If you have a craving for french fries, fries cooked in canola oil are a better choice than french fries cooked in partially hydrogenated oils, such as soybean, cottonseed or corn oils. If you make your own fries at home, using nothing but canola oil and potatoes.
Read more →
Sodium nitrite is a food preservative that also gives cured and processed meats, such as ham and hot dogs, their characteristic pinkish color. Many vegetables, including spinach, celery, beets and cabbage, naturally contain large amounts of nitrite.
Read more →
Premature infants -- babies born before 37 weeks -- have unique nutritional needs. Babies born early may have lower vitamin and mineral stores than babies born after a full-term pregnancy. Preterm infants may also have higher nutritional needs for not only calories, but also for vitamins and minerals for some time.
Read more →
Inserting genes not normally found in a certain food or plant results in a genetically modified food. Farmers genetically modify crops for one of several reasons: to increase resistance to certain viruses or toxins, to increase pesticide resistance and to increase resistance to certain powerful herbicides.
Read more →
Certified clinical nutritionists, or CCNs, and registered dietitians, often called simply RDs, are two types of licensed professionals who deal with dietary intake.
Read more →
Herbal teas are often marketed for pregnant women or suggested by alternative medical practitioners as an alternative to coffee in pregnancy. Herbal teas, unlike non-herbal teas such as black or green tea, do not contain caffeine.
Read more →
Goji berries, often used in traditional Chinese medicine, are small, red, edible fruit from a shrub native to China also known as Lycium barbarum. Goji berries are usually dried, eaten raw or cooked. They have recently been touted as a “superfood” for their exceptional health benefits.
Read more →
Rose hips, also called haws, are the bright red, vase-shaped fruit of roses often used for medicinal purposes by alternative health practitioners. Rose hips are rarely allowed to develop on modern roses, although they’re abundant on wild rose species.
Read more →
Kosher dill pickles are made from small cucumbers known as gherkins. Made in the traditional Jewish manner using dill, garlic and salt brine to give the characteristic mouth-puckering, sour, pungent flavor, Kosher dills have few calories and few nutrients, unless you eat them by the barrel full.
Read more →
Sugar-free candy, nutrition bars, cookies, cakes and other sweets might be sugar-free, but they do contain sugar substitutes, many of which can cause diarrhea, especially sugar alcohols.
Read more →
Olive oil is an integral part of the oft-touted Mediterranean diet, a diet based on consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits, fish and unsaturated oils. Although a fat, olive oil has a number of components that appear to lower the risk of heart disease.
Read more →
As many as one out of 10 women of childbearing age have polycystic ovary syndrome, PCOS, a disorder characterized by high levels of male hormone levels such as testosterone, according to the National Women’s Health Information Center. Reducing androgens, or male hormones, may improve the symptoms of PCOS.
Read more →