Food & Nutrition: Culinary Techniques, Diets & Metabolic Health

Nutritional health is achieved through the therapeutic use of whole foods, safe culinary preparation, and understanding the metabolic impacts of specific dietary frameworks and ingredients.

Woman drinking water

The Consequences of a Lack of Water

Water plays a central role in your health -- it carries sugar, nutrients and hormones throughout your body, lubricates your joints and aids in eliminating waste products. Each day, your body loses a large amount of water through your urine and feces, as well as from evaporation off your skin.

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Is Coenzyme Q10 Safe for Pregnant Women?

Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant found naturally in your body. It helps your body produce energy and protein and allows muscle contraction. Most people have sufficient CoQ10 levels in their body without taking supplements.

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Ginger tea

Benefits of Ginger Tea on the Skin

Your skin is the largest organ in your body. A variety of factors can irritate, clog and inflame this organ, leading to redness, swelling, burning and itching. According to MedlinePlus, allergies, irritants and your genes can also result in rashes, hives and acne.

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Tomato Soup and Constipation

More than 4 million Americans frequently suffer from constipation, and this gastrointestinal problem accounts for 2.5 million physician visits a year, according to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.

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Is Soy Milk Safe for Boys To Drink?

Soy milk is a plant-based alternative to cow's milk that many people choose for health reasons. Soy milk contains phytoestrogens, a plant-based form of estrogen that mimics the effect of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is primarily a female hormone, even though both males and females produce estrogen.

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Pharmacist With Customer

5-HTP & Xanax

The over-the-counter supplement 5-hydroxytryptophan and the prescription drug alprazolam, available under the brand Xanax, are substances people take for some similar uses, including relieving anxiety. The two have different effects on brain function, however.

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Bowl With Almonds, Top View

Problems With Digesting Raw Almonds

When it comes to upping the nutritional quality of your diet, adding nuts such as almonds is a smart way to go. While you're better off eating unsalted almonds, raw almonds are not always the best choice. Not only are they harder to digest than the roasted varieties, but you may not get all of the nutritional value.

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Marinated beef and spices on a ceramic plate.

Do You Cook a Steak in the Marinade?

Many steak recipes call for a marinade, as they add flavor and tenderize the meat. While most recipes call for discarding the marinade before cooking, you can also cook a steak in the marinade.

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Senior woman taking medicine.

Potassium and Coumadin

Medications often interact with other drugs, as well as certain vitamins and minerals. Coumadin is a type of medication that can help treat and prevent blood clots.

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Do Vitamin Deficiencies Cause Fingernail Ridges?

Fingernails can indicate health problems by their appearance. Nail abnormalities often involve shape, texture, color and thickness of the nails. Depression lines in fingernails, also known as beau lines, occur due to malnutrition or an injury to your nail.

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Lentil soup with chicken and pepperoni sausage, onion, carrot

No-Sodium Soup

Warm and comforting during any season -- although maybe less during hot summer weather -- soup is a nutritious and healthy meal. However, many prepared or canned soups, even those marked “low-sodium,” are high in sodium and can make what would otherwise be a healthy food choice unhealthy.

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Green tea

Does Green Tea Detox Your Body?

Of all the detox products available, green tea may be one of the most beneficial, but that doesn’t mean it literally detoxes your body. Instead, the active ingredients in green tea support your body’s natural ability to detox.

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Almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts

Which Nuts Are Alkaline Forming?

Every food you eat temporarily affects your body’s acid-alkaline balance. Blood and other bodily fluids are naturally alkaline, with a narrow pH range between 7.365 and 7.45 on the acid-alkaline scale. Highly acid-forming foods, such as sugar, coffee and meat, have an acidifying effect on your bodily fluids.

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Cup of tea with teapot

What Happens If You Drink Slimming Tea on an Empty Stomach?

Effortless weight loss by drinking slimming tea either alone or in combination with your regular diet several times a day seems too good to be true -- and that's because it is. Most slimming diet teas contain some combination of stimulants, bulk fibers and laxatives to rev you up, fill you up and empty you out.

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How Are Lipids Transported Through the Body?

The manner in which lipids are transported in your body is essential for your health and well being, possibly meaning the difference between life and death. Although the term fat is often used interchangeably with lipids, fats are only a subgroup of lipids, namely triglycerides.

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Woman drinking bottled water

How Long Can the Average Human Go Without Water?

Water is the largest single component of the human body, including your brain, and it is essential for life. Generally speaking, people can only survive about a week without water. However, a lot depends on the weather conditions, your level of body fat and your general health status.

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How to Broil Bacon

Although fried bacon smells great and tastes wonderful, it might contain more fat and calories than you care to consume. Try oven broiling your bacon instead of pan frying it for a healthier alternative.

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