Balanced Eating: Brain Energy, Weight Tips & Meal Plans

What are the most important energy sources for the brain? From naturopathic diets to marathon runner meal plans, prioritizing a balanced diet food list is key to gaining weight healthily or relieving postpartum complications naturally.

Pear Trio

Can You Eat Pears While You're Pregnant?

Pears are safe to eat during pregnancy; they are low in calories and contain several nutrients that are especially important for expecting moms. Add variety to your daily diet with the many pear varieties available, including Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou, Starkrimson and Comice.

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Soaked beans in a bowl closeup

How to Reduce the Phytic Acid in Beans

When phytic acid reaches your digestive tract, it interacts with bacteria and releases a substance called inositol. Inositol helps your liver process fats and has a role in muscle function. In spite of these benefits, phytic acid is called an antinutrient because it interferes with the absorption of minerals.

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Man drinking beer, close up

Can I Drink a Beer With Strep Throat?

Dealing with the symptoms of strep throat, which include a sore throat, fever and even nausea, can put your plans on hold as you recuperate. Part of that recuperation process often includes taking an antibiotic such as penicillin or amoxicillin. If you're thirsty, beer isn't the answer.

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Sushi pieces collection

Frequent Sushi Consumption

Now that sushi's as easy to find in supermarket refrigerator cases as it is in high-end restaurants, you may find nigiri or California rolls making more frequent appearances on your menu.

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Branch with olives and a bottle of olive oil

Cooking Oil That Is Good for Soy-Free & Gluten-Free Diets

While you may know which grains, fruits, vegetables and protein foods are safe on your soy- and gluten-free diet, you may not have given any thought to the oil you use in cooking. Luckily, there are a number of healthy cooking oils safe for you to include in your diet.

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Woman holding basket of vegetables, close up, mid section

Good Nutrition vs. Bad Nutrition

Proper nutrition helps to keep you in good health and prevents many types of chronic disease. Poor nutrition may increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain forms of cancer, according to the World Health Organization.

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Lentil with carrot and pumpkin ragout in a wooden bowl.

What to Eat for a Bodybuilder With Kidney Disease?

As a bodybuilder, you know the importance of vitamins and minerals to help build muscle and provide energy. You might not know that your risk for kidney disease increases if you're a bodybuilder. If you've been recently diagnosed with kidney disease, you're probably wondering if your bodybuilding days are over.

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Cheese platter

What Are the Healthiest Cheeses?

Cheese is hardly considered to be the epitome of healthy food, but like other indulgent dishes, it can have a place in your diet if you consume it in moderation and make smart choices. The healthiest cheese choice depends on if you're looking for an option low in fat, sodium or calories; however, "Real Simple"

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Cooking Bacon Cream Sauce

How to Avoid Sauce Separating

Oil and water don’t normally mix, but the addition of an emulsifying agent binds the two together in most sauces, giving them a smooth texture. The emulsifier is usually a protein – egg, cream or the milk solids in butter -- but in some sauces, flour plays a similar role.

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Hamburger and french fries

How to Burn Off a Heavy Meal

Sticking to a healthy diet all the time can be difficult. Temptation is everywhere, in the form of high-fat entrees and comfort food that might make you feel better for a while but pack on the calories. If you've given in to the lures of a heavy meal, don't be too hard on yourself.

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Dumb bells lined up in a fitness studio

Supplements That Fight Lactic Acid

During workouts, your muscles use and produce energy through a serious of aerobic and anaerobic processes. When oxygen flows constantly through the working muscles, waste byproducts formed as part of muscle metabolism are removed efficiently. However, when oxygen is limited, the byproducts accumulate.

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Sweet Potatoes

What Foods Have Good Sugars for Your Body?

The sugar molecule is the simplest form of carbohydrate, according to MayoClinic.com. Sugar gets absorbed into the bloodstream and becomes blood sugar, or glucose, where it acts as fuel for your entire body for functions ranging from breathing to jogging. Your body can also store some sugar for later use.

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Does Exercise Offset Unhealthy Eating?

If you want to get in shape, exercise is the best route to get you there. If you want to lose weight, exercise can also help by burning calories. Although exercise can help offset unhealthy eating by burning more calories than a sedentary lifestyle would, healthy eating will help you achieve the best fitness results.

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Head of cabbage

Digestion of Raw Cabbage

Cabbage’s pungent flavor comes from sulfur-containing compounds that may help prevent cancer, reports the Linus Pauling Institute. Cabbage is also quite low in calories and packed with vitamins C and K. Despite these benefits, some people avoid cabbage because it causes gastrointestinal trouble.

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Glass of Almond milk on a table.

Almond Milk vs. Skim Milk for Weight Loss

Almond milk may be marketed as a substitute for dairy milk, but it's not entirely nutritionally equivalent. When you're trying to lose weight, both almond milk and skim milk have distinct advantages.

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close-up of onions being chopped

5 Things You Need to Know About the Health Benefits of Onions

Onions are a staple in any well-stocked kitchen. Served raw, they add a crisp bite to salads and burgers, and when cooked they add a pungent, lightly spicy flavor that complements almost any savory dish--they can even be caramelized to sweetness!

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Red bean,green bean,kidney bean and soybean

Disadvantages of Canned Chickpeas

It's no wonder the American Diabetes Association lists beans, such as chickpeas, as a superfood -- they provide significant amounts of protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

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Breakfast table outdoors

What Are the Bad Starches?

Your body needs starches, or carbohydrates, to create energy, but it’s important to choose the right kind of carbohydrates. Some starches provide many health benefits, such as fiber, vitamins and minerals; but some merely fill your tummy without supplying any nutrients at all.

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