Unlike milk from a cow, soy milk has no lactose, which makes it a viable alternative to cow's milk for those suffering from lactose intolerance. Fortified soy milk is a good source of protein, iron, B vitamins and calcium and is low in saturated fats and cholesterol.

Everyone needs to stay hydrated, but if you’re relatively active, it’s especially important because your fluid levels can drop quickly. If you don’t drink enough, you could become dehydrated and experience fatigue, muscle cramps and even faint in severe cases.

If you try to reduce your caffeine consumption by switching abruptly from several cups of coffee a day to decaffeinated coffee, you may experience caffeine withdrawal headaches.

A can of soda may be your preferred pick-me-up during the afternoon at the office, but the truth is it's probably not doing you any favors. While a jolt of sugar and caffeine might give you a temporary boost, the effects will soon wear off, leaving you feeling more sluggish than before.

In chemistry, the pH scale measures how acidic or alkaline something is. Generally speaking, the pH value of water does not directly affect human health, although it can have an indirect effect by corroding plumbing, which leaches metals into the water.

Cranberry juice has several benefits for your body, but too much can counteract these beneficial effects. You can purchase 100 percent cranberry juice or cranberry juice cocktail, which usually contains less than 33 percent actual fruit juice, meaning it may not have the same benefits as 100 percent juice.

Kombucha is a beverage that is derived from the fermentation of yeast and bacteria. It has been lauded for its distinctive, sour vinegary taste and potential, though undocumented, health benefits. When brewing Kombucha, care should be taken to ensure that the resulting product complies with health and safety standards.

Magnesium citrate is an over-the-counter liquid supplement used to clear out your bowels. You may need magnesium citrate to relieve constipation or to prepare your body for surgery by aiding in waste elimination.

If drinking a warm glass of milk straight from the cow appeals to you, you're not alone. As many as 100,000 Californians alone swill milk straight from the cow without benefit of pasteurization each week, according to a March 2007 article published in "Time."

Water makes up more than 60 percent of your body weight, and staying hydrated supports important functions such as maintaining body temperature, removing waste and lubricating your joints.

Sugar is a refined product derived from sugarcane or beets. Common white table sugar has been bleached and processed to produce uniform size crystals. Using evaporated cane juice, otherwise called "raw sugar," in a recipe will add flavor and texture from the irregularly shaped crystals.

Fennel, one of the oldest plants used in herbal medicine, is a native herb of the Mediterranean region. Cultivated since the Middle Ages, fennel has been used medicinally and in cooking across the USA, Europe, Asia and Africa. The fennel plant grows flower clusters, which contain new seeds.