A growing baby places increased nutritional demands on the mother, and consuming quality nutrition is vital. Though nutritional shakes can supply many essential nutrients during pregnancy, shakes should be a complement to a balanced meal plan during pregnancy, not a replacement for a healthy diet.

A variety of substances can cause allergic reactions, including food, pollen, dust, latex and animal dander. Symptoms vary, but among the most common are swollen and inflamed mucus membranes, including membranes in the throat.

You've likely heard that garlic has health benefits, including the ability to lower cholesterol and reduce high blood pressure. What you may not know is that how garlic is prepared matters. Raw garlic is the best source of the antioxidants responsible for the vegetable's health benefits.

Expiration dates are stamped on food packages as a way to keep consumers safe. You can become ill if you consume some foods, such as meat or dairy products, past their expiration dates, so it's important to pay close attention to the dates stamped on the foods.

Your children's nails can tell you a lot about their health. A change in shape or color may indicate a fungal or yeast infection, while pitting may be a sign of psoriasis. Even what your child eats, or doesn't eat, can affect nail health.

Refined sugar can be made from sugarcane or sugar beets -- nutritionally they are identical -- but the refining process is different. Added sugars, whether from cane or beets, should be limited in your diet.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone is a marker of your metabolism, which refers to the rate at which you burn calories. A lower TSH indicates your metabolism is optimal, while a higher TSH represents a sluggish metabolism, according to "The Fast Metabolism Diet" by nutritionist Haylie Pomroy.

As our skin ages, it changes – not always for the better. Age spots, also called melasma or hyperpigmentation, are areas of dark skin pigment, or melanin, that has gathered on the skin over time. Hyperpigmentation is typically found in people older than 40 years but can be seen in people as young as their mid-20s.

If you’ve ever tried to complete a task on an empty stomach, you understand the critical connection between nutrition and concentration.

If your eyebrow is twitching and you aren't sure why, magnesium deficiency is one possible explanation. This deficiency is rare, however, even if your diet is low in this important nutrient, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. If the twitching persists, see your doctor for a diagnosis.

Kimchi jjigae is a traditional Korean stew made with kimchi -- spicy, fermented cabbage -- and pork broth. Often included in the stew are pieces of pork, green onions and spicy Korean red pepper chili, also known as gochugaru. The stew is generally served spicy, but the heat can be adjusted to suit individual tastes.

It's always better to get your antioxidants from food rather than a pill, and superoxide dismutase, or SOD, is found in a variety of different foods. However, your body is unable to metabolize and absorb the SOD from the food you eat, according to 2006 article published in The Austin Chronicle.