Seasonally, it's always better to buy fresh, but canned vegetables, like canned beets, also make a nutritious option, says the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Canned beets are picked and packed when they are at their peak and retain much of their nutritional value. They may be high in sodium, however.

You can live days without water and weeks without food. Lack of oxygen, however, kills within minutes. Hemoglobin is the vital protein in your red blood cells that transports oxygen from your lungs to your tissues. A low hemoglobin level compromises oxygen delivery to your tissues.

Nitric oxide plays a number of beneficial roles in the body, including increasing blood flow to your brain, lowering blood pressure levels and limiting the formation of blood clots. Foods don't actually contain nitric oxide. Some foods do contain nitrates, which your body can turn into nitric oxide.

Adults should eat between 2.5 and 3 cups of vegetables a day, depending on caloric needs, according to the MyPlate guidelines from the United States Department of Agriculture. If you plan to cook your veggies, it's useful to know what cooking methods best preserve, or even enhance, their nutritional value.

Most people are well aware that sodium, or more commonly known as salt, adds flavor to food, is a component of the water that fills the oceans of the world and can make blood pressure elevate. However, it is also true that our bodies rely on sodium to function properly.

Canned goods are a good option if you’re buying fruits or vegetables that are not in season, and it’s sometimes cheaper to buy them canned, anyway. Canned foods also are more convenient than frozen, especially for storage and transportation.

Amylose is a type of resistant starch, meaning it isn't well-digested and absorbed in the small intestine.

When you’re a girl entering your teen years, eating a well-balanced diet is an easy way to boost your daily energy and improve your health while increasing your chances of reaching your ideal height and weight. But you may not know what “well-balanced” really means.

Potassium phosphate is used as a food additive and in medicine. It's safe in the amounts typically used in food for most people, but people with kidney disease who need to watch their phosphate levels may need to avoid foods containing this additive.

Durum is a variety of wheat that has a higher protein and gluten content than other kinds of wheat and that is most often found in pasta. Whole wheat of any variety is wheat that contains all three parts of the wheat grain -- germ, bran and endosperm.

Proponents claim colonic irrigation, or colon hydrotherapy, detoxes the body through removal of waste. After the process is complete, your entire colon is empty, so directly following your session, you should have foods that won't irritate your digestive system.

Glucose provides a major source of fuel for your body. When everything is working correctly, your cells absorb glucose from your bloodstream and either use it for energy or store it for later. Problems can occur when your body is unable to utilize glucose properly.