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.
The electrolyte potassium is an essential mineral. Your body needs it in small amounts for proper skeletal, heart, muscle and digestive function. Dietary sources of potassium include bananas, some types of fish, meat, dairy products, avocados, citrus fruit, tomatoes, cantaloupes, lima beans and potatoes.
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Trading some of your saturated-fat calories for calories from carbohydrates may not be the healthiest choice for your heart, according to an article published in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in March 2010.
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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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Moderate consumption of alcohol may have some health benefits, with some types of alcoholic beverages, including cognac, possibly having more beneficial effects than others. However, drinking too much alcohol of any kind can increase certain health risks.
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Bananas, the fourth largest fruit crop in the world, provide a number of essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, manganese and vitamins B-6 and C. However, in some cases they can cause gas or constipation, especially when eaten before they are ripe or consumed in large amounts.
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Calcium sulfate, or gypsum, is nontoxic. It's used as an additive in a variety of different foods as well as in supplements to help increase calcium intake. Check with your doctor before taking gypsum supplements to make sure these would be safe for you.
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Spinach packs a powerful nutrient punch, whether you eat it fresh or cooked. While it may seem that cooked spinach contains more nutrients if you measure it cup for cup, this isn't really a fair comparison since it takes about 6 cups of fresh spinach to get 1 cup of cooked spinach.
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If you experience malabsorption, your body has trouble absorbing some of the nutrients in the food you eat. This could involve vitamins, sugars, proteins or fat or just food in general. Check with your doctor if you think this is a problem for you, because certain serious medical conditions can cause malabsorption.
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Eggs provide a number of essential nutrients, including protein, riboflavin, phosphorus and selenium. There are also some nutritional drawbacks to eating eggs, however, including the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol they contain.
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Purple onions, also called red onions, offer a healthy way to give your meals more flavor and provide nutrients without adding many calories. These onions also provide phytochemicals, or beneficial plant chemicals, that may help lower your risk for certain health problems.
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Eating canned salmon is a convenient way to add protein to your diet without adding a lot of fat, and may also provide you with some heart-health benefits due to the essential omega-3 fats it contains.
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If you eat a typical American diet, you may be getting as much as 25 times more omega-6 fats than omega-3 fats.
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If you feel like you need a treat when you aren't feeling totally up to par, reaching for chocolate may not be a bad idea, as long as you choose the right type of chocolate. Chocolate has been used as a traditional remedy for diarrhea as far back as the 16th century in Latin American countries.
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Apple cider vinegar, honey and green tea aren't going to bring about a large amount of weight loss, but there is some preliminary evidence that at least honey and green tea may be helpful for slightly improving your weight-loss results.
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Most Americans get too much sodium in their diet, so they are usually trying to decrease their sodium intake to limit their risk for high blood pressure and heart disease.
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People sometimes drink apple cider vinegar as an alternative remedy for conditions including diabetes, cancer, weight loss, high blood pressure and acne, although the research results on the potential benefits of doing so are still preliminary and conflicting.
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Dextrose, also called glucose or corn sugar, is a simple sugar found naturally in some foods, such as honey and fruits, and added to some processed foods. It's what helps turn bread crust and toast brown.
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Chlorophyll is what gives plants a green color. Proponents claim it can help with everything from increasing your energy level to lowering your risk of cancer, but scientific evidence for these and other uses, including weight loss, is limited.
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If you read the ingredients list for fruit juices and drinks, cereals, fruit-flavored candies, cured meats, cereals and frozen fruits, you may see ascorbic acid listed. Manufacturers sometimes include it in foods as a preservative, antioxidant or color stabilizer, or it can be used to boost a food's vitamin C content.
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Having fewer than three bowel movements in a week is a sign of constipation. Although you can take laxatives to help move things along, making dietary changes can sometimes help establish regularity without having to resort to these medications.
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