Food & Nutrition: Culinary Techniques, Diets & Metabolic Health

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.

Pile of red new potatoes against blue gray background

Can You Eat Potatoes With Pancreatitis?

The pancreas is a glandular organ located behind the stomach near the first part of your small intestines. Its role is to secrete enzymes to help you digest food and hormones to help regulate blood sugar.

Read more →
Salad with assorted bottles of dressing

What Is Cultured Dextrose?

If you're reading the ingredient list on the packaged foods you eat, you may come across ingredients you've never heard of and may wonder about their uses. Cultured dextrose is a food additive found in a variety of foods, from meats to salad dressing, and it is used to prolong shelf life.

Read more →
Gummy bear candy background

Does Gelatin Thicken Your Blood?

If you have heart disease or poor blood flow to your brain, your doctor may recommend you take blood thinners. Blood thinners, such as aspirin and warfarin, are types of medications that help reduce the formation of blood clots. While certain foods can affect how quickly your blood clots, gelatin is not one of them.

Read more →
Sparkling Water with Raspberries and Mint

Does Seltzer Water Prevent Calcium Absorption?

Water should be your first choice when it comes to staying hydrated. But if you like a little fizz in your water, seltzer water is a healthy option. You may be wary about drinking seltzer because you've heard that that carbonated water might be bad for your bones.

Read more →
Girl (4-6) holding glass of milk, smiling, portrait

Can Certain Foods Make Your Body Grow Faster?

No one food or specific group of foods is going to help you grow faster. To grow at a healthy rate, you need a well-balanced diet that includes enough calories, carbs, protein and fat and include foods that provide all the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs for normal growth.

Read more →
Blueberry and Blackberry smoothie shakes

What Are the Health Benefits of Blueberry Smoothies?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's MyPlate guide to healthy eating recommends you include a serving of fruit at each meal. Smoothies can be an easy and tasty way for you to meet your mealtime fruit needs. It can also be healthy if you include the right ingredients.

Read more →
Close-up of a bottle of milk

Does Milk Help Digestion?

Milk offers a number of health benefits. It's rich in protein, good for your bones and may help keep your blood pressure in check. While some dairy products may benefit digestion, milk itself doesn't offer significant digestive benefits, and it may even cause digestive issues for some people.

Read more →
Fresh banana in a bowl

Does Potassium Help a Hangover?

Fun nights spent drinking with your friends can plague you the next day in the form of a hangover. A hangover is a sickness caused by drinking alcohol. You can get a hangover from drinking just one alcoholic beverage or several. Alcohol increases urination, which increases potassium excretion and causes dehydration.

Read more →
Dietary salad with chicken, arugula and sweet red pepper

Can You Eat Salads or Greens With Gallstones?

Gallstones affect about 10 percent of the population, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Most people with gallstones don't even know they have them because they do not cause any problems. You can eat salads and greens with gallstones.

Read more →
Polenta grain

Grits & High Blood Sugar

A type of mush made from stone-ground corn or maize, grits are a Southern food staple, often eaten as a breakfast or dinner side dish. As a corn-based food, grits contain carbohydrates, the nutrient in food that digests into sugar and is then released into the bloodstream.

Read more →
Hundreds of apples

Does the Body Process Fruit Sugar and Refined Sugar in the Same Way?

Sugar is bad for you, no doubt about it. High intakes of sugar increase the risk of obesity and early death, according to a report from the Harvard Medical School. While your body processes the sugar in fruit the same way it processes the sugar from your sugar bowl, don't go throwing your fruit out.

Read more →
Closeup mid section of a chef putting salt

5 Things You Need to Know About Recommended Daily Sodium Intake

Sodium is essential for life, but getting too much may be bad for your health. Depending on your specific health needs, dietary sodium recommendations range from 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams a day. Most Americans consume about 3,400 milligrams daily, according to the American Heart Association.

Read more →
Hispanic woman drinking glass of water

How Does Water Flush Fat Out of Your System?

Water is a good diet aid, but it can't magically flush fat from your body. It helps with weight control by maintaining fluid balance, helping you feel full and controlling calorie intake.

Read more →
Spoon of brown rice

Nutrition Differences in Black Rice Vs. Brown Rice

If you've switched from white rice to brown rice to up the nutrition in your diet, you made a good choice. But if you're looking to improve the nutritional quality of your diet even more, consider adding black rice to your whole-grain rotation.

Read more →
bowl of green wheat sprouts powder

Hemp Versus Pea Protein

Although most Americans get enough protein in their diet, some groups, such as elite athletes, have higher protein needs and may feel the need to supplement with protein powders.

Read more →
Sour Dough Bread with Rye

Allergy to Sourdough Bread

Its distinctly sour taste makes sourdough a tasty bread. But if eating it makes you sick, you may be allergic to one of the ingredients. Only a doctor can diagnose a food allergy. If you suspect sourdough bread is making you feel sick, consult your doctor.

Read more →

Caffeine & the Pancreas

Most people are not aware of the importance of the pancreas until something goes wrong with it, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The pancreas is a vital organ that plays a role in the digestion of food and the regulation of blood sugar.

Read more →
bowl of oatmeal on wood

Can Oatmeal Help an Upset Stomach?

Whether it's nausea or diarrhea that's causing your upset stomach, eating a bowl of oatmeal may help. It's not that oatmeal contains some special nutrient that helps you feel better, but it's a bland, low-fat food that's fairly easy-to-digest, which means it makes a good choice when you're having tummy trouble.

Read more →
filet mignon

Nutritional Information on Sirloin Vs. Filet Mignon

Although Americans are eating more chicken, they still love their beef, and average more than 50 pounds of beef per person each year, according to NPR. It's OK to eat meat, but you're better off if you keep your choices lean, and that means having a 3-ounce serving that has less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.

Read more →
Pasta and salmon salad

Is B-12 Good for Colds?

If you're trying to prevent or fight off a cold, vitamin B-12 may not offer much help. A cold is caused by a virus and is usually treated with rest and fluids, along with medication to manage symptoms.

Read more →