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.

Directly Above Shot Of Rice In Bowl On Table

What Are the Effects of Eating Raw Rice?

In North America, the emerging raw food movement is establishing itself as a potentially healthier alternative to a diet that increasingly consists of processed and cooked foods.

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Glass of Iced Water with Lemon sits on Outside Table

Should You Drink Cold Water After Eating Fatty Foods?

All vitamins are either water-soluble or fat-soluble, so you need both water and fats to absorb many of the nutrients in your diet. Water also plays an important role in your body's ability to digest fats and use them for energy.

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Tablet with words Zinc (Zn). microelements.

Can a Vegan Diet Lower Testosterone Levels?

By eliminating meat, fish, poultry and all animal products from their diets, vegans can experience unwanted side effects related to hormone imbalances. Although they avoid the hormones found in some meat and dairy products, vegans tend to eat higher than average amounts of hormone-like compounds in plant foods.

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Fresh coffee beans

How Much Energy Can You Get From Eating Coffee Beans?

Like brewed coffee, whole coffee beans add almost nothing to your caloric intake. As food energy is measured in calories, eating coffee beans will not technically provide you with energy. But coffee beans are high in caffeine, which can make you feel more energetic.

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fresh and cracked tamarind

The Benefits of Sweet Tamarind

Tamarind is a fruit that is popular in the foods of Southeast Asia, North Africa and India. While tamarinds are typically sweet and sour in flavor, they tend to become sweeter as they ripen.

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eggplants

Allergy to Eggplant

Eggplants are fruits related to potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and tobacco. Known as the nightshade family, allergic reactions to this group of plants is relatively common. Although rare, allergies exclusive to eggplants may arise from a number of different factors.

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Banana on a wooden table

Allergic Reactions to Bananas

According to Food Allergy Research & Education, approximately 4 percent of adults in the United States have a food allergy. Although banana allergies are not among the most common types of fruit allergy, they can cause life-threatening symptoms. See your doctor if you suspect you are allergic to bananas.

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Woman eating apple

Eating Apples Before Bed

Eating anything shortly before going to bed can lead to difficulties falling asleep and may disturb your sleep throughout the night. While this is true of most foods, rich, heavy, spicy and fatty foods may be more detrimental to your sleep than others.

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Bowl Of Fresh Lemon & Limes On Kitchen Table

Which Is Better for Your Health: Lemon or Lime?

Despite differences in size, flavor and color, lemons and limes share the same nutritional benefits. Both are low in calories and are good sources of dietary fiber, and they help you meet your daily needs for vitamins C and B-9.

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Carrot Smoothie

How Much Carrot Juice Is Too Much?

Carrot juice is extremely high in vitamin A and contains large amounts of other nutrients, like vitamin K and potassium. Although you can potentially overdose on some vitamins and minerals, these nutrients are harmless even at very high doses.

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Woman's hand slicing a cucumber.

Cucumbers for Gout

Gout occurs when you have too much uric acid in your bloodstream, resulting in the buildup of painful uric acid crystals in your joints. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines, which are found in many foods.

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Lupin beans

Do You Have to Cook Lupini Beans?

Lupini beans, or lupins, are the seeds of lupinus plants. With origins in the Mediterranean, these high-protein beans are traditionally eaten with beer throughout Southern Europe and Latin America. Due to the bitter taste and high alkaloid content of the beans, special "debittering" methods for lupini beans are common.

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Brown Rice Dangers

Beyond differences in color, the differences between brown rice and white rice largely arise from the manufacturing process. While the outer shell, or hull, of rice grains is removed to make brown rice edible, white rice is produced by further removing the bran and germ layers, then polishing the grain.

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Alkaline pH in Men Vs. Women

Disruptions in the pH balance of the human body can cause a number of detrimental effects. While your body's fluids are generally held in the neutral range, near a pH of 7.0, the foods that you eat may have an impact on your body's pH balance.

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cup of tea

Tea and Calcium Absorption

Despite the numerous health benefits arising from their high antioxidant content, teas can negatively affect your body's ability to use a variety of minerals. Chief among these is calcium, the most prevalent mineral in your body.

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Upset woman lying on bed

Vitamin B-6 & Insomnia

Vitamin B-6, or pyridoxine, plays a variety of important roles in your body. Similar to the other B-vitamins, vitamin B-6 helps your body convert food energy into glucose, metabolize fats and proteins, and ensure proper function of your nervous system.

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Glasses of soda on table, close up

Is Soda Bad for Your Kidneys?

Soda varieties come with a refreshing fizzy feeling and varieties ranging from light, citrus drinks to strong, dark colas. Unfortunately, compounds contributing to that fizzy feeling and those flavors can have negative effects on your kidneys.

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Glass of orange juice, fresh fruit and pills on kitchen counter

Are There Vitamins That Can Raise Platelets?

Platelets, or thrombocytes, are cells that are vital to your blood's ability to clot. While a low platelet count, or thrombocytopenia, can arise from a variety of conditions, a variety of vitamin supplements can help prevent and treat this condition.

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