People have been chewing “gum” for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks chewed on mastic tree sap, Native Americans in New England chewed on spruce sap and then passed this habit on to European settlers.
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Although water is generally considered the best way to satisfy your thirst -- tea, particularly unsweetened green tea -- is also a healthy choice.
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Weight Watchers is arguably one of the most well-established weight-loss programs. According to the company’s website, millions of people throughout the world have participated since it was first created in the 1960s.
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Your body weight is the result of a variety of factors – genetics, your overall health, lifestyle, stress, dietary choices and eating patterns -- all influence the number you see on the scale. It makes sense that there’s no single, magic bullet for successful weight loss.
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Low-impact aerobic exercise is one of the safest ways for those with chronic back problems to lose weight.
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At the most basic level, the secret of a healthy diet is simple -- eat plenty of vegetables, fruit and whole grains; get your protein from lean animal sources, fatty fish or protein-rich plants; limit junk foods; and don’t consume more calories than you need.
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Most nursing mothers don’t need to routinely avoid any specific food, according to “The Nursing Mother’s Companion,” but some mothers find that eating certain foods prior to breast feeding makes their babies unusually fussy or gassier than normal.
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Much is said about the benefits of prenatal exercise, but it’s your fitness level prior to conception that sets the stage for the type of exercise you’ll be able to continue throughout a healthy pregnancy.
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Becoming pregnant seems to bring up dozens of new questions pertaining to every facet of your life. You may already know, for example, that getting regular exercise throughout a healthy pregnancy delivers many benefits to both you and your developing baby. But what type of exercise is safest?
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In the first few days or weeks after conception, before most tests can detect the hormonal changes brought on by pregnancy, your body may exhibit certain pregnancy-related symptoms. Not all women have symptoms, and the majority of women only experience a few, rather than all of them.
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Few foods are as versatile as they are nutritious, but the humble sweet potato is one exception. Whether you bake, roast, grill, saute, steam or microwave it, the orange-fleshed root vegetable delivers substantial amounts of vitamins A, C and B-6, potassium, iron and dietary fiber.
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If food prices were based on nutritional value, the humble carrot would be far more expensive. Carrots are the leading source of beta-carotene -- and therefore an important source of vitamin A -- in the American diet, according to “Wellness Foods A to Z: An Indispensable Guide for Health-Conscious Food Lovers.
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With a per capita consumption rate that exceeds that of apples and grapes combined, bananas have long been America’s favorite fruit. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that since about 1990, the average American has consumed close to 25 pounds of bananas a year.
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It takes little more than water, time and sunshine to transform plump, juicy grapes into sweet, chewy raisins. That doesn’t mean you would have found people downing them by the handful in ancient Rome, where the dried fruit was a precious commodity used to pay taxes, reward top athletes and “cure” old age.
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If statistics are an accurate indication, sweet potatoes are widely underrated in the United States. While the average American enjoys regular potatoes enough to consume more than 36 pounds of them each year, sweet potatoes are appreciated to the tune of just over 5 pounds per person per year.
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Depending on the compounds they produce when metabolized, all foods — with the exception of pure water — are either acid-forming or alkaline-forming in the body. Consequently, each food you eat has a temporary and minuscule effect on your body’s pH balance.
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Not only do bell peppers pack more nutrients per calorie than practically any other food, but these crisp, sweet vegetables are as versatile as they are nutritious. While it doesn’t take much effort to incorporate bell peppers into your diet, how you choose to prepare them can affect their nutritional value.
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Bowel regularity is more of an individual experience than a collective one. One person might get rid of solid waste once or twice a day, while another might have the urge to eliminate just once every couple of days.
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Since losing their undeserved status as a nutritional outcast, nuts have secured a more accurate reputation as a nutrient-dense food that promotes cardiovascular health and helps protect against weight gain and Type 2 diabetes.
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If you sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on your oatmeal every morning because you’ve heard it’s good for you, you’re not alone.
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