Nutritional planning involves balancing macronutrients, understanding calorie formulas, and identifying the functional properties of whole foods to manage weight and chronic conditions effectively.
Inserting genes not normally found in a certain food or plant results in a genetically modified food. Farmers genetically modify crops for one of several reasons: to increase resistance to certain viruses or toxins, to increase pesticide resistance and to increase resistance to certain powerful herbicides.
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Premature infants -- babies born before 37 weeks -- have unique nutritional needs. Babies born early may have lower vitamin and mineral stores than babies born after a full-term pregnancy. Preterm infants may also have higher nutritional needs for not only calories, but also for vitamins and minerals for some time.
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Sodium nitrite is a food preservative that also gives cured and processed meats, such as ham and hot dogs, their characteristic pinkish color. Many vegetables, including spinach, celery, beets and cabbage, naturally contain large amounts of nitrite.
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Bay leaves, which grow on the sweet bay or laurel tree, were used in ancient Rome to make laurel wreaths. Today, the bay leaf is more often found as a seasoning agent in stews or soups than on someone’s head.
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Diuretics wash extra fluid out of the body, but they can also wash out essential minerals. Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic often used to treat hypertension and also edema, or fluid retention, and congestive heart failure.
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Iodine, a trace mineral, plays an essential part in the manufacture of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland contains most of the body’s iodine stores.
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With it's rich flavor and juicy meat, duck makes a decadent addition to your diet. Overall, duck is fattier than many other types of meat, so opt for skinless breast meat to help limit your fat intake. Consume duck as a source of nutrients, and enjoy the health benefits associated with its nutritional value.
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Apple cider vinegar, made from fermented apple juice, has been a folk cure sensation since 1958, when Vermont country doctor D.C. Jarvis wrote a book extolling its virtues for treating everything from arthritis to diabetes to weight gain.
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Fenugreek, an herbal supplement made from the seeds of the Trigonella foenum-graecum plant, has a number of traditional uses. Breastfeeding mothers use it to increase milk supply. Fenugreek has also been used as an alternative medicine for diabetes, inflammation and to induce childbirth.
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Everyone needs vitamin D, but the amounts needed and the possible benefits of taking higher amounts of vitamin D are hot debate topics in medicine. Two forms of vitamin D are available as supplements, vitamin D2, also called ergocalciferol and D3, called cholecalciferol.
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Most obstetricians suggest prenatal vitamins for their pregnant patients to ensure that they get the optimal amounts of vitamins and minerals necessary for fetal growth.
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Both fish and meat provide healthy nutrition, but both also come with health caveats. Meat and fish, along with poultry, are the best sources of protein and iron. Both have a place in a healthy diet, but cutting down on red meat and increasing fish may improve your health.
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Potassium is a mineral necessary for nerve and muscle functioning, particularly the muscles of the heart. Low levels of potassium, called hypokalemia, occur for many reasons. Normal blood levels of potassium range between 3.5 and 5.0 milliequivalents per liter, or mEq/L, according to Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine .
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Allergic reactions to alcohol most often occur as an allergy to ingredients found in certain types of alcohol or to substances that alcohol is mixed with in cocktails. An inability to metabolize alcohol can also cause flushing that resembles a rash, particularly in some ethnic groups.
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