Nutrition facts for superfoods like acerola cherry and ginger juice reveal hidden health benefits. Learn about the three types of lipids, the difference between cider and distilled vinegar, and the best vitamins for vibrant skin.
Although oils and fats don't have their own food group in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ChooseMyPlate dietary guidelines, the department still recommends including some oil in your diet each day. Women should aim for the equivalent of 5 teaspoons daily, while men should consume 6 teaspoons.
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Spaghetti is the ultimate comfort food -- it's rich, carb-heavy and easy to prepare. You can get a nostalgia-tinged classic on the table in less than half an hour. Eating spaghetti isn't necessarily the best for weight loss, especially if you cook your noodles until they're very tender.
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With its nutty flavor and firm texture, tempeh -- made from fermented soybeans that have been pressed into blocks -- works well in a variety of dishes.
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Bananas contain nothing that will make you gain weight, but eating any food in excess can trigger weight gain if you consume more than your daily calorie needs. If you enjoy bananas, eat them as part of a weight-gain strategy to help you add mass.
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Beans might have a reputation as "the magical fruit" for less-than-savory reasons, but they're actually a nourishing addition to your healthy diet. Beans come loaded with essential minerals like magnesium and potassium, as well as vitamins like folate.
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Gaining a few pounds when you're underweight benefits your health -- a lower-than-healthy body weight can make it hard to recover from illness, affect fertility and pregnancy. and cause complications if you need to undergo surgery.
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No single food -- or pair of foods -- has the power to add or subtract pounds from your frame. Weight control is all about your overall activity level and the number of calories you eat, not simply whether you include chicken and broccoli in your diet.
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Toned, shapely thighs and buttocks not only fill out a pair of jeans, they'll help you run faster, jump higher and generally be more physically fit. No single food offers the magic bullet for healthy weight gain, though.
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You must consume several servings of vegetables daily to meet the nutritional recommendations for a healthy diet. One way to prepare and serve fresh vegetables is through roasting, a method of dry-heat cooking that allows you to cook the vegetables without added fat.
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Although the risks of being underweight don't get the same press attention that's attached to being overweight or obese, a low body weight can negatively affect your immunity and fertility, and may slow your rate of recovery after illness.
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Whether you're thin but carrying too much abdominal body fat, which is a condition called normal weight obesity -- or you're relatively fit but trying to lose the last few pounds -- if you want to lose weight, you'll need to make some lifestyle changes.
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Whether you like them scrambled, poached or over easy, eggs are welcome in many health-conscious diets. They're relatively low in calories and full of high-quality protein and other nutrients, which means they can boost your health, as well as help you shed pounds.
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Dairy, or dairy alternatives, are a key part of a healthy diet, and USDA ChooseMyPlate guidelines recommend that both men and women get 3 cups of dairy each day. Milk, as well as plant-based alternative milk sources such as soy milk or almond milk, all count toward your daily intake.
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Carrying a few extra pounds on your midsection is common -- more than half of Americans have a waist size that's larger than normal, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2014. That doesn't mean you're stuck with side stomach fat forever, though.
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Although salads and fruit are great for you -- and they're worthwhile to add to a weight loss diet -- they shouldn't make up your entire meal plan. You would likely lose weight eating salads and fruit at every meal, but you may also be depriving your body of essential nutrients you need to feel and look your best.
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A member of the legume family, lupine seeds -- sometimes called lupins or lupini beans -- make a healthful addition to your diet, and you can consume them on their own or use ground, dried lupini beans as a replacement for flour.
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Carob powder, from the pod of the carob tree, is often marketed as a chocolate substitute. While it has a similar appearance to cacao powder -- made from the beans of the cacao plant -- it has a milder, sweeter taste and offers a significantly different nutritional profile.
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While the high-protein diet craze pushed carbohydrates to the sidelines, the truth is that carbs have a place in a healthy diet. Your brain runs on glucose -- a form of sugar -- and carbs also serve as the primary fuel for other tissues, including your muscles.
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Cassava is native to Brazil and Paraguay and is a staple food throughout Indonesia and Thailand, as well as parts of Africa. Its roots serve as an excellent source of starch and, at 330 calories per cup, cassava provides energy you need to fuel your active lifestyle.
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Each cell in your body contains a number of biomolecules -- organic compounds that make up the structure and carry out the function of your cells. Among these molecules are nucleotides, the components your body uses to make genetic material -- DNA and RNA.
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