Health Effects of Coffee

We live in a fast paced society - fast cars, fast computers, and fast food. Anyone who is not pumped may be considered dull or boring. Many people get revved up artificially with the use of caffeine-containing beverages such as coffee, tea and cola beverages. Caffeine is considered a psychoactive drug since it stimulates the central nervous system and alters mood and behavior. Physiological effects may be experienced in adults after as little as one cup of coffee or 2 cans of cola.
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The French Paradox

A high intake of saturated fat is normally associated with increased rates of heart disease. This correlation does not hold true for certain regions of France. For example, people living in the Toulouse region have a high saturated fat intake and elevated blood cholesterol levels, and yet have quite low rates of heart disease compared to the U.S.
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Child Obesity in America

Health professionals have described it as a national epidemic. About nine million kids are affected. That amounts to 15 percent of American children, aged 6 to 11 years, who are considerably overweight. This number has actually tripled in the past 30 years. And the rates for obesity are actually greater for minority children. Over 25 percent of Black and Hispanic kids are overweight. Not only is the pediatric population as a whole getting fatter, but the fatter children are also getting more obese, with super-obesity having increased almost 100 percent over the past two decades. Obese children are at high risk of becoming obese adults, and the more obese the child becomes, the greater the risk of obesity when they reach adulthood.
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Citrus for Cancer Control

During the winter many of us in the Northern states are indebted to Florida for the tasty citrus that comes our way. When we think of citrus, many people think of vitamin C. However, an orange does not top the list of fruits for vitamin C content. Guava, kiwi fruit, or a cup of strawberries have more vitamin C than an orange.This web site was designed to provide you with useful and up-to-date information regarding vegetarian nutrition and a healthy lifestyle.
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Plant-Based Diets Validated

There is plenty of evidence to show that the healthiest diet contains a rich array of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans and nuts. Dr. Walter Willett, chair of the Nutrition Department at Harvard, recently said that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables plays a significant role in reducing the risk of the major Western chronic diseases.
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Fitness For Life

People everywhere are walking, cycling, jogging and swimming for the sake of their health. A regular aerobic exercise program along with a balanced diet is essential for the maintenance of good health. There are now so many ways to keep fit. For example, you can even cross-country ski in your bedroom in the middle of summer with a NordicTrack. Consumer demand for exercise equipment is growing rapidly and is already a $2 billion a year business.
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The High Cost of Inactivity

There is a high price tag to pay for being a couch potato. The lack of exercise can adversely affect the function of the brain, heart, blood vessels, bones, liver, and the intestinal tract. An inactive person is more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, and find stress harder to manage.
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Hype and Hoopla

Magazine articles and advertisements often appear in the media making all sorts of false or misleading claims for various food and dietary products. Then there are the food quacks that make exaggerated claims, promise quick and miraculous cures, zealously believe that all disease is caused by a faulty diet, and usually have something to sell at a high price. Promotion of food products for the treatment of various disorders is often targeted to vulnerable populations such as the ill and the elderly. Read more...

Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

We are born with a natural inclination towards sweet-tasting foods. There are many foods which are endowed with natural sweetness for our enjoyment. Most fruits and even some vegetables (such as carrots, peas, corn, squash, and sweet potatoes) are noted for their supply of natural sugars. However, most people are generally not satisfied with the sweetness of natural foods and desire processed foods enhanced with sweetening agents such as sucrose, corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners.
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Honey - How Sweet It Is

Honey is one of the earliest sweeteners used by humans and preceded the use of sugarcane by many centuries. Beekeeping to obtain honey probably goes back to the early Egyptians who used honey in embalming, in medicine, and for food. Honey has long been a staple of the kitchen.
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Dietary Fat Replacers

To better manage their weight, an increasing number of people are looking for foods that taste good, yet do not contain too many calories. Studies show that people tend to consume a constant volume of food irrespective of energy or fat content. This suggests that if the fat or energy content of food can be reduced, overall energy intake may also be lowered.
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Fake Fat & Sugar of The Future

Many people would like to cut down their fat intake for health reasons. Fat in the diet is important since it provides both essential fatty acids and serves as a carrier for important fat-soluble vitamins. While some fat is necessary, too much fat and saturated fat are associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease,cancer and other diseases.
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Oil Change Needed?

Many people would like to cut down their fat intake for health reasons. Fat in the diet is important since it provides both essential fatty acids and serves as a carrier for important fat-soluble vitamins. While some fat is necessary, too much fat and saturated fat are associated with an increased risk of obesity, heart disease,cancer and other diseases.
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Label Lingo

In the past, many food packages contain labels that make all sorts of health claims regarding sodium, sugar, fat and cholesterol. Many of these claims can be misleading. For example, consider the label on the cookies which claims them to be "80% fat-free", and therefore low in fat! When a label makes this claim, it means that the item contains 20% fat by weight. Actually, the cookies contain about 40% of their calories as fat. Furthermore, while 97% fat-free yogurt is only 3% fat by weight, 23 percent of its calories come from fat.
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The Pesticide Picture

Fruits and vegetables are known to protect against heart disease and cancer. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and health-promoting phytochemicals. However, many fruits and vegetables test positive for pesticide residues, with about one-third of them showing up with multiple residues. Research reveals that prolonged exposure to pesticide residues may increase the risk of various cancers and neurological problems (such as Parkinson's disease), and impair the immune system.
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Is Organic Food Worth the Price?

Organic food has hit mainstream America. Wal-Mart has introduced its own organic brands. Because of consumer interest, the organic food industry has been growing annually about 20 to 25 percent over the past several years. Organic foods are a step forward in terms of lessening the burden of pollution of planet earth- the pollution of our soil, air and water supply.
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Vegan Diets: Pros & Cons

About two to three million adult Americans have chosen to go totally vegetarian and eliminate all animal products from their diet. If one eats only plant foods, are there really any additional health benefits? What about risks?
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Trends In Modern Nutrition

This update offers a review of the most recent trends in nutrition research from the perspective of the most common chronic health issues facing civilized world today, such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc.
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Antioxidant Foods

Just how important are antioxidants? Can they prevent disease? In what foods do we find them? Can we get too much of them? This article aims to provide evidence-based answers to these questions that are now of interest to a lot of consumers.
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Vegetarian Diet Helps Prevent Chronic Disease

Feeding a vegetarian diet for six weeks to nonvegetarians lowered their blood pressure levels. Systolic readings dropped an average of 6mm Hg while diastolic values dropped 2-3 mm Hg in normotensive subjects. In untreated mild hypertensive patients the changes were more pronounced.
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Holiday Eating

It's that time of year again. A time of much feasting, fun and festivities. A time when we are tempted to the limit of endurance with tasty and tender delicacies at Thanksgiving and year-end Christmas parties. And by the time the New Year has come around some of us will have developed some extra baggage around our waist and hips. This leads many people to make the ever popular New Years' resolution- to go on a diet.
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Prebiotics - Growing Healthy Bugs

The media has mis-led the consumer to think that carbohydrates are bad for you and should be avoided, especially if you are trying to lose weight. The human machine, and especially the brain, actually function best on carbohydrates. The recommendation of recognized health professionals is that carbohydrates should form almost two-thirds of our daily calories, with the majority of the calories coming from starchy foods.
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Health Benefits of Green Leafy Vegetables

Mother was right all along. Grandma also told you they were good for you. So why do Americans eat green leafy vegetables only about once or twice a week? Why are cabbage, broccoli, turnip greens, and spinach rarely seen at the American dinner table?
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Health Benefits of Whole Grains

The value of grains in the diet has been somewhat overshadowed by all of the attention given to these other food groups. The foundation of the Food Guide Pyramid consists of the bread, cereal, rice and pasta group, foods rich in carbohydrates. Based upon the number of servings recommended for the various food groups, the breads/cereals group should comprise about 40 percent of our diet.
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Health Benefits of Grapes

The original grapes were red, and the dark grapes all contain a rich supply of anthocyanins, the antioxidant polyphenolic that conveys many health-promoting properties of grapes. Grapes rank with blueberries and blackberries as excellent sources of antioxidants.
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Health Benefits of Nuts

Nuts provide a number of useful nutrients. On average, one ounce of nuts provides about 4 grams of protein, 2-3 grams of dietary fiber, between 160 and 200 calories, and about 13 to 20 grams of fat. Nuts are naturally low in saturated fat with only 1-2 grams per ounce (although Brazil nuts have 5 g saturated fat), and nuts are free of cholesterol.
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Soy - The Miracle Bean

It has been known for some time that soy protein is a high quality protein equivalent to the protein quality of egg, milk or meat. Now, scientists are taking a very careful look at the health promoting properties of this mighty little bean. Research shows that soy may be useful for lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, osteoporosis and other problems.
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Health Benefits of Mushrooms

Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years both as food and for medicinal purposes. They are often classified as a vegetable or a herb, but they are actually fungi. While there are over 14,000 mushrooms, only about 3,000 are edible, about 700 have known medicinal properties, and fewer than one percent are recognized as poisonous.
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Health Benefits of Pomegranates

They have been around since time immemorial. In fact, many people believe that the apple in the Garden of Eden associated with Adam and Eve's fall from Divine favor was, in fact, a pomegranate. The name pomegranate means "apple with grains" which refers to the many clear ruby-colored seeds. According to Jewish legend, the perfect pomegranate has 613 seeds, one for each commandment given to Israel.
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Citrus Beyond Vitamin C

During the winter many of us in the Northern states are indebted to Florida for the tasty citrus that comes our way. When we think of citrus, many people think of vitamin C. However, an orange does not top the list of fruits for vitamin C content. Guava, kiwi fruit, or a cup of strawberries have more vitamin C than an orange.
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Do You Need Vitamin Supplements?

During the winter many of us in the Northern states are indebted to Florida for the tasty citrus that comes our way. When we think of citrus, many people think of vitamin C. However, an orange does not top the list of fruits for vitamin C content. Guava, kiwi fruit, or a cup of strawberries have more vitamin C than an orange.
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D is for DEFENSE

Few foods have it and most people don’t get enough sun to make it. Skin cells can manufacture vitamin D when exposed to adequate sunlight. Ten to fifteen minutes of bright sunlight on the arms and face 2 to 3 times per week is usually sufficient time to manufacture enough vitamin D to meet one's needs. The UVB rays of ultraviolet light are the rays that are responsible for making the vitamin D precursor. However, people who live north of Atlanta in the East and Los Angeles in the West don’t get enough UVB from the sun in winter to make sufficient vitamin D.
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Winning When You Lose

In today's sedentary society it is very easy to overeat. Hence, many of the diseases in the U.S. result from an excess of food rather than from nutrient deficiencies. And what are the health risks of overeating and being overweight? Carrying excess body weight increases one's chances of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.
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Fat Replacers Are Becoming Popular

The use of fat replacers in foods such as mayonnaise, frozen desserts, yogurts, chips, baked goods allow many people to cut their fat intake by one-third and more easily comply with the dietary recommendations that call for a lower fat and lower saturated fat intake. Furthermore, such individuals may be able to cut their calorie intake by up to 200 calories per day.
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