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Athletic activity requires optimal fueling with healthy meals. Image Credit: wundervisuals/E+/GettyImages If you’re an athlete, you know all too well how important feeling your best is to optimal training and performance. The foods you consume actually become you — as the building blocks for your muscles, connective tissue and bones. Advertisement What you eat gives you energy to practice and participate in competition, but the nutrients in food also help you recover from training, repair and build muscle, and fill depleted glycogen stores....

Low magnesium levels could be to blame for eyebrow twitching. Image Credit: beyhanyazar/iStock/GettyImages Uncontrollable eyebrow twitching is not only random, but awkward. Not fun on a first date or a job interview. It’s often caused by stress, lack of sleep or even excess caffeine, but low magnesium levels may also be a trigger. Advertisement Read more: How Soon Do You Feel the Benefits of Magnesium? Video of the Day Whether it's around the eyebrow, lips, forehead or eyelids, "in adults, a facial spasm rarely indicates an underlying medical condition," says Ali Samii, MD, a neurologist at University of Washington Medicine who specializes in movement disorders and spasticity....

Wild rice is one type that's especially high in protein. Image Credit: meesookde/iStock/Getty Images In This Article White Rice Brown Rice Wild Rice Parboiled Rice Amino Acids Other Options Even though it's a grain and most well-known for carbohydrates, the protein in rice gives it added nutritional benefit. Advertisement There's some debate over the nutritional value of white rice because it's considered a refined grain, but you'll get about the same amount of protein in white rice and other types of rice, such as brown rice and wild rice....

Female sprinter in starting position Image Credit: Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images Sprinting is running as fast as you can over a short period of time or distance. Although sprinting burns a lot of calories, there is not enough time for your body to use fat as a fuel source during a sprint. Many people who wish to lose weight often get confused about what type of exercise is the best to increase fat reduction....

A Squatty Potty could make pooping easier for some people, but it's not for everyone. Image Credit: SircPhoto/iStock/GettyImages The hottest accessory in the bathroom is…a toilet stool! No, really — and if you have certain types of poop problems, it can really help. Advertisement Here's who should consider investing in a bathroom stool and what research says about how well they actually work. Video of the Day Who Should Get a Toilet Stool?...

Three bottles of pasteurized milk on a white counter. Image Credit: Siraphol/iStock/Getty Images The homogenization of milk is the next step after pasteurization. Manufacturers use it to alter milk for human consumption. While pasteurization involves heating the milk to kill bacteria, homogenization involves processing milk so that the cream does not separate. This results in a well-mixed beverage that has the same consistency throughout the final milk product. Advertisement Reasons to Homogenize Milk All milk contains water and oil, and thus in its natural state milk will not remain mixed for long periods of time....

The benefits of exercising when you have prostate cancer go beyond staying fit. Image Credit: Vesnaandjic/E+/GettyImages If you’ve been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you might be wondering whether you can exercise during — and after — your treatment. The answer, in both cases, is yes. Physical activity can help you live longer, improve your quality of life and help alleviate some of the side effects of prostate cancer therapies. Advertisement In general, "it's always good for people with prostate cancer to have an exercise regimen," says Mohamad Allaf, MD, the executive vice chairman of the department of urology at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore....

A loaf of slice whole wheat bread. Image Credit: Kenishirotie/iStock/Getty Images Grains are essential in a healthy diet – ChooseMyPlate guidelines released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommend 6 to 8 ounces daily for men and 5 to 6 ounces for women. Flatbread and wheat bread both contribute toward these intake goals. The specific nutrition information for flatbread and wheat bread depends on its recipe, so each variety will be slightly different....

Many calcium-fortified foods, including non-dairy “milks,” waffles and cereal bars contain calcium carbonate. Image Credit: pashapixel/iStock/Getty Images Calcium carbonate is a popular dietary supplement used to increase calcium levels. You might see it as a calcium supplement, as an ingredient in antacids, or as an additive in food. Advertisement Calcium Carbonate is approved for use in food with no limitations, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Calcium carbonate is a natural product, but doesn't naturally occur in foods; learn which foods have this ingredient added to boost their calcium content....

Stay away from salty snack foods. Image Credit: Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images People with liver disease sometimes develop cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver. In the United States, cirrhosis is most commonly caused by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, but it can also be due to certain medications or illnesses, such as hepatitis B or C or cystic fibrosis. Avoiding certain foods may help limit the progression of cirrhosis, but there is no cure....

Make sure to avoid eating fast food when vomiting. Image Credit: Rouzes/E+/GettyImages Whether it’s from the flu, food poisoning or nausea, vomiting is never fun — and certain foods may make it even worse. Vomiting can be caused by a variety of issues, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, or consuming food or medication that may aggravate your stomach. It can even be caused by exercise, and may happen alongside stomach pain, diarrhea and fever....

Make sure to avoid fried greasy food. Image Credit: lechatnoir/iStock/GettyImages Gallbladder sludge sounds like something that would crawl out of a swamp. In fact, it’s a thick substance that can build up in your gallbladder, the organ in charge of storing bile produced by your liver. When the sludge builds up to excessive levels, it can lead to painful blockages, gallstones and a condition called cholecystitis. If this happens, you may need to make a few temporary changes to your diet....

Assorted nuts. Image Credit: Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images The glycemic index of a food relates to how quickly it is absorbed and how strongly it affects blood sugar and insulin levels, as explained by Harvard Medical School. The higher the GI, the greater effect on insulin. Irregardless of the exact type, nuts are a low-glycemic index, or GI, food. Nuts have only a limited amount of dietary carbohydrate and therefore only a small effect on blood glucose levels....

Never ignore heart attack symptoms like chest pain or shortness of breath — the sooner you get help, the better. Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative Listen to Your Heart highlights the simple nutrition, fitness and lifestyle changes you can make for a healthy heart at any age. If you think of your body as a complex machine, your heart is the motor that keeps it all going. So when you have a heart attack, it’s no wonder that your brain and other organs can be affected along with your ticker....

Barley is low on the glycemic index because of its complex carbs. Image Credit: Nora Carol Photography/Moment/GettyImages The foods you eat provide the raw materials for energy production and body function. Your body reacts differently to the foods you eat based on their chemical composition. High-carbohydrate foods provide a good source of energy. These foods are especially beneficial if they are also low in sugar. High carbohydrates does not necessarily mean high sugar....

High potassium levels and skin rashes can indicate kidney disorders. A critical electrolyte in your body is potassium. A positively charged ion, potassium is responsible for electrical relaxation of your muscle cells, especially those in your heart. According to "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine," potassium levels are regulated by a number of systems, including aldosterone levels, serum pH and most importantly by kidney function. Rashes and high potassium levels can indicate certain kidney disorders that affect not only your renal function, but also your skin....

Dehydration may lead to elevated blood-glucose levels. Image Credit: Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images Water is important for your health and staying well-hydrated may help you reduce your blood-glucose levels, which helps you better manage the hormone insulin. This is especially important for diabetics and some evidence suggests that proper hydration may help you from getting type 2 diabetes. Advertisement Blood Glucose Basics Glucose is a form of sugar your body uses for energy....

A slim woman is measuring her waist. Image Credit: Sam-Stock/iStock/Getty Images You’ve no doubt heard the saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.” This old adage definitely applies to trimmer belts, devices worn around the midsection to melt away belly fat. Unfortunately, wearing something around any area of the body won’t help you lose weight. Advertisement Features Trimmer belts are basically elastic girdles — for lack of a better term....

How Long to Digest Pasta? Image Credit: Tatiana Volgutova/iStock/GettyImages How long a particular food takes to digest depends primarily on its macronutrient makeup. Of the three macronutrients, carbohydrates digest the quickest, while fats are the slowest to digest. Pasta is primarily made up of carbohydrates with some protein and a trace amount of fat. Another component of judging the digestion speed of your pasta meal is what the pasta is made of....

Two women are running interval sprints on a track. Image Credit: shironosov/iStock/Getty Images One of the classic myths you hear when it comes to mixing weight training and cardio is that the two simply do not mix. Whether by choice or by result, you’ll only realize the results of one of them, even if you perform both of them. While it’s true that powerlifters shouldn’t engage in marathon endurance runs, that doesn’t preclude the dedicated lifter from engaging in cardio at all....