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Stevia leaves growing in a garden. Image Credit: Katharina Rau/iStock/Getty Images The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved “whole-leaf” or “crude” stevia as a sweetener in foods, according to information on the administration’s website. However, certain “refined stevia preparations” such as rebaudioside A can be marketed as stevia by food manufacturers. The FDA indicates this type of stevia falls into the “generally recognized as safe” category. Occasional stomach upset is among the adverse effects of taking stevia....

Eating raw fish or meat, including sushi and steak tartare, can put you at risk for foodborne illness. Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative How Bad Is It Really? sets the record straight on all the habits and behaviors you’ve heard might be unhealthy. In This Article Benefits Risks Safety Tips The Bottom Line Digging into a delicious poke bowl or a plate of beef carpaccio can be a dreamy escape for your tastebuds....

Posture affects your height, even though bones stop growing before age 30. Once your bones stop growing, there's a limit to what you can do to increase your height. Girls experience their peak height growth at 11.5 years and boys at 13.5 years. Boys tend to grow taller than girls due to having two years longer to grow before bone closure, Dr. Lawrence S. Neinstein says on the University of Southern California's website....

Energy drinks are not a reliable strategy for losing weight — and overconsumption may be dangerous. Image Credit: supermimicry/E+/GettyImages Energy drinks promise to “give you wings” and make other erroneous claims. They may give you a temporary boost of energy but they have little effect on metabolism. While there are plenty of sugar-free energy drinks, most are loaded with sugar which won’t do your waistline any favors. Advertisement Tip Energy drinks are not a reliable strategy for losing weight — and overconsumption may be dangerous....

You can safely take iron and folic acid at the same time, either in a supplement combining the two or from separate sources. Image Credit: Newell’s photography/iStock/GettyImages Your red blood cells need iron and folic acid to function properly. If you don’t get enough iron or folic acid from your diet, you can take supplements. You can find supplements that combine folic acid with iron, or take the two separately as needed....

Vodka's proof — aka alcohol content — is what determines its calorie count. Image Credit: SarapulSar38/iStock/GettyImages In This Article Grey Goose Ketel One Svedka Ciroc Pinnacle Burnett's Taaka Three Olives Jeremiah Weed Adding Mixers Whether it's made from potatoes, corn or rye, vodka's calorie content depends on the alcohol level rather than the main ingredient. All vodkas are created by fermenting a starch and then distilling the result. The alcohol is purified during the distilling process, while the fermented potato or grain stays behind....

A normal heart rate in an adult is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. An elevated heart rate is called tachycardia. Elevated heart rates occur in healthy individuals under certain circumstances. They can also indicate an underlying medical illness that might range from mild to life threatening. Common Causes As noted in Arthur C. Guyton’s “Textbook of Medical Physiology,” tachycardia occurs in generally healthy people with healthy hearts when the body needs an increased supply of blood and oxygen....

Unripe mangoes are best used in cooked or pickled recipes. Image Credit: Pablo Rasero/iStock/GettyImages In This Article Ripening Mango Using Unripe Mango Mangoes are delicious tropical fruits that are low in fat yet high in fiber, vitamins and minerals and can help support healthy skin, immunity and digestion. (Add them to fruit smoothies for a refreshing breakfast or dice them into salsas and salads.) Advertisement Despite all the pros of eating mangoes, there's one major con: Green mangoes can be difficult to tell when they're ripe, much like avocados....

A bowl of brown and wild rice. Image Credit: Torsakarin/iStock/Getty Images Symptoms of hypoglycemia, or lower than normal blood sugar, include hunger, shakiness, dizziness and lightheadedness. It’s more common in those who take medication for diabetes, but it can affect anyone. Hypoglycemia may occur after fasting for more than eight hours. Reactive hypoglycemia is more common than fasting hypoglycemia. It happens when blood sugar drops below normal within two to four hours after eating....

A piece of toast with peanut butter. Image Credit: nu-creation/iStock/Getty Images Peanut butter should not cause diarrhea. In fact, the Cleveland Clinic recommends adding peanut butter to your diet if you develop diarrhea. If you are allergic to peanuts, however, diarrhea may occur after you eat peanut butter. Consult your doctor if you experience diarrhea or other adverse reactions after eating peanut butter. Your doctor may recommend that you see an allergist for proper testing to confirm or rule out an allergy to peanuts....

Side planks are a great way to strengthen the sacroiliac joint. Image Credit: fizkes/iStock/GettyImages Located on each side of the body where your lower spine and pelvis connect, the sacroiliac (SI) joints act as shock absorbers for your back and pelvis, according to the Mayo Clinic. SI joint strengthening exercises actually mean working the muscles that surround the area to stabilize the joint. Advertisement When the SI joint is forced to move beyond its limited range or is stressed, a painful condition called sacroiliitis can develop....

Figs are a tasty and nutritious snack. Image Credit: Sarsmis/iStock/Getty Images In This Article Fig Nutrition Glycemic Index How to Eat Figs You can find dried figs in many grocery and convenience stores, and you might occasionally stumble upon fresh figs in the produce section. Advertisement They have a wealth of nutritional benefits and serve as key sources of essential nutrients, and there are multiple types of figs to choose from!...

Fruits and vegetables are key to a healthy diet that controls weight and leads to weight loss. Image Credit: Yuri Arcurs/Hemera/Getty Images Exercise is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It becomes even more critical when you are also relying on it to help you lose weight. But not everyone is physically capable of performing exercise to lose weight, and some feel they don’t have any time in their day to devote to physical activity....

You don't need hours — just 30 minutes — to burn calories with a HIIT workout. Image Credit: Collette Stohler/LIVESTRONG.com Most of us don’t have the time (or patience) to log hours on the treadmill or elliptical each day. Fortunately, short bursts of high-intensity work followed by brief periods of recovery can burn just as many calories as steady-state cardio, but in less time. Advertisement Yes, we're talking about high-intensity interval training or HIIT, and the best news of all is that these workouts can usually be completed in 30 minutes or less!...

A young man drinking a glass of beer on a patio. Image Credit: Marko Marcello/iStock/Getty Images The headache, nausea, dry mouth and other discomforts of a hangover can make anyone vow to give up drinking forever. Most people know that a hangover results from drinking too much alcohol, but how much is too much varies widely from person to person. How many beers you’re able to drink without having a hangover depends on your physiological makeup, your health, your own drinking history and even your family’s drinking history....

You can burn between 210 and 733 calories cycling for 30 minutes. Image Credit: Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision/GettyImages Whether you ride on the road, hit the trails or prefer to use a stationary bike indoors, cycling is a good calorie-burning workout that can help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals. Increase the number of calories burned when biking by increasing your speed or riding up hills. Advertisement Tip You can burn between 210 and 733 calories cycling for 30 minutes....

Active people burn more calories. Image Credit: gradyreese/iStock/GettyImages Whether you’re an athlete or lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle of prepping for your next Netflix binge, your body burns calories 24/7. Nailing down how many calories the “average” person burns daily is nigh impossible given the huge variations, but calorie breakdowns provide a rough estimate. Advertisement Tip Variations in body weight, metabolism and activity level make it nearly impossible to project an "average" number of calories burned, but the gulf between the expended calories of active and sedentary people is significant....

To go farther, faster, learn how to breathe while running. Image Credit: Rowan Jordan/E+/GettyImages In This Article Nose vs. Mouth Diaphragmatic Breathing Breathing Patterns Breathing is automatic. That is, until you go running. Advertisement It's incredibly common for people to adopt unhealthy and performance-wrecking breathing patterns while running, says Meg Takacs, a certified run coach and founder of Run With Meg. You might breathe too fast, hold your breath for long intervals or huff and puff at an erratic rate....

You can boil green bananas with the skin on or off. Image Credit: Mongkol Nitirojsakul / EyeEm/EyeEm/GettyImages Green bananas, also called plantains, are a high-carbohydrate treat that’s less sweet than fresh bananas. You can make boiled green bananas or fry them, but they’re not too healthy and may contain more calories. Advertisement Tip You can boil green bananas with the skin on or off. It should take roughly 15 to 20 minutes to fully cook them in boiling water....

Rabbit is one of the easiest game animals for novices to work with, because of its compact size. Rabbit is easy to cut up and doesn't require a lot of complicated preparation, and ordinary methods are usually all that's required to cook it. Most chicken recipes can be adapted to use rabbit, though the meat is leaner and usually chewier than chicken. Young fryer rabbits can be fried or grilled, but slow cooking in a crock pot will make any rabbit tender and tasty....