50 Grams of Carbohydrates a Day Diet Image Credit: Brian Macdonald/DigitalVision/Getty Images Consuming no more than 50 grams of carbohydrates daily is typical of a low-carb, ketogenic diet. This type of meal plan alters the way your body uses energy. Normally your body uses carbohydrates as its preferred fuel source. If you limit your carb intake to 50 grams or less per day, the body instead utilizes fat as the primary energy source....
Egg yolks are high in lecithin. Image Credit: AlexPro9500/iStock/GettyImages Lecithin is a nonessential fat (or phospholipid) that’s found naturally in foods, such as eggs. It’s sometimes added to processed foods to improve their taste and texture. Advertisement In the body, lecithin helps move fats and eventually, it turns into choline, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. While lecithin itself is not an "essential" nutrient (meaning your body can make it on its own), choline is an essential nutrient that must come from food....
Eating whole fruit is better for your teeth than drinking fruit juices or smoothies. Image Credit: Moyo Studio/E+/GettyImages Some of the things you do every day to take care of your body may actually be detrimental to your dental health. But with a few small tweaks, you’ll be on your way to super strong teeth. (No cavities here!) Advertisement Here are seven habits to watch out for: Video of the Day 1....
Resistance bands allow you to do a solid back workout just about anywhere. Image Credit: Peter Marino/LIVESTRONG.com Creative Resistance bands are inexpensive, versatile and easy to store — plus they deliver. This challenge builds full-body strength using only bands. Get all the details on the challenge here. Your back muscles can be tricky to target without access to a gym — unless you have resistance bands handy. Unlike with body-weight or even dumbbell exercises you might be able to do at home, a resistance band can mimic a cable machine for a lot of exercises....
Image Credit: Rawpixel/iStock/Getty Images When looking to make a healthy change in their diet, some people select gluten-free and sugar-free foods. Gluten-free foods are becoming more mainstream and are a necessity for some individuals. Sugar-free foods are also widely available, but many healthful foods, including fruit and yogurt, contain natural sugars, making this issue a bit confusing. Ultimately, reducing or avoiding sugary drinks, candy, desserts and other sweets and limiting or avoiding added sugars are more realistic goals, since avoiding all sugars isn't practical or necessary....
An opened can of black olives. Image Credit: AdrianHancu/iStock/Getty Images A staple in Mediterranean cuisine, olives offer essential nutrients and provide a healthful source of fat in a balanced diet. Canned olives have a long shelf life, which reduces spoilage and offers an economical way to incorporate more olives into your diet. However, pickled varieties can come loaded with sodium, so they’re best consumed in moderation. Advertisement Nutritional Basics A quarter-cup serving of canned olives contains just 39 calories, which helps add flavor to your diet without expanding your waistline....
Consult with your doctor before using your vitamin A supplement to treat your skin. Image Credit: View Stock/View Stock/Getty Images Vitamin A provides health benefits that extend beyond ensuring healthy vision. This fat-soluble vitamin plays an important role in immunity and red blood cell formation. You can get vitamin A from your diet or in vitamin A capsules for skin. Advertisement You can also find it as an ingredient in some skin care products in the form of retinol....
Jumping jacks can be fun, free, challenging and ultimately beneficial for your body. Image Credit: lolostock/iStock/GettyImages Active children are always on the move, running and jumping everywhere. That means calisthenics exercises like jumping jacks fit naturally into their playtime, and kids might even do them just for the joy of it as a fun way to burn off excess energy. But just because you’ve grown up doesn’t mean you have to stop doing this type of fun, lively exercise....
Diet candies made with sugar alcohols can have unintended effects. Sugar-free candy, nutrition bars, cookies, cakes and other sweets might be sugar-free, but they do contain sugar substitutes, many of which can cause diarrhea, especially sugar alcohols. Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose can also cause diarrhea in some people,b but sugar alcohols are more likely to induce diarrhea. When you eat foods containing sugar alcohols, be aware that you might experience sudden, explosive diarrhea if you eat too much....
Image Credit: Jiri Hera/iStock/Getty Images Urine is one of the primary ways your body gets rid of things it doesn't need. However, urine shouldn't contain high levels of protein. Too much protein in urine, a condition called proteinuria, is a sign of kidney damage. The good news is, you can help reduce the amount of protein in your urine with some changes to your diet. Advertisement Soy for Proteinuria Diet Soy protein may offer numerous benefits for damaged kidneys....
Cycling is a great aerobic exercise. Image Credit: kzenon/iStock/GettyImages Cycling is an aerobic exercise, which is the kind of exercise you need to perform to lose fat on any part of your body. Aerobic exercise burns many calories, and the key to losing weight is burning more calories than you consume. Advertisement You can't perform exercises that target a specific area such as your waist and thighs; instead, you need to perform heart-rate-raising exercises like cycling that burn abundant calories and reduce your total body mass....
A woman is measuring her waist. Image Credit: YunYulia/iStock/Getty Images Most adults in the U.S. carry excess body weight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While there are a number of reasons why Americans are gaining weight, getting too much potassium in the diet is not one of them. In fact, upping your intake of potassium-rich foods may help you lose water weight. Advertisement Reasons for Weight Gain The most likely reason for weight gain is a calorie imbalance, says the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which means you are eating more calories than your body burns....
Walking on flat ground is great exercise, but walking inclines and declines will really challenge the thighs and calf muscles. Image Credit: gbh007/iStock/GettyImages Walking is associated with numerous health benefits, including calorie burn and the potential to tone muscles. Consistency, intensity, duration and diet all factor into the process, but walking can definitely trim fat off the thighs while building muscle tone. Advertisement Tip Walking on flat ground is great exercise, but walking inclines and declines will really challenge the thighs and calf muscles....
A young man is doing pushups. Image Credit: Hlib Shabashnyi/iStock/Getty Images Your body consists of fat and all the rest: its fat-free components. If you are overweight, improving your body composition involves lowering your percentage of body fat. Increasing lean muscle tissue and reducing your stored body fat helps lower your percentage of body fat, and compound exercises have the ability to improve your body composition. Unlike isolation exercises, which only require a single joint movement, compound movements maximize muscle activation with multiple joint articulations....
A glass of whiskey on a bar top. Image Credit: igorr1/iStock/Getty Images Monocytes, large white blood cells that turn into macrophages in tissue, help control infection by gobbling up bacteria, but have a less beneficial side. Monocytes can cause inflammation that damage tissue. In blood vessels, inflammation can damage the vessels and increase atherosclerosis, a build-up of debris inside blood vessels that can decrease blood flow to the heart. Certain foods may help keep your monocyte count within healthy limits....
If you’re experiencing pain, weakness or fatigue in addition to bloody stool, it’s important to talk to your doctor. Image Credit: SDI Productions/E+/GettyImages In This Article Causes of Bloody Stool Red Foods Spicy and Acidic Foods What to Eat When to Worry If you notice blood in your toilet bowl or on your toilet paper after a bowel movement, you're likely to be concerned. There are many reasons your stool could contain blood, and while most causes are fairly harmless, blood can sometimes indicate a more serious condition....
references & resources Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin B6 The Ohio State University: Long-Term, High-Dose Vitamin B6/B12 Use Associated With Increased Lung Cancer Risk Among Men GNC National Sanitation Foundation Cleveland Clinic: "8 Vitamins & Minerals You Need for a Healthy Immune System" Mayo Clinic: "Antioxidants" Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology: "Diet and supplements and their impact on colorectal cancer" National Institutes of Health: "Calcium and Vitamin D: Important at Every Age" The Journal of the National Cancer Institute: "Baseline Selenium Status and Effects of Selenium and Vitamin E Supplementation on Prostate Cancer Risk" National Institutes of Health: "Selenium" JAMA: "Efficacy of Folic Acid Therapy in Primary Prevention of Stroke Among Adults With Hypertension in China The CSPPT Randomized Clinical Trial" EWG: "How Much Is Too Much?...
There are many grants available for sponsoring fitness programs for kids. Image Credit: Design Pics/Design Pics/Getty Images One area of financing that is virtually untapped for many nonprofits and schools that would like to expand fitness activity and wellness programs is grants. Millions of dollars are available to organizations willing to take the time and initiative to apply for money offered by grant funders. Grant funders range from national corporations to local charities and philanthropists who desire to fund programs for organizations that would like to expand or start a fitness activity or wellness program for adults or kids....
These low-calorie pasta recipes satisfy and prove noodles can be nutritious. Image Credit: luchezar/E+/GettyImages Zoodles are a healthy pasta alternative — but, let’s be honest, saying the name is more fun than eating the dish. Good news: You don’t have to ditch good ol’ traditional pasta for the sake of sticking to your calorie budget. Advertisement Despite popular belief, pasta can actually make a nutritious, low-calorie meal. The key is keeping portions in check and pairing your noodles with protein- and fiber-filled foods....
Black pepper on a cutting board Image Credit: AndreyCherkasov/iStock/Getty Images Sulfur and iodine are essential natural elements for healthy cells. Sulfur is a component of many amino acids, proteins, vitamins and hormones. It’s important for healthy hair, skin and digestion. Iodine is necessary for your thyroid to function properly. Many herbs contain trace elements of both of these compounds, but the amount will differ depending on the soil in which they grow....
