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When it comes to swimming basics, there are several skills you need to know. Image Credit: Jacob Ammentorp Lund/iStock/GettyImages Though fish and little kids make gliding through the water look effortless, swimming takes full-body strength and coordination. You need to move your legs and arms in tandem, as well as time your breathing and strokes for maximum efficiency. Advertisement Other basic skills in swimming include diving into the water to get a smooth start on your stroke and sculling, which gives you a feel for how to properly move through the water....

Pecans can go bad quite quickly. Finding out that the nuts you have in the pantry have gone stale is disappointing, especially if you found out right as you were mixing up your favorite quick bread, or worse, if you found out by biting into a rancid-tasting cookie that you just baked. Unless you regularly use nuts, chances are they will sit in the pantry for a long time before you decide to use them....

A fried quail salad. Image Credit: Zoryanchik/iStock/Getty Images Pregnant women often feel overwhelmed by the endless lists of things they should and should not eat during pregnancy. Because quail is not a popular food choice in the United States, it can be difficult to get information about its safe consumption during pregnancy. In most cases, quail is perfectly safe during pregnancy and offers some valuable nutrients to your growing fetus. Take normal food safety precautions when eating quail, and consult your doctor for help with nutritional choices during pregnancy....

Raw kidney beans taste bitter and contain natural toxins. While many foods are perfectly fine to eat right off the vine or out of the ground, red kidney beans are not one of them. Though many raw beans contain the toxin Phytohaemagglutinin, also called kidney bean lectin, kidney beans contain the highest toxin levels. Cooked beans also contain the toxin, but in much lower and harmless levels. Soaking and cooking the beans destroys enough of the toxin so that symptoms do not occur....

Women practicing straight-leg dead lifts without weights. Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News/Getty Images Your hamstring, located in the back of your thigh, isn’t actually a single muscle but rather a group of three muscles: the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. All three muscles work to flex your knee and extend, or straighten, your hip. The two versions of the deadlift work your hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae and quads. Advertisement Types There are two primary varieties of the deadlift exercise: bent-leg deadlifts and straight-leg deadlifts....

Nutrisystem helps you lose weight by providing you with its own foods so you don’t have to do any counting or measuring. However, to help control hunger, many of the meal items are high in fiber. If you’re not used to eating fiber, these foods may cause gas pain. Consult your doctor before starting any weight-loss diet. Nutrisystem Foods Nutrisystem offers a variety of food options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks....

Two cups of coffee on a table with food. Image Credit: GYRO PHOTOGRAPHY/amanaimagesRF/amana images/Getty Images Coffee is an extremely popular beverage, and you may be one that drinks it for the caffeine jolt. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services notes that caffeine is the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance, and eight out of 10 U.S. adult caffeine users are coffee drinkers. There are pros and cons to coffee consumption, but one important negative side effect to be aware of is nutrient depletion....

Lime water is a very low-calorie beverage. Image Credit: Mindstyle/iStock/Getty Images No one food or drink, consumed on its own, has the power to make you lose weight. However, lime water may offer some benefit to those trying to slim down, if it’s combined with a reduced-calorie diet and exercise program. Using a calorie counter app is a great trick to staying on track. Consult your doctor to discuss diet and foods that promote a healthy weight loss....

Eating just protein wouldn't be healthy, but balanced diets that are rich in protein have many benefits. Image Credit: Anna Shkuratova/iStock/GettyImages Although low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets are well-known methods that help with weight loss, high-protein diets can also be effective. However, high-protein diets involve more than eating just protein. Rather than directing you to consume only meat, high-protein diets simply restructure the amounts of macronutrients you consume. This way, you’re consuming more protein than average, but are still incorporating carbohydrates and fats into your diet....

Weigh yourself first thing in the morning every time for the best picture of your progress. Image Credit: Ponchai Soda / EyeEm/EyeEm/GettyImages Regularly stepping on the scale can help you keep tabs on your weight-loss progress. But you’ll get the most useful information when you weigh in at the right time. Advertisement "Hopping on the scale at regular intervals helps you be more accountable to yourself about your weight," explains Lisa R....

A box of assorted donuts. Image Credit: Cathy Yeulet/Hemera/Getty Images Most parts of your body, with the exception of your stomach, intestines and a few other tissues, are meant to be alkaline, which means not acidic. Your blood, for example, is strictly maintained as an alkaline fluid because oxygen, nutrient and waste exchange occurs most efficiently in a basic environment. Alkalinity also deters pathogenic microorganisms. Many foods and beverages in the standard American diet are acidic, meaning they lower your body’s pH levels and may contribute to poor health....

A smoothie can be a nutritious, gentle way to ease back into eating after fasting. Image Credit: Arx0nt/Moment/GettyImages As anyone who has broken a fast will tell you, going about it the wrong way can cause stomach upset, making you feel bloated, uncomfortable and also lethargic. If you want to avoid that unpleasant possibility, what are the best foods to eat after fasting? Advertisement How to Break a Fast Not just any food or beverage will do after many hours without eating....

Gluten is commonly found in cookies. Gluten sensitivities typically affect your digestive system, skin or sinuses, but in certain circumstances, a gluten allergy can cause ear congestion and a temporary reduction in hearing. Your heath care provider should evaluate ear problems that develop after consuming gluten to ensure the ear problems are related to a gluten allergy. Your doctor will provide you with a clinical diagnosis and treatment options. Advertisement Gluten Sensitivity Gluten sensitivity, also called a gluten allergy, is an overreaction of the immune system to gluten....

Legumes can provide many health benefits. Image Credit: Boarding1Now/iStock/Getty Images Legumes include beans, lentils and peas, including green split peas. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that healthy adults on a 2,000-calorie diet eat about 3 cups of legumes per week. You can use green split peas as a side dish or in soups, and eating them may provide health benefits. Advertisement Blood Sugar Control Individuals that regularly eat legumes may have a lower risk for diabetes....

Heat edema causes swelling — often in the feet, legs and ankles — when the temperature skyrockets. Image Credit: pashapixel/iStock/Getty Images For many people, summer days bring memories of barbecues, pools, beaches and lazy afternoons. But summer weather can also lead to heat edema, the term for when your body swells in the heat due to water retention. Advertisement Heat edema can be especially obvious in your lower extremities due to the effects of gravity, which is why you may have wondered why your legs or ankles swell in hot weather....

EGCG help you eat less and burn fat. Although green tea is an ancient beverage, it is more popular in modern times that it has ever been before. Now that modern science has uncovered the various antioxidants and other beneficial compounds in green tea, it has risen from the rank of beverage to nutraceutical, with its effects on weight loss hogging the spotlight. It was originally thought that the caffeine content was responsible, but further exploration revealed it to be the work of a particular phytochemical....

A close-up of a sprinter's feet in the starting position. Along with their blistering speed, sprinters are renowned for their impressive physiques, low body fat percentages and bulky muscles. Sprinters need to be ripped, as carrying excess fat mass can have a huge negative impact on speed, notes Marc Perry, strength coach and owner of Built Lean. To get ripped, sprinters eat a well-balanced diet and perform a high-intensity mixture of strength and cardio training....

The calories in a shot of classic Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey all come from alcohol. Image Credit: bizoo_n/iStock/GettyImages Image Credit: bizoo_n/iStock/GettyImages If made in the United States or Ireland, “whiskey” is generally spelled with an E. By contrast, “whisky” made elsewhere (such as Canada, Scotland or Japan) is typically spelled without an E, explains Britannica.com. An easy way to remember this is: If the country’s name contains an E (such as the United States and Ireland), their “whiskey” has an E, too....

The amount of calories burned in a marathon depends on the runner's age, weight and other factors. Image Credit: skynesher/E+/GettyImages Completing the 26.2 miles of a marathon is an incredible achievement, and the thousands of steps taken while training for and running such a long race will cause your body to make many adjustments. Advertisement Your oxygen demands will increase during the long run, meaning that your heart rate, breathing and circulation will all increase as well, as described in the March 2016 issue of the journal ​Breathe​....

Both light and white canned tuna offer nutritional benefits, but each differs in how much you should eat. Image Credit: RightOne/iStock/GettyImages Canned tuna is a healthy and convenient option to fresh fish, providing the same good low-calorie source of protein, important nutrients and heart-friendly omega-3 fatty acids. That’s likely the reason that canned tuna is the second most popular seafood product in the U.S. next to shrimp. The USDA recommends that you include fish in your diet, but it’s important to know what kind of tuna is safest to eat and in what fish serving size....