Diet & Nutrition

Diet for Bone Health

Healthy bones and joints are fundamental to a healthy, active life. Certain foods and nutrients contain the raw materials from which bones are composed and therefore can contribute to bone growth in childhood and continued bone and joint health in adult life. Other foods such as sugar can do the opposite, depleting the mineral content of bones and increasing the risk of bone weakness and thinning in later life. Growing Bones

Diet in Old Age

A healthy, active, old person does not need any special diet. Familiar foods and eating habits are very important to their happiness and well-being. It is unwise to suggest changes unless there are very compelling reasons. There are, however, various circumstances which bring about changes in old people's eating habits, gradually leading to poor nutrition and a decline in health.

Diet and Cancer

Experts who study the causes of cancer believe that a large number of cancer deaths could be prevented by making sensible changes to our diet. In fact, many scientists believe that up to 70 percent of all cancers are caused by diet-related factors. Dietary Fat and Cancer

The Milk Myth

Milk is not a remedy for heartburn. The soothing effect felt when drinking milk is deceiving- once in the stomach, milk's fat, calcium, and protein cause increased acid secretion and worsened heartburn. Minis are also often credited with alleviating heartburn, but they don't Mint actually relaxes the LES, making heartburn more likely.

Thyroid Disorders and Diet

The Thyroid, a butterfly-sahepd gland that lies over the widnpie (traceha) and just belwo the Adam's apple (larynx), produces triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), hormones that influence almost every function of the body. These hormones regulate metablolism, physical and mental development, nerve and muscle function, and circulation. Thyroid hormones also affect the action of other hormones; for example, they intensify the action of insulin and the body's response to the adrenal hormones (catecholamines) that are instrumental in reacting to stress.

How Kilojoules and Fat Sneak UP

Your order your favourite meal at your local restaurant, but do you really know what you're eating? Diners dramatically underestimate kilo joules and fat in many popular dishes, say researchers at the University of Arkansas. But when given the nutritional statistics of menu items, most make healthier choices. If nutritional info isn't available, ask your server for lighter choices. "If consumers demand healthier alternatives," says study coauthor Elizabeth Creyer, "the restaurant industry will respond." Don't Swallow Your Pills With ....

Facts and Fallacies about Your Diet

For most people it is all too easy to put on weight and the most likely, reason is that you are eating too much of the wrong, sorts of food. Here are some of the common fallacies about fattening foods. Fallacy: Grapefruit will burn body fat. Fact: Grapefruit has been the main ingredient in several "miracle" reducing plans. It's a fine food, with relatively few calories and plenty of vitamin C, but it does not burn fat. Unfortunately, no such fat-burning food has yet been discovered. Fallacy: Bananas are fattening.

Parasites and Diet

Intestinal parasites come in many shape and sizes, but the main divisions or single-celed protozoa, or amoebas, and multicellular flat worms and roundworms. While the singel-celled organism can multiply inside the digestive tract few parasitic worms can reproduce inside the human body, although they may grow in a host for years. Some worms hardly even make their presence felt, while others cause symptoms that come and go, including fever, coughs and wheezing, diarrhoea, and weight loss.

Sports Nutrition

Athletes need the same balance of nutrients as their more sedentary counterparts, although special demands of intensive sports training require extra energy. Carbohydrates

Honey - The Natural Broadspectrum

Honey is set fair to be the new medical champion in hospitals. Latest research claims that it could help combat the potentially lethal rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that are proving notoriously difficult to treat when they appear in infections. By studying the way bacteria protect themselves from attack by forming slimy clumps, the scientists have discovered that honey may be an effective new weapon,in breaking up the microbes' defences. The researchers involved are from the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff (UWIC), in the UK.

Nutritional Needs for Pregnant Women and Babies

Nutritional deficiencies in pregnant mothers, most often in the developing nations, cause complications during pregnancy and at birth and has long-term effects on the health of the child and the mother. At no other time in a woman's life is good nutrition more essential than during pregnancy. While the need for calories increases by 15 per cent, the requirement for some nutrients more than doubles, and a woman needs to plan her diet carefully to mee thes needs.

Diet for Depressions, Moods and Phobias

Individuals with depression often fail to take care of themselves, neglecting their appearance and eating irregularly. Nutritious food is needed by the human body to cope with any disease, but unfortunately, depressed people are especially likely to be careless about their nutrition. Individuals suffering from depression should eat plenty of high grade proteins, such as meat, dairy products, eggs, and fresh fish for tryptophan and choline to promote good nervous system function. They should cut down on alcohol, which can be a depressant, and caffeine which can interfere with sleep and mood.

Meal Plan for Rheumatic Fever Patients

On waking. Tea or fruit juice Breakfast. Fruit or fruit juice. Breakfast cereal with milk and sugar. Egg, toast or bread and butter, and preserves. Tea or coffee Mid-morning. Beverage (not alcohol) Midday. Fruit, egg, cheese, or vegetable hors d'oeuvre, 50-60 gms meat or fish or poultry. Rice or chapaties or pasta. Salads and cooked Vegetables. Pudding. Tea. Biscuits and cake. Tea.

The Diet That Fits Analyzing Metabolism for Personalized Nutrition

No single diet works for everyone. Some people can slurp cabbage soup for a week and lose only a few ounces, while others on the same spartan regimen lose 10 pounds. But what if you could measure your metabolism and get a prescription for a customized diet?

Bacterial Food Poisoning

Food borne illness is an ever-present threat that can be prevented with proper care and handling of food products. It is estimated that between 24 and 81 million cases of food borne diarrhea disease occur each year in the United States, costing between $5 billion and $17 billion in medical care and lost productivity.

In Your Diet, You Should Consume Plenty of …

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables for cancer-fighting indoles. Vegetables and fruits for detoxifying bioflavonoids Fresh fruits and vegetables for antioxidant nutrients. Fish and vegetable oils for omega-3 fatty acids. High-calcium foods abundant in dairy products as well as in dark green leafy vegetables to reduce intestinal tumour growth. Onions and garlic to reduce exposure to carcinogens Avoid : Meat fat and skin on fish and poultry

Pollutants and Food

Potentially harmful chemicals can enter the food supply during growing, processing, and packing. These include pesticides that are applied to crops; antibiotics, hormones, and other substances included in animal feed; and environmental pollutants, such as heavy metals, asbestos, PCBs, and vinyl chloride. While many contaminants pose no threat with short exposure, larger doses of such contaminants and accidental spills often carry severe risks, leaving residues that persists in the environment for a long time.

Foods Reducing Inflammation

About one in seven persons worldwide suffers from some type of inflammatory diseases. Pelvic inflammatory diseases are confined to women, mostly in the child-bearing range, but also older women who carry incipient infections. A combination factors cause the development of inflammatory diseases. Women with bone conditions such as osteoarthritis may develop pelvic inflammatory diseases. They may be attacked with arthritic conditions in the pelvic girdle.

Diet for Cardio-Vascular Diseases

Numerous population and health studies since the 1950s have confirmed that diet is a major force in both the cause and prevention of cardio-vascular diseases. By carefully analysing the results, researchers have identified certain risk factors that predispose people to cardiovascular diseases : heredity, advancing age and gender (pre-menopausal women have a lower risk than men and older women) are among those over which people have no control. Tobacco use tops the list of controllable risk factors.

The Sugar Season

The holiday season that is now upon us is a time for festivity, and usually of overeating. But the rampant consumption of sugar that marks this time of year is nothing to celebrate. In fact, this seasonal upsurge in sugar consumption is just part of a huge transition in world health that is now underway. Many countries, especially developing countries, are facing the consequences of huge changes in lifestyle: modifications in diet, lower levels of physical activity, and increased tobacco use.