Nutrition Articles

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Your brain is fueled by energy from food, which means that bad food, such as processes or refined foods can damage your brain. Studies have found that a daily intake of food high in sugar can cause impaired brain function. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter that influences emotion, is made in a person’s gastrointestinal tract. This means that eating bad foods can influence your mood. The article discusses ways to improve your emotions based on what you eat.

When buying whole grain products, it can become confusing because some whole grain foods hardly have any whole grain in it and instead have refined flour. As a result, there is a difference in nutrition. For the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to label a whole grain food, it must have bran, the germ and the endosperm (the central part of the kernel), meaning it has to have the entire grain kernel in it. This article highlights five things consumers need to know about whole grains. The first is that when a food says “Made with whole grains” is not necessarily true. Usually there are some whole grains in the food, but mostly refined flours. Depending on how grains are put into food, the amount of nutrients and vitamins can be affected. Grains that are high in fiber can have extra fiber, seen as cellulose. Multigrain does no mean anything in regard to whole grain or excessively milled grain, it only means there is more than one grain in the food. Finally, some foods containing whole grains are not healthy.

For a while, medical professionals have been warning the American public about growing obesity and advice on how to avoid it. This advice includes refraining from sugary, fired, high caloric foods, and instead replacing them with fruity and vegetables, but they have yet be successful. Now, they have changed their message: “Worry less about your diet, and get active…”  The Global Energy Balance Network has made it clear that people need to counterbalance their food intake with exercise, but it has been proven that exercise does not counteract bad eating. Exercise is never a bad thing, but it cannot be the only change if a person wishes to lose weight. Until taxes on soda and a ban on advertising sugary foods to children occur, America’s obesity, diabetes and heart disease rates will not decrease. In the end it is seen that a change in diet and an increase in exercise can lead to much healthier lives.

People often think that artificial sweeteners is a good way to replace sugar without gaining weight, but studies have shown that this is not the case. Studies published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that people who drank beverages that were artificially sweetened were at risk for health problems. The article discusses how artificial sweeteners were studied and the different sides regarding artificial sweeteners.

People often find that cutting back on carbs is the hardest thing. Gary Taubes, focuses on what makes it so hard to cut back on carbs, including the release of insulin when eating carbs. Taubes also points to sugar as another culprit that makes avoiding carbohydrates so hard. He also offers steps to help get around carbs.

As people become more and more aware about what they are putting into their bodies, some want to know how to get the maximum benefits from the foods they are eating. This includes how to prepare them. Nicoletta Pellegrini studied two vegetables: carrots and broccoli. She and her team studied not only what benefits of the specific vitamins and minerals in the vegetables but what variations gave the best results. Pellegrini, a food science professor in Italy, said that a variation in the different cooking styles of vegetables is important.

This article highlights four benefits to eating organic foods. These four benefits are a lack of pesticides, no antibiotics, more healthy and more antioxidants.

This article focuses on seven healthy foods that can be found for under a dollar. For every food, it also gives a variety of ways the foods can be used and eaten.

Jackie BrennerNutrition Articles