Consumers’ reasons for buying beef from “grass-fed” cattle vary and are based mainly on perceptions, including promotion of animal health and well-being, environmental sustainability, and/or production of meat products with a changed nutritional profile. Reducing the external carcass fat of beef has been one of the most important breeding goal …
Vitamin D isn’t exactly a vitamin. Instead, it is a hormone made by a rather unusual gland: your skin. Sunlight striking the skin turns a cousin of cholesterol into pre-vitamin D. This is first processed by the liver and then activated by the kidneys or by cells in the heart, immune system , breast, or prostate. Although calcium usually gets all the …
Your body contains roughly two pounds of calcium, about 99 percent of it locked into bone. Think of that calcium as the mortar that cements and solidifies the components that give bone its substance and strength. The rest of your calcium is dissolved in your blood and the fluid inside and outside cells. That dissolved calcium helps conduct nerve im …
The steps you take toward a healthier home food environment need not be extreme. Here are four small steps you can take today. Ditch the sugary soda : It may seem simple, but for some households, this may be easier said than done. A Gallup poll, the results of which were published in July 2012, found that nearly half of Americans drink soda daily. Th …
Promoting healthy and enjoyable eating in the elderly The saying, “You are what you eat,” is true. A healthy diet provides the ingredients to build and repair bones and tissues, and keep the complex workings of the human body functioning optimally. It also provides the mental and physical energy necessary for daily life – work, recreation, relationsh …
The term “blood pressure” has gotten a bad reputation. You need some pressure to move blood from the heart to the brain and the toes and back again. But too much pressure is harmful. It damages artery walls, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. High blood pressure can weaken the heart muscle over time and damage other organs, like the kidney …
Your weight depends on a simple but easily unbalanced equation: weight change equals calories in minus calories out over time. Burn as many calories as you take in and your weight won’t change. Take in more than you burn and your weight increases. Dieting explores the other end of the spectrum: burning more calories than you take in. • Your diet. Wh …
In many studies of connections between specific fruits and vegetables and disease risk, one group of foods kept rising to the top: berries. Several studies have linked eating these tasty fruits, especially blueberries, to lower risks of heart disease, memory loss, diabetes, estrogen-receptor negative breast cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and more. Be …
While there are no superfoods that contain every single nutrient needed for good health, some foods pack more nutrients per calorie than others. By choosing nutrient-dense foods, the overall quality of your diet will improve practically overnight. For the most part, that means eating whole grains, fruits, and vegetables at every meal. Here are some …
A diagnosis of constipation is based, in part, on a defecation frequency of fewer than three bowel movements per week. Other symptoms may include the passage of hard stools and excessive straining during defecation. In some cases, a person’s perception of constipation may be due to a mistaken notion of what constitutes “normal” bowel habits, so the …
Dietary fat is terribly misunderstood and mistakenly maligned nutrient. Myths and messages that have persisted since the 1960s warn that “fat is bad.” That dangerous oversimplification has helped launch dozens of largely ineffective diets and the development of thousands of fat-free but calorie-laden foods. It has also helped fuel the twin epidemic …
Healthy eating contributes to an overall sense of well-being and is a cornerstone in the prevention of a number of conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, dental caries, and asthma. For children and young people, healthy eating is particularly essential for healthy growth and cognitive development. Eating …
Best Healthy Meal prep
