From experience and observation, it's never easy to challenge the status quo and go against the popular consensus. It's a daily struggle to spread the message to people about loving their bodies no matter how they look, what size they are, and how much they weigh on a scale. One of the goals of this site is to teach people to love their bodies no matter what size or shape they are. You can be healthy even though you may be considered “overweight.”
Nowadays, it's hard to find a good resource that doesn't promote conventional governmental or corporate recommendations regarding nutrition. Much of what we know about nutrition is controlled by private industry such as the food, agricultural, and health industries. As a result, we get biased information on nutrition. This website will give you the most important nutrition information so you will have the ability to filter out the false messages you get.
It's important not to believe everything you see or hear about food and nutrition. Learn about nutrition for yourself so you will have the knowledge to judge what is true or false. This nutrition guide will help you tremendously. You will find information about the digestive system, the sense of taste, nutrients, etc. You will also get information about the environmental and social impacts regarding nutrition and the foods you choose to buy and eat.
Hopefully, you will find this website interesting and will share it with your friends and family.
Nutrition Guide For Life Blog
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What Is Nutrition?
Learn about what is nutrition in this article.
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Food Choice: Why Do You Choose the Foods You Do?
Food choice matters very much to your health. It even affects the environment and the world. Many people buy and eat certain foods without ever thinking about why they decided to choose those foods.
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Macronutrients: The Nutrients Your Body Needs
Macronutrients are a subcategory of nutrients. These are the nutrients that your body needs in high quantities. They are separated into three groups: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
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Micronutrients: Vitamins, Minerals, and Phytochemicals
Micronutrients are a subcategory of nutrients. Unlike macronutrients, these nutrients don't contain energy. You need them in smaller amounts.
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Antioxidants, Free Radicals, and the Process of Oxidation
Antioxidants are a special group of micronutrients. They include Vitamin E, Vitamin C, phytochemicals called polyphenols, and the mineral selenium.
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Food Politics: Why the Food Industry Doesn't Promote Health
Food politics play a large role in the food industry. The population in the U.S. isn't growing in a fast pace. The food industry competes viciously for your money.
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Food Advertising and Marketing: Media Manipulation by the Food Industry
Processed food is very profitable to the food industry. Food advertising and the food industry's use of the media help encourage people to eat more food.
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Our Sense of Taste and Why We Eat
Our sense of taste is part of a larger system to ensure that we survive and continue to perpetuate our species. The tongue, taste buds, and taste receptors help us perceive taste.
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Taste Genes and Environmental Factors: How They Affect Your Sense of Taste
Your sense of taste is affected by taste genes. About one fifth of your taste is genetic. Your food preferences are an extension of biology (genetics) and environment (what you were exposed to).
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Processed Food Addiction: Can You Be Addicted to Processed Foods?
Processed food addiction has become a large issue. Because many people can't stop eating junk food, people are starting to wonder whether processed foods are addictive or not.
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Food Flavoring and the Food Processing Industry
Before we talk about food processing, let's understand food flavoring. Every food has hundreds of natural compounds that give it flavor.
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Natural and Artificial Flavors
There are many foods that contain natural and artificial flavors. If you go to the supermarket, you will see many food products with the labels “natural flavor” or “artificial flavor.”
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Fats and Lipids: Triglycerides, Sterols, and Phospholipids
Fats and lipids are very important to our health. Unfortunately, our society looks upon fat consumption in a negative light. Most people link dietary fat to numerous diseases.
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What Are Fatty Acids? Essential Fatty Acids Explained
Fatty acids are the building blocks of triglycerides and phospholipids, which are two groups of fat. They are often attached to cholesterol, which is part of another group of fat called sterols.
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Essential Fatty Acids, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Omega-6 Fatty Acids
There are two types of essential fatty acids that are important to our health. You need omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids in your diet.
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Trans Fatty Acids or Trans Fats: The Dangers and Health Risks
The dangers of trans fatty acids or trans fats have been well known for a long time. Even with the information we have, many people still don't know anything about them.
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Digestion of Fat: How Fat is Digested, Absorbed, and Processed By Your Body
Digestion of fat is a long process. After you eat, dietary fat begins to show up in your bloodstream in an hour or two. Fat levels rise to the highest level after four to five hours.
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Fat Storage and Transport and How Lipoproteins Transport Fat
Fat storage is the best way for your body to keep energy. Your body has a limited ability to store glucose in the form of glycogen. It has no ability to store amino acids.
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Atherosclerosis and Heart Disease
Atherosclerosis is a cardiovascular disease, or simply a heart disease. It's a health condition in which your blood vessels lose their flexibility and the inner walls get rough and sticky.
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Food Sources of Fats and How to Identify Fats on Food Labels
Here's a helpful guide on the food sources of fats and how to identify fats on food labels. The top section of food labels always show the fat content of a food.
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Weight Regulation: A Cultural Obsession
Weight regulation has become a large issue. It has turned into a huge cultural obsession. The fear of weight gain is everywhere in society.
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Digestive System: Digestion and Absorption
The digestive system has a complex way of digesting the food you eat and absorbing nutrients. Digestion begins when you put food in your mouth.
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Carbohydrates: Simple and Complex Sugars
Carbohydrates are organic compounds that consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. “Carbo” refers to carbon (C) and “hydrate” refers to water (H2O).
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What Are Proteins? The Basics
Proteins are the building blocks of cells. The word “protein” comes from the Greek word “protos” which means “of prime importance.” They play an important role in every living cell.
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Metabolism and Energy: Anabolism, Catabolism, and Kilocalories
Metabolism and energy are usually misunderstood since they are both related to each other. Our body needs energy in order to operate and function efficiently. Energy is our fuel.
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Eating Disorders
People usually develop eating disorders when there's a desire to change one's weight. They are unhappy about their body image. Most of these people have low self-esteem.
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Water and Your Health: The Body's Most Important Nutrient
Water and your health are closely related to each other. Water is essential for life. It's the lifeblood of our planet, and our existence is linked with the amount and quality of it available to us.
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Maternal Nutrition and Maternal Health
Good maternal nutrition can go a long way to ensure a healthy baby. Good nutrition is very important during fetal development and infancy.
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What Are Micronutrients? Essential Nutrients That You Need
What are micronutrients? They are nutrients that we only need or use in small, or micro, amounts. In contrast to the macronutrients, the body uses them without breaking them down.
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What Is Biotechnology?
Biotechnology refers to using living things to make or modify new products. It's a general term that applies to all uses of living organisms.
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Food Safety and Food Poisoning
The public concern about food safety is increasing. News stories about Bird Flu and outbreaks of E. coli and Salmonella are frequently reported.
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Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Farming
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. It's very beneficial to the environment.
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World Hunger, Malnutrition, and Food Insecurity
World hunger and malnutrition are the number one risks to health worldwide. Most of the people affected by hunger live in developing countries.
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Food Groups and Food Categories
The food we eat can be arranged into food groups. Each of these groups is a collection of foods that share similar nutrients or biological classifications.
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Contact Us at NutritionGuideForLife.com
Contact us at NutritionGuideForLife.com.
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Obesity Myths: What You Don't Know Makes You Fat
There are many obesity myths. The ones shown here are the most common ones.
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The Weight Loss Industry and Our Fear of Fat
The weight loss industry has a strong interest in promoting the message that losing weight is good for your health. Many people have misleading views about dieting and weight.
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Set Point Theory: Your Body's Way of Controlling Weight Gain and Weight Loss
The set point theory states that everybody has a weight set point. It's the weight level that our brain works continuously to maintain.
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What is Weight? Understanding Your Weight on a Scale
What is weight? Many people think it's simply a number. It's much more than that. To understand how body weight is regulated, you need to examine the energy on your body.
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The Process of Digestion: The Digestive Process Explained in Detail
The process of digestion begins before you even start to eat. When you see, smell, or think about food, the digestive juices such as saliva in your mouth prepares for the act of eating.
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Weight Gain: Why It's Easy to Gain Weight but Hard to Lose Weight
Weight gain is much easier to achieve than weight loss for many people. Some of you have probably tried to lose weight, but found it very difficult.
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Thrifty Genes and Dieting
You will learn why dieting will increase the chances of you increasing your set point weight. Our thrifty genes that dictate weight have evolved over time to help us store fat and save energy.
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Digestion of Carbohydrates
The digestive system handles the digestion of carbohydrates. Your body digests all sugar and starch in the same way by breaking the bonds between the sugar rings.
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Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
Glycemic index (GI) is expressed numerically. It represents the speed that a particular carbohydrate food, except fiber, turns into glucose and raises your blood glucose.
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Blood Glucose Regulation
This article will help you understand more about blood glucose regulation. After the digestion of carbohydrates, glucose is in your bloodstream and available as a potential energy source for cells.
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Hormones of Glucose Metabolism
Hormones are chemical messengers that help to regulate our glucose metabolism. The major hormones of this metabolism are glucagon and insulin.
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Disorders of Blood Glucose Regulation
There are many disorders of blood glucose regulation. Now that you've learned about normal blood glucose regulation, let's explore what happens when something goes wrong with this system.
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Causes of Diabetes
There are many causes of diabetes as you will learn later. Many people don't know how insulin resistance and diabetes develop in certain individuals.
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Treatment of Diabetes and Insulin Resistance
The treatment of diabetes and insulin resistance has been getting better. There are drugs available to improve insulin sensitivity and cope with the symptoms of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
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Digestion of Protein
The digestion of protein is a complex process. Proteins from food don't automatically become body proteins. They are crushed and moistened in the mouth, but the process begins in the stomach.
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Protein Consumption: How Much Do You Need?
People wonder what is the right amount of protein consumption. Although protein is important for our survival, we don't need much of it. The average American consumes well in excess of their needs.
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Myths About Protein
There are many myths about protein that are circulated in the public. You will learn more about these protein myths here.
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Energy Balance and Imbalance
Energy balance is an important concept of nature. According to the First Law of Thermodynamics, energy can't be created or destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another.
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What Type of Eater Are You? Omnivore, Herbivore, Carnivore, Vegetarian, Vegan
The type of eater you are depends largely on evolution and biology. Some species eat meat only while others eat plants only. Others are able to eat both meat and plants.
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Common Eating Disorders
Here are some common eating disorders. You may be familiar with some of them already. If not, then you'll find a description of each one of them.
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Emotional Eating
Emotional eating is more prevalent today than in ancient times. Food allows some people to cope with their emotions, whether those emotions are positive or negative.
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What's in Your Drinking Water?
Your drinking water contains more than just hydrogen and oxygen. The terms “hard water” and “soft water” are used to describe the mineral content in water.
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Water Contaminants and Water Treatment
There have been hundreds of water contaminants found in public water. All public water must be tested regularly for contamination.
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Bottled Water versus Tap Water: Which Is Better?
There's a huge debate concerning bottled water versus tap water. Most people are usually worried about whether the tap water they get from their faucet is safe or not.
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Infant Nutrition: How to Care for the Nutritional Needs of Newborns
Infant nutrition is crucial in the development years of your newborn child. It's important to give the adequate nutrition to newborns so they'll achieve optimal growth, development, and health.
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Child Nutrition: How to Help Kids Establish Good Eating Habits
Proper child nutrition during childhood can reinforce lifelong eating habits that contribute to your children's overall well-being and health.
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Vitamin and Mineral Supplements: Are They Necessary for Good Health?
Is it necessary to take vitamin and mineral supplements? This question is asked many times. It's great if you get all the essential vitamins and minerals from your diet.
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Choosing Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
Choosing vitamin and mineral supplements can be difficult, especially with all the brands out there on the market. Here are some tips on how to choose the best vitamin and mineral supplements.
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Food Irradiation and Food Safety: Is Irradiated Food Safe?
Most of our food today have gone through the process of food irradiation. You may have never heard of what irradiation is nor have you ever known that your food is irradiated.
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Animal Cloning: Cloned Animals, Food Safety, and the Meat Industry
Animal cloning is a biotechnology experiment that may become a common reality soon. Cloned animals are going to be part of our food supply sometime in the future.
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Microbial and Bacterial Food Contamination
Microbial and bacterial food contamination is much more common than you may think. The common manifestations of food-borne disease have changed over time.
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Factory Farming and the Spread of Diseases
Factory farming and the spread of diseases have been affecting people for a long time. The conditions on factory farms and in slaughterhouses are responsible for food-borne disease.
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Antibiotic Overuse in Farm Animals: The Dangers of Factory Farming
Antibiotic overuse in farm animals is increasingly becoming a large issue. People are worried that the overuse of antibiotics will turn farms into breeding grounds for antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
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Mad Cow Disease: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Mad Cow Disease is commonly referred to as the biggest food scare in history. It's known to scientists as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.
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Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
The avian influenza, or bird flu, is a huge epidemic that concerns many people. The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu has grabbed people's attention because of its ability to infect humans.
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Mercury in Fish and Shellfish, Mercury Poisoning, and Mercury Contamination
Mercury in fish is probably the biggest concern for people who eat fish. Symptoms of mercury poisoning are vague and hard to document.
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Pesticides in Food: Pesticide Residues and Food Contamination
Toxic pesticides in food is a huge health and environmental threat. This issue is becoming more publicized as consumer concerns are increasing.
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Pesticide Consumption: How to Minimize or Avoid Pesticide Exposure
There are many ways to minimize or avoid pesticide consumption. One of the popular ways is to eat organic foods and produce. Organic agriculture have many good benefits to the environment.
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Soil Degradation and Soil Erosion
Soil degradation and soil erosion are huge issues concerning the health of our planet. Much of the soil destruction is caused by overgrazing, deforestation, and inappropriate agricultural practices.
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Land Degradation and the Impact of Deforestation
Land degradation refers to the process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combination of human-related activities acting upon the land.
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Water Scarcity and Shortage: The Depletion of Water Resources
Water scarcity is much more common than most people think. Water shortage affects 700 million people in 43 counties.
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Overfishing: Endangering Marine Biodiversity and Sea Life
Overfishing is a global environmental problem that affects marine biodiversity and sea life. Fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level.
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Fossil Fuel Consumption in Agriculture and Food Production
Fossil fuel consumption in agriculture and food production is increasing. Our agricultural practices and food system is depleting our fossil fuel resources in a dramatic way.
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Loss of Biodiversity: Habitat Destruction and Species Extinction
The loss of biodiversity that's currently happening is devastating. Our agricultural practices are contributing to most of this loss in diversity.
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Cheap Food, Processed Food, and Their Hidden Costs to Our Environment
Cheap food isn't as cheap as you think when you consider the environmental impact it causes. What most people don't know is that it also contributes to world hunger and starvation in some countries.
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Supporting Sustainable Living and Agriculture
Sustainable living refers to a lifestyle that attempts to reduce or conserve the use of the Earth's natural resources.
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Causes of Hunger and Why World Hunger Exists
The causes of hunger are numerous. Currently, there's around 925 million people around the world that are affected by chronic hunger. Most of them live in developing countries.
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Fruits and Vegetables
It's recommended that people eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which is probably the single most important nutritional habit for good health.
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Processed Fruits and Vegetables
Processed fruits and vegetables are convenient and widely sold in supermarkets. They may not be as nutritious and healthy as you may think.
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Guide to Grain Foods: Whole Grains, Flours, Oats, and Cereal
There are numerous grain foods. In general, they make up a large food group in most nutrition guides. Let's understand more about grains.
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Soy Foods and Products
Soy foods are made from the soybean or soya bean (Glycine max), which is a legume. Legumes have many nutritional benefits.
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Meat and Poultry, Eggs
Meat and poultry makes up a large part of meals for many North Americans. We eat dramatic amounts.
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Fish and Shellfish
Fish and shellfish can be high in nutrient density, containing a good amount of vitamins and minerals in addition to protein.
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Dairy Foods and Products: Milk, Cheese, and Yogurt
Many dairy foods and products contain a large amount of nutrients, especially the less processed ones (like milk), and the lower fat versions.
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Drinks and Beverages
Drinks and beverages make up a food group and category in many nutrition guides. A drink, or beverage, is a liquid which is specifically prepared for human consumption.
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Fats and Oils: Types of Fat and Oil
Fats and oils are essential for a healthy diet. Unfortunately, they have a bad reputation. Our culture tends to be obsessed with losing weight and makes people fear fat.
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Artificial Sweeteners and Sugar Substitutes: Are They Safe?
In order to minimize sugar consumption, many people turn to artificial sweeteners. Some may turn to them to minimize calorie intake as well.
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Processed Foods and Food Additives
Processed foods make up a pretty large food group and category. As you already know, food that is heavily processed has very little nutritive value.
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Nutrient Density: What Is in Food?
Nutrient density refers to the number of nutrients you get from a food relative to the number of calories it contains.
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Dietary Guidelines and the Food Industry's Influence
Dietary guidelines are influenced by the food industry. You will not believe how manipulative the food industry is when it comes to changing people's perception of food and nutrition.
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Public Nutrition Education: Government Inadequacy in Promoting Nutrition
The United States government is ineffective in teaching proper nutrition education. The government also does a poor job in promoting nutrition and healthy eating habits.
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Taste and Smell: How Aroma Affects Your Sense of Taste
Your sense of taste and smell work together to help you perceive taste. You may be surprised to know this, but your taste buds play a small role in your sense of taste.
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Changing Your Taste Preferences
Most of you may not know this, but your taste preferences can change. You have the ability to change the sensitivity of your taste buds.
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Diabetes and Weight Loss
Diabetes and weight loss has nothing to do with each other. There are some people who think that losing weight will help treat diabetes, but there's really no proof to support that.
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Getting Energy From Fat: Burning Fat For Energy Use
To get energy from fat, your body needs to go through a series of metabolic reactions to breakdown the fatty acid molecule into smaller components.
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Weight Set Point: How Genes and Lifestyle Habits Affect It
There are two components that determine your weight set point. They are your genes and lifestyle.
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