But First, Coffee

It’s a cold snowy day. I hesitate to wake up. I avoid all modes of conversation. I lug myself into the kitchen to start the Keurig machine. Do you hear that? That’s the sound of warm coffee running.

Ahhhhh. One sip and I feel like I can conquer the world.

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Food to Improve Your Mood

"Eat good, look good!" has been a popular mantra of people promoting healthy diets everywhere. But what about "eat good, feel good?" Emotion is a huge driving factor in what we choose to eat. Just got broken up with? I bet a tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream sounds great right now. Just got accepted into med school? How about a celebratory dinner followed by drinks? Emotion can have both positive and negative effects on appetite.

Effect of high dose vitamin D intake on interleukin-17 levels in multiple sclerosis: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Vitamin D (VitD) is a fat soluble vitamin that is mostly known for good bone health. So how does VitD affect patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

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Can nutrition label recognition or usage affect nutrition intake according to age?

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Nutrition labels could have a great effect on our daily nutrient intake. As we have learned in class, nutrition labels can have an effect on one’s diet and it can help one live a healthy life. I noticed that every time I was part of any discussion regarding nutrition labels or nutritional education it has been always focused on younger generations. Some companies assume that there is no need of nutritional knowledge for older generation or assume that they already have been educated. But do they know much about nutrient labels? 

Can chocolate really decrease the risks for cardiovascular disease?

Whether it is dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or any other type of chocolate, everyone has tried it at some point in their lives. It is safe to say that most of us enjoy it and still consume it on a daily basis. It has been around for hundreds of years and is definitely considered to be one of the most widespread sweets on earth. Believe it or not, chocolate actually has many other benefits aside from satisfying our daily sugar cravings. For instance, chocolate may provide beneficial effects in heart disease which is the leading cause of death in the United States today.

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Dietary Changes Linked to Cancer Prevention

Cancer has hit close to home personally, and has affected nearly every household in America. Cancer is the uncontrollable growth and spread of abnormal cells in an area of the body that may affect all genders and ethnicities. Noted as the second leading cause of death, in 2013 there were 584, 881 deaths due to cancer.

Research has been conducted to determine correlations between cancer risk and controllable lifestyle factors, such as diet. It has been estimated that 35% of deaths caused by cancer could potentially be prevented simply by dietary changes. If this estimation is accurate, it would mean that in 2013 an estimated 204,708 deaths could possibly have been prevented. That’s 200,000 families that did not have to suffer from the loss of a loved one. 

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Have you ever wonder if there's a connection between pregnancy and vitamin deficiency?

Now that I’m in college, I’m at an age where my friends are becoming pregnant more over the years. I see some of the women taking precautions with their diets, eating certain foods, and taking supplements. Is this new diet because they are craving certain foods or is it a concern to watch out for? This can be very frightening to a new mother during her pregnancy because she doesn’t know what to expect. With a little knowledge of what food is composed of can help to calm the soon to be mother.

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Iron and Vitamin A Deficiency in Long-Term African Refugees

Imagine living in refugee camp where all you had to eat were beans, corn, sugar, oil and salt once every day for about decade of your life. This was my life growing up in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya and that is why I deeply care about this topic.

Is Formula Just as Healthy as Breast Milk?

          The nutritional quality of breast milk fed to newborns is because of the specificity and bioavailability of its nutrients and the contribution of live cells, digestive enzymes, immunomodulators, and growth factors. Although breast milk is very nutritional and beneficial, 54.1% of 6-month infants and 78.3% of one-year-old infants are fed with infant formulas. The formulas try to reproduce the properties, composition, and bioavailability of breast milk. Technical Sanitary Regulations (TSR) establish minimum and maximum values of nutritional content. It provides values to determine the nutritionally adequate contributions of infant formulas. These values come from scientific tests performed in human infants, taking breast milk composition as a reference. This study was done to see if companies adhere to these values and the effect on health based on energy and nutritional needs. Does the nutritional composition of these milks satisfy the daily recommended intake in infants?

Attitudes towards honey among Italian consumers: A choice experiment approach

When looking at food items at the grocery store, what grabs our attention to certain foods? Is it the physical appearance of the food such as color or is it the price that dictates our decision on whether or not to buy the product? Well not long ago researchers decided to determine the factors which help influence a customer into buying honey.

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Flip That Bottle Right Around!

It is a hot, sticky day. The air is heavy and your mouth is dry. The sun’s rays burn deeply into your skin. A cool, refreshing bottle of Snapple would be a quick relief. Ever looked at the back of this bottle or that of other types of sugar-sweetened beverages?

                                        

One particular bottle of Snapple contains 36 grams of sugar. My first glance at this label resulted in complete shock. It came to my attention when a friend asked for help in choosing healthy foods and drinks to include in his diet. He showed me a bottle of Snapple and asked me if it was healthy because it contained zero grams of fat. When I read 36 grams of sugar on the back label, my eyes widened. I also became aware that for many people, zero fat in a food or drink means that it is healthy. In reality, these foods or drinks may not be as nutritious, as they may contain added sugars. 

Drink Your Milk

Growing up, I was always an active child involved in many sports and activities. I grew up eating what I would consider a healthy diet comprised of the usual grains, meats, vegetables, fruit, and the dreaded dairy products. For some reason during my childhood, at dinner time the same argument would come about between my father and I with him starting the conversation, “Drink you’re milk! Don’t you want to be big and strong when you’re older?” I hated drinking milk, didn’t matter if it was skim, 2%, or whole, I didn’t like it. Fortunate for me, I listened to my dad and drank it anyway, even if I plugged my nose. While the idea that milk is good for your bones, milk also has many other benefits that many people don’t realize that are great for your health.

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Everything You Should Know About Soy

Okay so you walk into the grocery store which is really just a madhouse of new health fads, and low-carb this, and reduced-fat that, and oh wait made with soy? What is soy? What are its health benefits, and are there any possible health risks associated with soy consumption? In this blog I will discuss with you everything you should know about soy, and hope that it can help clear up any confusion you may have about buying soy products.

Does Nutrition Play a Role in the Management of Eye Disease?

The simple answer: a profound “Yes”.  Vision is commonly regarded as the most valuable of the five senses and nutrition does in fact play a role in the overall health of the eye. Vision impairment is a very common epidemic, globally speaking, and in developing countries nutritional deficiencies and cataracts continue to be the leading causes in blindness. In terms of developed countries, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts are the leading causes of blindness. 

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An Ode to Meat Lovers

MEAT. I don’t think there are many people out there who enjoy red meat as much as I do. I love everything about it; seasoning it liberally with salt and other spices, hearing it sizzle when it hits the hot pan, and sinking my teeth into a juicy and tender piece. Steak night at my house is always an occasion and the pleasant aroma that fills the kitchen nearly has my family foaming at the mouth. While it is an expensive meal, it certainly brings the family together for a tasty dinner.

One Week of Daily Dosing With Beetroot Juice Improves Submaximal Endurance and Blood Pressure in Older Patients with Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction

Have you ever seen a prescription advertised on television? If yes, then you know that the end of the advertisement brings a list of possible side effects. In some cases the side effects can be worse than the actually disease that the prescription is meant for. How would you like to be able to treat a disease without any adverse side effects? Well there is good news for people suffering from Heart Failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). In a recent study done by the American College of Cardiology Foundation along with the American Heart Association it was found that Beetroot Juice can improve sub-maximal aerobic endurance leading to a treatment for its worse symptom.

“An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away” 

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” is a phrase that I have heard many times throughout my life.  It is commonly used when explaining to children the health benefits of eating an apple.  As a child myself, I took this statement to mean that apples were magical, and that eating them would ensure I could never get sick.  As I have become more rational, I now realize that this is not exactly what is meant by this phrase.  What it is actually implying is that eating an apple is a great way to obtain nutrients that are beneficial to one’s overall health.  By maintaining general good health, one may need to go to the doctor less often. As everyone knows, fruits and vegetables are key components to a healthy diet. ChooseMyPlate.gov, a nutritional website created by the United States Department of Agriculture, recommends that half of a person’s plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables.  Eating an apple is an excellent way to incorporate fruit into one’s diet, because it accounts for half, or one cup, of the recommended daily value of fruits, which is two cups.