Calories, Carbs & Proteins
Even when on a diet, a person still needs calories, carbohydrates and proteins to provide energy and nourish the body. A balanced diet will include each of these. Learn how to improve the balance of these nutrients.
By the time he reached the White House, Bill Clinton's appetite was legend. He loved hamburgers, steaks, chicken enchiladas, barbecue and french fries but wasn't too picky. At one campaign stop in New Hampshire, he reportedly bought a dozen doughnuts and was working his way through the box until an aide stopped him.
Looking back on it, Wendy Fox thinks it was the M&M's that did her in.
Will Nevin had been dreading the doctor for years.
Multiple chins, bulging tummies and flabby arms: It's easy to see where fat accumulates on the body.
You think you're being smart when, in an effort to eat more healthfully, you check a restaurant's website to see how many calories are in a dish you plan to order.
Over the past several decades Americans have steadily gotten fatter. Although our increasingly sedentary lifestyles are partly to blame, a big reason for our national weight gain is that we're simply eating more.
We're all looking to maximize results while minimizing time and effort in the gym. That search for shortcuts has translated into a lot of myths about exercise.
The food pyramid has been dismantled in favor of a simple plate icon that urges Americans to eat a more plant-based diet.
Used to be, when you grabbed breakfast on the go, it was a diet disaster: nothing but fat-and-calorie bombs like butter-soaked croissants and jumbo muffins. Now, it's much easier to do right by your body: Fast-food legends like McDonald's and IHOP, as well as newbies like Cosi and Panera Bread, offer surprisingly healthy options that are filling, light, and much easier on your arteries.
More than 100 million people are expected to tune in to Super Bowl XLV this weekend, but only some of them are football fans.
Erase extra flab with these super-effective tricks.
If you want to stave off the middle-age spread, get active in your 20s and stay that way through your 30s and 40s, especially if you're a woman, a new study suggests.
Diet drugs have had a rough year in 2010. In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nixed not one but two new weight-loss drugs, lorcaserin and Qnexa, because of possible links to cancer (lorcaserin) and heart problems (Qnexa).
After zooming from one end of the mall to the other, don't you deserve a quick bite? Of course.
On Thanksgiving, many of us will eat way more than normal and then waddle away contented, with a turkey and sweet potato buzz.
Half of all Americans may be diabetic or prediabetic by 2020, a report from an insurance company warned Tuesday. That's an even bleaker projection than the Centers for Disease Control's recent estimate that one in three Americans would have diabetes by 2050.
There were no diet pills, shakes or detoxes. And no, it wasn't caveman food, grapefruit, Twinkies, Taco Bell or Subway sandwiches.
Toby Amidor remembers well -- but not fondly -- her child's meltdown over a bottle of Yoo-hoo.
Drinking too much soda, orange juice, or other sugary drinks appears to increase the risk of developing gout, an especially painful form of arthritis, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
September weekends are time for tailgates, whether it be on a college campus or at professional football stadium.
Eating too much red meat has long been a no-no for people with high cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease. But it hasn't always been clear how much is too much.
A cheesy chicken casserole is revamped to meet a Texas reader's health goals.
In restaurants in this township outside Cape Town, South Africa, barbecue grills crackle with chains of sausage, marinated chicken quarters and boulder-sized slabs of beef and lamb.
Summer means outdoor activities and more cookouts, so it also means more hamburgers.
Shrek, Dora the Explorer, and other animated TV and movie stars beloved by children have been moonlighting as junk-food pitchmen in recent years. And they're good at it.
For two years leading up to the World Cup, Brian Hall exercised four hours almost every day.
Some nutrition myths bounce around on crazy e-mail chain letters and pop up on goofy evening news reports. Others fuel the sale of rip-off diet books. Some are so accepted they seem hardwired into our brains. Take deep-fried foods, for example. They're universally bad for you, right? Well, no.
Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: Bacon, cheesecake, and other delicious yet fattening foods may be addictive.
When Chris Dolley's sister-in-law asked her to join her in a weight-loss quest, the fast-food fanatic thought to herself she'd do it to help her relative out. It really wasn't about personal goals or missions or health.
The health care bill signed into law Tuesday by President Obama is the nation's most sweeping social legislation in four decades. But it also includes some smaller changes that will directly affect consumers.
Long before the first band marched in South Boston's now-famous -parade, and long before Chicago colored its river green, Irish Catholics quietly honored St. Patrick on March 17.
Some women avoid drinking calorie-filled cocktails, wine, and beer because they're worried about packing on the pounds. Now, a new study suggests that women who are moderate drinkers actually tend to gain less weight over time than teetotalers.
The White House on Tuesday unveiled its campaign to fight childhood obesity. First lady Michelle Obama is spearheading the effort.
Super Bowl Sunday: A day of first downs, touchdowns, and, often, unwanted pounds.
So you're invited to a Super Bowl party and you're wanting to bring a dish for the pregame feasting that's easy to make.
Among all the ways to change your diet for the better, portion control sounds like the one thought up by a pocket-protector-wearing nutrition nerd patrolling the school cafeteria. To be portion-preoccupied means to be tyrannized by food scales and little tape measures: Is this chicken breast bigger than a pack of cards? Portion policing runs against the ideal of a relaxed, balanced, real-world diet in which healthy food choices bring satisfaction without too much worry about quantity.
One in five teens in the U.S. -- and more than 40 percent of obese teens -- have abnormal cholesterol, whether it's low HDL (good cholesterol); high LDL (bad cholesterol); or high levels of triglycerides, another type of blood fat, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
First it was trans fats. Then it was high-calorie fast food. Now, the New York City Health Department is tackling another diet enemy: salt.
The company that brought us the taco-craving Chihuahua, Fourth Meal and double-decker tacos suggests that it can now help fight fat.
Doctors have known for years that a woman's risk of developing heart disease rises after menopause, but they weren't exactly sure why. It wasn't clear whether the increased risk is due to the hormonal changes associated with menopause, to aging itself, or to some combination of the two.
Many foods we eat during the holidays have nutrients that may help prevent disease.
Going vegetarian on Thanksgiving doesn't mean forcing tofu into faux poultry or shaping legumes into meat-like blobs.
Everyone needs carbohydrates, the body's preferred energy source. If you get regular cardiovascular exercise or train for an endurance sport, you need more daily carbs to fuel your workouts and replenish your energy stores.
People who spend a full year on a strict low-carbohydrate diet can lose weight, but they might be happier -- and lose just as many pounds -- if they focus on reducing fat intake instead of carbohydrates, new research suggests.
Salmon, tuna, and other fish are loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, so they must be good for you, right? Not so fast--some types of fish have more mercury than others, and others are harvested from the ocean or farmed in a way that's harmful to the environment.
The temptation to eat a lot during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, is great, but Saiful Khandker makes a conscious effort to not overdo it.
So many first-year college students gain unwanted pounds that the so-called Freshman 15 is the subject of a new MTV reality show. (They're auditioning now.)
Cutting daily calorie intake by 30 percent may put the brakes on the aging process, have beneficial effects on the brain, and result in a longer life span, according to a new 20-year study of monkeys published in the journal Science.
Americans talk a good game about wanting to eat well. More than 75 percent claim they want to see more healthy options on restaurant menus. But when it comes time to order, only about half say they actually make nutritious choices, according to a recent survey.
Under the California sun in a place known as Muscle Beach, where bronzed bodybuilders pump their cannon-size biceps, an energetic brunette works her arms -- and the weight purrs its approval.
For years, hospitals have embodied a paradox.
Even if the low-carb diet craze ended up being a bit of a bust, the attention it focused on protein is a good thing. Researchers are taking a closer look at this often ignored nutrient and discovering its hidden health potential.
Giyen Kim recently posted a picture of scrumptious-looking jalapeno corn muffins, along with the recipe, on her blog. But after baking them, Kim didn't even take a bite.
In 2005, the government's revised Dietary Guidelines for Americans introduced the term "nutrient density," which sounds complicated but simply refers to how much nutrition a food provides.
Moderate drinking can be good for your heart. But for women, drinking alcohol raises the risks of breast cancer.
As he strained, crunched and lifted weights, the muscle panels surfaced from Jason Dinant's stomach. Faintly at first, they emerged: one, two, three and four -- not yet a six-pack.
What if you had a special kind of fat in your body that burned calories instead of storing them -- and it could be activated simply by spending time in the cold? According to three preliminary studies published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, you probably do.
Nearly one-fifth of American 4-year-olds are obese, and children of color are at higher risk, according to new research.
The dieting world screams with contradictory advice: Carbs are evil; carbs are good for you. "Good fat" is healthy; "good fat" has tons of calories.
Not everyone wishes others well in fulfilling their New Year's resolutions.
In April, at age 34, Giyen Kim dropped a 60-hour-a-week job to follow her childhood dream of becoming a writer. Now, she's primed to clear her next personal hurdles: making money from writing, and losing weight.
Barbara Rademacher said she had the "best day I can imagine" two weeks ago when two co-workers independently approached her to ask whether she had lost weight. They told her she looked good.
"Snack on four almonds and a third of a cup of nonfat cottage cheese for a nutritious afternoon boost that will have you cruising the house with your nine-month-old!"
Wouldn't it be great if you knew which foods you should be eating based on your own personal health profile?
Having a senior moment? A new study suggests that cutting calories may help.
If you want to put some sizzle back into your sex life, food can help you set the mood this Valentine's Day. There's nothing better than a romantic, home-cooked dinner, featuring some R-rated foods to help turn up the heat.
The recent recall of industrial peanut butter and products that contain it sparked nationwide concern about the safety of eating many popular snack products. That's understandable, considering the average American consumes 3.3 pounds of peanut butter each year, according to USDA data.
Football players guzzle protein shakes, down steaks and lift weights. They train and gain weight, hoping to build mass under the careful eye of the team's coaches, nutritionists and gurus.
Barbara Rademacher of Rogers, Arkansas, has found that she loves to document events on camera. Now, she's turning the camera around and focusing on improving herself for 2009.
You have access to more nutrition information than ever -- from magazines like Cooking Light to the Internet, newspapers, and television. When you add to that the hype about fad diets, the resulting information overload creates more confusion than clarity.
Famed for keeping people slim, healthy and living longer, the Mediterranean diet has followers all over the world.
Oprah's struggle with her weight has become almost mythic--it's not just that she's been so open and honest about it, but that millions of people share her story.
Tim Kassouf lost 45 pounds, and it all started when he got really mad at his girlfriend.
The mirror doesn't lie. Those buttery cookies and slices of ham from the holidays are showing up in the wrong places on your body.
If losing weight is at the top of your resolution list, you're not alone. An estimated 80 million Americans go on diets every year, spending more than $30 billion annually on programs and products.
What exactly is it about breakfast that makes it so beneficial? And are all are breakfasts created equal? A study from Pediatrics, published in March 2008, looked at 2,000 teenagers and found that teens who ate breakfast weighed less, exercised more and ate healthier food than their classmates who didn't eat breakfast
Research suggests that having a big breakfast with carbohydrates and lean protein, and even a piece of chocolate, will help keep your appetite in check all day and help you lose weight.
The holiday season is a great time for family, friends, and well, old wives' tales: Who hasn't been told to wear a hat because you lose the most heat from your head? Or to keep kids away from poisonous poinsettias?
The children in the cafeteria drink low-fat milk, shovel corn kernels on their sporks and munch on tuna sandwiches on wheat.
When you see photos of Cameron Diaz's slim silhouette or Jessica Alba's flat post-pregnancy tummy, you probably wonder just how Hollywood stars stay so lean or snap back into shape so quickly. While many swear their svelte bods come from eating right and exercising round the clock, the truth is that some celebs may go to strange and interesting lengths to get or stay pin thin. Here, the skinny on exactly what the big names do to get red-carpet ready -- from the healthy strategies you'll want to steal to the just plain wacky ideas you'll want to avoid.
Want to shed some pounds? You're more likely to be successful if you stand to gain --or lose -- some money.
What if your doctor told you that even after the weight comes off, your number of fat cells stays the same, and it will be an uphill battle to keep the pounds off? Research published in May 2008 in the journal Nature finds fat cells can shrink -- but they don't go away.
Traditional Southern food tastes great, but it's often high in calories and saturated fat. As a region, the South suffers from higher rates of strokes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
A study from Brookhaven National Laboratory gives us clues as to why some people overeat and gain weight while others do not. Researchers found that even though their stomachs were mostly full, heavier people didn't stop eating. It has to do with motivation and how your brain controls your desire to eat. The study appeared in the February 15, 2008, issue of NeuroImage.
A study says eating too much red meat can increase your chance of getting conditions that lead to heart disease and diabetes. Middle-aged people who ate at least two servings of meat per day increased their risk of metabolic syndrome by 26 percent. The research was published in the January 22, 2008, issue of Circulation.
Children who eat less salt consume fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks and may significantly lower their risks for obesity, elevated blood pressure and later-in-life heart attack and stroke, according to a study in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association from February 2008.
A Stanford University study, released in May 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compares the effectiveness of four popular diets -- Atkins, LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships, and Nutrition), Ornish, and Zone -- for women who are premenopausal and overweight or obese. Women on Atkins lost the most weight, although the average loss was only about 10 pounds for 12 months.
There may be a physiological reason why some people do well on low-fat diets while others fail and it's not a lack of willpower. This research was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in May 2007.
People with diagnosed colon cancer who have received treatment and who eat a "Western diet," high in red meat, refined grains, fat and sugar, are more likely to have a recurrence of colon cancer and die from it, compared with patients who eat a "prudent" diet high in fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish.
Let's face it: Your weekly (or daily!) run to the grocery store is the foundation for your good health. So it's thrilling news that the supermarket industry is on a health kick -- these days you'll most likely find organic produce and "natural" packaged foods at almost any store you go to. But which chains are outdoing themselves to deliver the freshest and healthiest foods to you? And which ones provide the best tools to help you make smart choices? We asked six prominent health experts to help us pick the top 10 healthiest grocery stores out of the nation's largest chains. Health.com: Meet our judges
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