Healthy Eating

Sixteen grams of protein is a meaningful amount of food protein — roughly the amount in two large eggs plus a glass of milk, or a small chicken breast. Whether it is “good enough” depends on what you are asking it to do. For a single meal or snack, 16 grams fits comfortably into most … Read more

There is no single perfect meal for the first day of your period, but the most helpful foods are ones that support stable blood sugar, replace iron lost through bleeding, and ease inflammation. Think iron-rich foods like lentils and beef, complex carbohydrates like oats and sweet potatoes, and plenty of water. Just as important is … Read more

Two thousand calories is the amount of food energy a typical adult might eat in a day — but the number of meals it takes to get there depends entirely on what’s on the plate. Two thousand calories can be a plate of pasta, a burger and fries with a soda, or a full day … Read more

Diet Coke gets its sweetness from aspartame, an artificial sweetener roughly 200 times sweeter than table sugar by weight. The safety question has been studied more than almost any other food additive, and major health agencies in the US, Europe, and elsewhere have set an acceptable daily intake for it. That said, the evidence has … Read more

Tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) is a sterile liquid made from proteins that Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria release as they grow. A small amount is injected just under the skin of the forearm to see whether a person’s immune system reacts to those proteins. The test it produces is the tuberculin skin test, also called the … Read more

Most people who get sick from Salmonella never see it coming. The bacteria don’t change how food looks, smells, or tastes. Preventing Salmonella comes down to a small set of reliable habits: cook poultry and eggs to safe internal temperatures, keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat foods, wash your hands with soap and water after … Read more

If your stool is loose, the fastest way to firm it up is to eat foods that add bulk and absorb water in the gut. That means soluble fiber from foods like bananas, applesauce, oats, and white rice, plus plain low-fiber starches that are easy to digest. Just as important is cutting back on the … Read more

Yes, you can eat calamari when pregnant, as long as it is cooked thoroughly and handled safely. Calamari is squid, and cooked squid is one of the fish and shellfish options that health agencies generally consider safe during pregnancy. The main risks come from raw or undercooked seafood, cross-contamination, and high-mercury fish — none of … Read more

You can eat at a fast food restaurant without wrecking your day. Order grilled instead of fried, skip the sugary drink, hold the creamy sauces, and keep the meal to one main item plus a side or a drink — not both. Those four choices do most of the work. The rest is knowing which … Read more

Eating no carbs for a week pushes your body to switch its main fuel source. With almost no glucose coming in from food, the body draws on stored glycogen first, then begins making glucose from other sources and turning to fat for energy. Most people feel some fatigue and mental fog in the first few … Read more