General Nutrition

My question is how proper nutrition and exercise can improve your health? You are what you eat. If you eat junk, it will be reflected in your health. If you don't exercise, you will lose muscle mass and calcium density in your bones. The top 10 causes of illness and death in the US have a...

I have been looking for nutritional information regarding cactus (nopales/nopalitos). In particular, I am looking for fat and protein breakdown of this food and whether this is a healthy addition to a vegetarian diet. I checked my nutrition analysis software which contains 4 cacti including nopal. One cup of cactus contains 61 calories, 1-gram protein,...

A male college student intakes 3447 calories/day (101% RDA). His iron intake is 284% RDA. His zinc intake is 282% RDA. His calcium intake is 346% RDA. These values are 3-day averages. Should he attempt to lower his intake of these minerals? Why or why not? There is no RDA for calories. We can estimate...

Thanks a lot. I was just wondering because if I go to like GNC and they have vitamins and stuff that are supposed to increase metabolism. So I was just curious is as to whether or not they are at all effective. Forget supplements unless you eat less than 1200 calories a day, then take...

I found your address on the dietitian's web page. I recently discovered jicima and absolutely love it chopped up raw as a snack during the day. I'm trying to find out what its nutritional qualities are and am coming up short. Could you tell me any resources where I can find what vitamins and minerals...

Can food be justified and rationalized to only what you need to sustain life? There is an expression - do you eat to live or live to eat?  That defines your dilemma. Yes, food can be just enough to sustain life as long as a person ate enough calories to sustain a healthy weight and ate...

When I eat asparagus, I find that my urine has a peculiar odor. Why is that? I understand this vegetable has cleansing abilities, if so, how does it do it and what is it exactly cleansing or detoxifying? What's asparagus noted for nutritionally? Thanks! Please let me know. Some people, notice a strong odor after eating...

I am working on Valentine's Day feature article on eating hearts (animal hearts, of course). I am curious about how healthy or unhealthy this is. I would be very grateful if you could supply me with any knowledge that you have on the subject. How should it be prepared? What animals' hearts are edible? What...

I work in a prison kitchen and would like your assistance in how to prepare menus for sodium restricted diets and for people who have high cholesterol. Thank you. I would highly recommend your prison hire a dietitian to plan balanced menus for both sodium and cholesterol-restricted. If funds are short, start out with a...

I am currently researching meal supplements. I am attempting to locate information regarding current studies on a total meal supplement. Not that I am an advocate to meal supplements, I am concerned with the world's population increase and the continuous degradation of soils used for supplying our foods. Are you aware of any research...