Frozen vegetables are undeniably handy – they are relatively inexpensive, require minimal preparation, last for ages in the freezer, and can be prepared in minutes. Often added to a meal as a guilty afterthought, frozen vegetables help to ease the conscience of a working mom or busy singleton. Any form of vegetables would be better than no vegetables at all, but are we sacrificing nutrition for the sake of convenience?

The link between nutrition and our physical health is well established. Along with the existence of a host of nutritional deficiency diseases like rickets or beriberi, its common knowledge that, for example, excess salt can lead to hypertension or that a diet high in saturated fat can lead to heart disease. However, the link between nutrition and our mental wellbeing is not nearly as widely accepted or understood.

There is no shortage of sports supplements and performance-boosting snacks on the market today. It’s also commonplace to see sports men and women competing with their pockets stuffed full of various energy drinks, gel sachets and protein bars. However, do we really need these things? Is simply eating normal, whole foods good enough to sustain athletic performance? Read on to uncover a few truths about sports nutrition and to discover which foods can really give us the edge in the gym or on the sports field.

Food has changed so much over the last hundred years or so that our ancestors would not recognize many of our “foods” as such. While processed foods can be very convenient, they tend to be low in fibre and other key nutrients but energy-dense; while...

The bladder is a hollow, balloon-shaped organ that allows the body to store urine until we feel the urge to urinate. Bladder infections are caused by bacteria that enter the body from the outside and travel up into the bladder. Normally, the body is able...

Blood pressure is the force of circulating blood pushing against the blood vessel walls. It is one of the principal vital signs measured by health care professionals in order to assess our general state of health. Blood pressure is measured in units called millimetres of...

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Two examples

The notion of consuming live bacteria may be a little hard for some people to swallow. Traditionally, we are taught that bacteria cause disease and are therefore something to be avoided. Lately, however, we are being told that certain kinds of bacteria are actually good for us, but exactly how do they benefit our health?

These days everyone has an opinion as to what, when and where we should be eating. The media bombards us with information: the latest fads in diets, calorie-counting websites, food tables and tips for healthy eating and weight loss are everywhere, but can we trust this information?

If we all had the time and the means to eat three home-grown, balanced and nutritious meals a day in completely relaxed and unpolluted environments, then perhaps our need for supplementation would decrease. The reality is, however, that none of us live like that. Whole food supplements provide natural and convenient nutrition and simply make good sense for those of us living normal, hectic lives!

Most of us are familiar with the digestive health benefits of dietary fibre, but did you know that it can also help you to lose weight? With the myriad of “miracle” weight loss products out there, it’s amazing to think that something as simple as plain old fibre can help you to shed those unwanted kilograms.