Food chains illustrate the relationships between predators and prey in an ecological system. Essentially, they describe how the consumption habits of various organisms affect how energy in the form of food travels through a closed system. For...
More people are overweight or obese in the United States. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number of children 6 to 19 years-of-age who are overweight or obese has risen from 5 to 17 percent since the early 1970s, and the...
Eating out is an enjoyable and relaxing experience. However, until the recent focus on healthy lifestyles, it was nearly impossible to get a healthy meal at food chain restaurants. Increased awareness of the health benefits of diet and nutrition...
Some of the fast food restaurant choices you may think are healthy could prove otherwise, causing you to exceed your daily caloric needs and recommended fat intake. Depending on your activity level, the average adult female requires between 1,200...
The organic food industry is on the rise due to consumers wanting more control over what it consumed. National food chains that have healthy, organic menu items are on the increase and expected to experience increased growth. Eateries can range...
Medium chain fatty acids -- also referred to as MCTs or medium chain triglycerides -- are fats composed of capric and caprylic fatty acids and is easily digestible, according to certified Performance Nutrition specialist Clayton South of...
Few natural foods contain large amounts of medium-chain triglycerides, sometimes referred to as MCTs. Dietary fat consists mostly of triglycerides, three fatty acid chains that contain between two and 22 carbon atoms. Most of the fats in Western...
Branched chain amino acids are involved in your body's regulation of protein metabolism, body composition and weight loss. The branched chain amino acids, or BCAAs, are so called because they each have a carbon chain that branches off from the...
Branched chain amino acids, also called BCAAs, are the three essential amino acids needed for protein synthesis: leucine, isoleucine and valine. These amino acids make up one third of muscle in the body. The body breaks down muscle when it needs...
Medium-chain triglycerides, or MCTs, consist of saturated fatty acids with a chain length of six to 12 carbons. MCTs do not require the pancreatic lipase enzyme or bile salts for digestion that longer-chain triglycerides that occur more often in...
Medium chain triglycerides, also referred to as medium chain fatty acids or simply MCT, are a type of fat that is easily absorbed by the body. Found naturally in foods, MCTs are also available as a dietary supplement. According to Ward Dean, M.D....
The difference between a food chain and food web can be confusing. The focus of a food chain starts with the basic form of energy, the sun, and the connection between the sun and the rest of life on our planet. The food web refers to the...
Food webs provide simplified graphical presentations of how animals feed on plants and other animals to survive. You can build a representation of the process that starts with the energy of the sun and ends in your tummy to create a greater...
Food webs describe how your foods supply you with the energy and nutrients you need. For example, the unsaturated fatty acids in fish make it a healthy source of energy. All those calories come from the sun. Food webs show how sunlight trapped by...
Many anglers who enjoy night fishing employ a technique that is known to attract game fish. A submersible lamp that emits green light is placed in the water over the side of a boat or near a dock or other structure. In time, plankton, then bait...
Though fast foods offer a convenient meal, they're sometimes lacking in healthy substances. For example, many fast food items are low in fiber. Your body needs fiber for proper digestion, and it also helps keep you feeling full. Thankfully,...
Low carb diets are one of the most popular ways to lose a few pounds as quickly as possible. Dieters are always looking for easy ways to get in their required meals and do so with as few carbohydrates as possible, but when you're in a time crunch...
Successful weight loss has far more to do with organization than with willpower, as evidenced by the $40 billion Americans spend on weight loss products every year. Whatever their strategy--and whether they are effective--the appeal of diet books...
Trans fats are found in foods prepared with partially hydrogenated oils and/or shortening. Trans fats can play havoc with your cardiovascular health. Even though fast food establishments are offering more products made without trans fats, they...
The summer season brings one of the sweetest and most delicate fruits to homes across the United States: the peach. A peach is a stone fruit, related to the plum and the nectarine, that is often canned and included in desserts. It grows in the...
Fish oil contains a type of important lipid that is used in the human body as a structural component in the membranes of cells. It is found mostly in nerve cells of the brain and parts of the immune system. The function of fish oil is intimately...
Catfish are widely distributed in tropical and temperate freshwaters and oceans of the world. North America has its fair share of species, including one of the continent's heftiest, the flathead, famed for its edibility and physical proportions....
Fish oil takes the form of omega-3 fatty acids. This is one of the healthiest fats, beneficial to the immune system and brain development. Unfortunately, fish also tends to contain trace amounts of mercury, including the oily parts. At low levels,...
Fish contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, compounds that provide numerous health benefits such as reducing cholesterol and blood pressure. Although eating fish is one way to consume omega-3 fatty acids, concerns about mercury poisoning may...
The Warrior Diet is a controversial diet created by former magazine editor and former Israeli Special Forces soldier Ori Hofmekler. Based on his own personal experience and opinions of how warriors ate, the diet consists of minimal eating during...
Clostridium is known as a type of opportunistic pathogen, meaning it won't cause an infection unless the host's immunity is compromised. In those cases, clostridium can cause food poisoning, gangrene and botulism. Clostridia organisms are normally...
Pizza makes for a very quick, convenient and therefore popular meal, according to Iowa State University's extension service. Unfortunately, a slice of pizza can sometimes give you far more fat than you may want to consume, thanks in part to greasy...
One of the many excuses people use as the reason why they don't eat a healthy diet is that it costs more. True enough in times of economic strain, a dinner built off of a 99-cent menu at a fast food chain may be all too appealing to your wallet....
Sarku Japan is a mall fast-food chain in the United States. The outlets are known for their soba noodles and the special sauce used in their preparation. Sarku Japan employees typically won't reveal the exact recipe for the sauce, but you can...