Minerals play an important role in your health. Trace minerals are needed in small amounts, while macrominerals are needed in larger amounts. Phosphorus is a macromineral second only to calcium in bodily abundance. It has a close relationship with...
Rapid weight loss can lead to an array of unpleasant physical symptoms, from dizziness and exhaustion to handfuls of hair falling out. If your weight loss is unexplained, it could be a symptom of a serious illness needing medical attention. If you...
Many times, the cause of epilepsy is unknown. The condition is a brain disorder that may result from a head injury, developmental disorder or illness. Epilepsy causes seizures that may consist of violent spasms, strange behavior or new physical...
Metabolism is largely a misunderstood phenomenon. It is often perceived as a contributor to weight gain; however, weight gain is a result of the shift in balance between calories consumed and calories burned. Metabolism is defined as the process...
Various health conditions may contribute to strong-smelling urine. Urine odor refers to the scent of your urine as you void it from your bladder. The smell of urine ranges from sweet to foul, depending on the underlying health problems or...
Diabetes mellitus, or diabetes, is a condition in which insulin cannot inform the cells when nutrients are available in the bloodstream. When diabetes goes untreated, the brain interprets this as a mode of starvation, but because the cells cannot...
When urine becomes acidic, uric acid stones may form in the kidneys. Kidney stones cause symptoms such as pain in the back or side, burning during urination, blood in the urine and nausea. Lab tests on your urine can determine the acidity level...
No such thing as a "diabetic diet" exists. It's a pervasive remnant of bygone days that bear no resemblance to the meal planning that diabetics observe today. In truth, with proper education about and adherence to healthy eating, a diabetic can...
You need phosphorus for your body to make cells and to strengthen your bones. Phosphorus helps to create and store energy, to filter waste from the kidneys and to make DNA as well as a number of enzymes and hormones. Your body also uses phosphorus...
Blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is a measure of the concentration of glucose in the bloodstream. Glucose is an organic molecule with a sweet taste found in both table sugar and starches--cells can use the molecule to provide for their...
Many people fast for spiritual reasons and for health reasons. Diabetes typically requires that you be careful about supplying your body with adequately spaced meals to stabilize your blood sugar, so fasting must be approached with caution and...
Very low calorie diets may be used for medical reasons in obese patients, who are free from contraindicated medical conditions, and should be used only under a doctor's supervision. Normally these diets include vitamins and micro-nutrients...
Insulin is required for glucose, or blood sugar, to reach the body's cells. Without insulin, glucose stays in the bloodstream or is excreted in the urine, and the body's cells starve. During cell starvation, the body signals to the brain that...
Minerals are necessary for optimum health and are best obtained through the foods you eat. Minerals are separated into trace minerals, of which you only need a small amount, and macrominerals, of which you need a larger amount to function...
As insulin promotes fat storage, you cannot lose weight using insulin in any form. That is, insulin will not aid in weight loss -- it makes it more difficult -- although you can lose weight through diet and exercise while on insulin. However,...
Ketones are substances your body produces when you burn fat for energy. Normally, these substances don't enter your bloodstream. However, in conditions of malnutrition or starvation, ketones enter your blood and act as an indicator of underlying...
Your body can store glucose, or blood sugar, and fat but not amino acids, the main component of protein. If you consume an excessive amount of protein, starve yourself or suffer from a metabolic disease that consumes excess nutrients, your liver...
Changes in the smell of your urine can be attributed to many factors, including your diet. The most common causes of foul-smelling urine are no cause for alarm while some odors can be an indicator for certain diseases. Knowing the dietary causes...
Several factors contribute to your weight, including total body water, muscle mass, body fat and organ and bone mass. You diet because you want to lose excess body fat. Depending on how you go about losing weight, however, you may end up losing...
The trendy Master Cleanse program is promoted as both a detox program and a weight loss plan. The program consists of going without food for 7 to 10 days, subsisting only on a mixture of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper....
A urinalysis is a relatively routine medical procedure used to diagnose medical conditions, monitor health, and monitor existing conditions, including diabetes and kidney or liver disease. Because urine for the test needs to be fresh and...
Raw fruits and vegetables help balance the body's pH level and reduce acid accumulation that, over time, deteriorates health. Today's typical Western diet, which is heavy in meat, refined grains and sugars, soda and coffee, acidifies the blood,...
Phosphorus is the second-most abundant mineral found in the body, after calcium. Although roughly 85 percent of all phosphorus in the body is found in the bones and teeth, phosphorus also plays important roles in all cells, particularly in...
Ketosis is a form of acidosis, a disruption in the pH balance of your body, that results from the presence of excessive ketones in your blood. Ketones, or ketone bodies, are a byproduct of fat metabolism. They are released when fat is broken down...
Urine, like other body fluids, can be either acidic or alkaline. Acidic substances have a pH of less than 7 and alkaline substances have a higher pH. Urine normally is slightly acid, with a pH around 6, although it can range from 4.5 to 8. Urine...
Phosphorus is so abundant in the human body and food sources that you would have to be suffering from starvation to develop a dietary deficiency, according to the book "Nutrition" by Paul Insel and other authors. Nevertheless, certain medical...
Monosodium phosphate, also known as monobasic sodium phosphate, is a combination of the synthetic forms of phosphorus and sodium. Your doctor might prescribe it if you are at risk for a phosphorus deficiency due to an illness, disease or...
A ketogenic diet is one that forces your body to turn to ketones as a source of fuel. Ketones result from the rapid breakdown of fatty acids and include acetone, acetoacetic acid and beta-hydroxybutyric acid. The ketogenic diet requires that 90...
Phosphorus is an essential mineral responsible for up to 1 percent of your total body weight. Phosphorus aids in the formation of bones and teeth along with calcium, and is involved in cellular energy in the body. This mineral plays a major role...
