Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived signaling molecule your body makes naturally. It helps regulate blood vessel function by signaling the muscles around your blood vessels to relax and widen, allowing blood to flow more easily. Your body can produce nitric oxide from L-arginine, an amino acid, as well as through a pathway involving dietary … Read more
Bone broth has been enjoyed for centuries, but in recent years, it has gained renewed attention as a nourishing food that may support everything from joint health to digestion. While bone broth isn’t a miracle food, it can be a nutritious addition to a balanced diet. Many of its potential benefits come from the protein … Read more
Collagen drinks are everywhere, but there is an important detail that often gets lost in the marketing: not every drink marketed for collagen actually contains collagen. Some drinks provide collagen peptides directly, while others contain nutrients that your body uses to make collagen. There is also a big difference between a drink that contains collagen … Read more
Collagen is often described as the protein that keeps your skin looking youthful. But its role goes far beyond appearance. It helps give structure to your skin, bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues. As you get older, your body naturally produces less collagen, which can contribute to changes such as less elastic skin … Read more
Want firmer-looking skin, better elasticity, and healthier connective tissue? Collagen plays a major role in all of them—but your body does not make the same amount of collagen forever. The amount of collagen your body produces can decline over time, and factors such as sun exposure, diet, lifestyle habits, and skincare can influence how quickly … Read more
Feeling tired more often than usual? Iron may be one nutrient worth paying attention to—especially if your diet is mostly plant-based. Iron helps your body make hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body. While meat and seafood are well-known sources of iron, you can also get a meaningful amount … Read more
A bowl of soup can be much more than vegetables floating in broth. Think roasted tomatoes that become almost sweet, lentils simmered with warming spices, silky squash topped with crunchy seeds, or salmon tucked into a bright lemony broth. Soup is one of the easiest ways to bring several nourishing foods together without making dinner … Read more
A smoothie can be much more exciting than throwing a banana, spinach, and some milk into a blender and hoping for the best. Think deep purple berries with almond butter, bright mango and ginger, creamy avocado with lime, tart cherries with cocoa, or a tropical green smoothie that actually tastes tropical. The best combinations balance … Read more
Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin,” but its importance goes far beyond getting enough sunlight. Your body needs it to absorb calcium, maintain strong bones, support normal muscle function, and keep several important processes working properly. What makes vitamin D interesting is that you can have low levels without obvious symptoms. That is … Read more
Vitamin D deficiency can be surprisingly easy to miss. You may feel tired, notice more aches than usual, or simply feel like your body is not working the way it normally does. It is tempting to blame these changes on stress, poor sleep, a busy routine, or getting older. Sometimes, however, low vitamin D is … Read more
Getting enough vitamin D from food can be surprisingly difficult when you follow a vegetarian diet. You can eat a varied diet filled with vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and legumes and still fall short because very few foods naturally contain much vitamin D. Fortunately, there are a few vegetarian options worth knowing about. Mushrooms, egg … Read more
A snack should do more than keep you busy until dinner. The best ones hit that sweet spot between something you genuinely want to eat and something that leaves you feeling satisfied afterward. That doesn’t mean reaching for another handful of almonds every afternoon. You can have warm cinnamon apples with walnuts, crispy roasted chickpeas, … Read more
Dinner should give you something to look forward to—not leave you choosing between another plain salad and a meal that feels too heavy. These anti-inflammatory dinner ideas take a different approach. Think lemony salmon with crispy potatoes, smoky chickpea tacos, herb-filled chicken bowls, creamy lentil curry, roasted vegetables with tahini, and colorful grain bowls piled … Read more
Breakfast can be the meal you rush through—or the one that quietly sets the tone for the rest of your morning. And eating in a way that supports a lower-inflammatory dietary pattern doesn’t mean settling for plain oatmeal and a handful of berries every day. Think warm sweet potatoes with smoky black beans, creamy Greek … Read more
Pregnancy can change your digestion in ways you may not expect. Constipation, bloating, and feeling uncomfortably full can become common, especially as pregnancy progresses. Fiber can help keep things moving, but getting enough isn’t always easy when your appetite, food preferences, and digestion are changing. The good news is that you don’t need a complicated … Read more
That mid-afternoon hunger can make it surprisingly easy to reach for chips, cookies, or something sweet. The problem isn’t snacking itself—it’s choosing snacks that don’t keep you full for very long. A better snack can be as simple as an apple with peanut butter, roasted chickpeas, berries with yogurt, or a handful of nuts and … Read more
Breakfast can be an easy place to add more fiber to your day, but many common breakfast foods don’t provide much of it. A pastry, refined cereal, or plain toast may fill you up for a while, only to leave you hungry again soon after. The good news is that you don’t need a complicated … Read more
Inflammation is a normal part of your body’s defense system, but persistent inflammation can become a concern. That has made “anti-inflammatory” foods and drinks increasingly popular, especially herbal teas. But not every tea marketed for inflammation has strong evidence behind it. Some teas contain plant compounds that have been studied in human clinical trials, while … Read more
Vitamin C is probably best known for its role in immune health, but its functions go far beyond helping your body fight infections. This water-soluble vitamin also supports collagen production, helps your body absorb plant-based iron, acts as an antioxidant, and plays a role in several other important processes. Because your body can’t produce vitamin … Read more
Vitamin C deficiency is uncommon, but it can still develop when someone gets very little vitamin C for many weeks. Early symptoms may include fatigue and feeling generally unwell, before more noticeable problems develop, including swollen or bleeding gums, skin changes, joint pain, and poor wound healing. Severe vitamin C deficiency can lead to scurvy, … Read more