FCS3-574: Cholesterol 101

Ingrid Adams | Oct. 15, 2024 (New)

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in all cells of the body. Our bodies naturally make cholesterol. Foods we eat can also impact the levels in our blood. Cholesterol is needed for the body to function properly, but too much cholesterol in our blood can have an impact on our health.

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FCS3-645: Vitamin K All the Way

Heather Norman-Burgdolf | Aug. 16, 2024 (New)

Have you ever wondered what happens when you get a paper cut? Why do you stop bleeding after a certain amount of time? You can thank the vitamin-K-rich foods you eat for that. Vitamin K plays an important role in blood clotting when an injury happens and supports bone health and strength.

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FCS3-643: Adding Up Vitamin A in the Diet

Heather Norman-Burgdolf | Aug. 16, 2024 (New)

What do sweet potatoes and beef liver have in common? They are both excellent sources of vitamin A. We need this vitamin for vision, immunity, growth, development, and helping our heart and lungs to work well.

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FCS3-644: Vitamin E for Everyone

Heather Norman-Burgdolf | Aug. 16, 2024 (New)

We are exposed to harmful chemicals in our environment each day that can cause free radicals. These could be from cigarette smoke, pollution, or even too much sun. Our body processes can even create free radicals. This matters because free radicals can cause damage to our cells. There are several nutrients found in abundance in foods that can help minimize free radicals in our body. One of those nutrients is vitamin E.

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FCS3-562: MyPlate: Tools for Building a Balanced Plate

Ingrid Adams | Jul. 19, 2024 (Minor Revision)

Building a balanced diet is much like building a house: you must begin with a good foundation. A healthy eating foundation means including a variety of foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and a mixture of lean proteins into an eating pattern.

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FCS3-560: Beverage Breakdown

Ingrid Adams | Jul. 11, 2024 (Minor Revision)

Water, 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices, and unsweetened beverages like coffee, tea, and sparkling water provide proper hydration. However, we often see sweetened coffee drinks, soda, lemonade, energy drinks, sweet tea, sports drinks, and more sugar-sweetened beverages on the menu or shelves at the grocery store. Often, these drinks contain high amounts of added sugar and little amounts of valuable nutrients that support our health.

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FCS3-524: Dietary Supplements: What are They and Who Needs Them

Sandra Bastin | Jul. 1, 2024 (Major Revision)

Choosing the right supplement is not a simple task, but with a little information, you can choose the best daily supplement for you. Traditionally, dietary supplements are products made of one or more essential nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, but they may also include amino acids, botanicals, or herbal ingredients. Supplements come in many forms including capsules, pills, gummies, powders, drinks, and bars.

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FCS3-525: Dietary Supplements: Be an Informed Consumer

Sandra Bastin | Jul. 1, 2024 (Minor Revision)

Vitamins, minerals, and herbal products are commonly referred to as dietary supplements. Botanicals or herbs, amino acids, and probiotics may also fall under the heading of dietary supplements. Sometimes, a health-care professional may recommend supplements to make sure an individual gets enough essential nutrients for the purpose of maintaining or improving health. Let's look at some basic information that will help you be a more informed consumer when choosing dietary supplements.

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FCS3-105: Nonnutritive Sweeteners

Sandra Bastin | Jun. 25, 2024 (Minor Revision)

Sucrose, or table sugar, is one of the most widely used ingredients in the foods we buy. We compare the sweetness of all other sweeteners to sugar, which is classified as a "nutritive sweetener." Nutritive sweeteners not only add flavor to our foods, but they also provide calories from carbohydrates. They are found naturally in some foods, like fruit and milk, and are added to other foods. Other nutritive sweeteners found on ingredient labels include fructose, dextrose, lactose, maltose, honey, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), molasses, invert sugars, concentrated fruit-juice sweeteners, sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and other sugars.

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FCS3-618: Sweet Enough Without All That Sugar

Melissa Goodman, Jill Harris, Heather Norman-Burgdolf | Jun. 25, 2024 (Minor Revision)

Sweeteners have been around since the earliest history of man and provided carbohydrates as a source of energy. Fruit and honey were the first sweet foods available. Today, sugar is often added to foods for preservation, fermentation, and flavor addition or enhancement.