A pinch and a dash of salt can quickly add up to unhealthy levels of sodium, especially when many foods already contain more than enough sodium. About 11 percent of the sodium in the average U.S. diet comes from adding salt or other sodium-containing condiments to foods while cooking or eating.

There's a reason so many doctors and nutritionists recommend keeping a food diary when you're trying to lose weight: It actually appears to work. The case for food diaries (or food records or journals) got a little stronger today, when weight-loss researchers reported that a large, multicenter study suggests that tracking what goes in your mouth can double the amount of weight lost.

Diarrhea is usually defined as the passage of three or more loose or watery stool in a 24-hour period, or stool frequency or liquidity that is considered abnormal by the mother. Exclusive breast-fed infants, normally pass several soft, semi-liquid stools each day. A loose stool being one that would take the shape of a container.

Science suggests that you can be hooked on chocolate, cookies and chips. Recently, high-tech medical scans have revealed surprising similarities in the brain chemistry of drug addicts and chronic overeaters -- resemblances that have caught the attention of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Here, the latest evidence, plus a program for regaining control.

No food is inherently "bad;" it is the total diet that counts. If your diet is generally low in fat (especially saturated and trans fat) and sugar and you are getting enough vitamins and minerals, you may occasionally indulge in a rich dessert or serving of fried food.

Coenzyme Q10 is essential in facilitating the process that provides cells - and therefore, your body - with energy. As we age, however, its levels begin to fall. Exercise can also raise levels of coenzyme Q10.Coenzyme Q10 (coQ10) is a small molecule present in mitochondria, where it helps combine oxygen with "fuel" from carbohydrates and fat to produce energy also known as ubiquinone.

Iodine is a trace element present in the human body in minute amounts. The function of iodine is to constitute an essential substrate for the synthesis of thyroid hormone, tetraiodothyronine (thyroxine or T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). The oceans are the primary stores and the sources of iodine in the world. Ocean water contains about 50 µg of iodine per liter.