Dietary Essentials

It's fully understandable that a bowl of oats has some tough competition in the breakfast world. But perhaps it can enter a spot in your daydreams when you find out how incredibly healthy this notoriously unexciting breakfast option is.

Intermittent fasting is the concept of eating during a certain restricted time window each day and fasting (aka not eating) the rest of the time.

Vitamin D is also called the sunlight vitamin because your skin produces it when exposed to the sun. About 50 percent of people across the world have vitamin D insufficiency and about 1 billion people have vitamin D deficiency. How could vitamin D supplementation affect your quality of sleep?

For the coffee-obsessed, it may always be difficult to understand why getting a whiff of that delicious 'elixir of life' doesn't make everyone's hearts sore with glee. Here are the possible reasons why not everyone is on board.

If you're considering trying the Whole30 diet for a month, be prepared to give up ice cream, whole milk, cheese, and even yogurt. That's right — even nutrient-rich, protein-packed snacks like kefir and Greek yogurt are banned for the 30-day duration of the diet.

If you've done any internet sleuthing on treating digestive issues or even mental health issues, you may have run across something called the GAPS diet. Here's what you should know before trying this diet.

If you buy almond milk because you prefer not to drink cow's milk or you have a lactose allergy, you might be ingesting more than almonds, water, and nutrients.

The Whole30 diet is a month-long food reset that eliminates processed foods like sugar and grains while focusing on whole foods like fruit, vegetables, meat, and eggs. But in addition to obvious processed foods, you might be surprised that there is an odd rule that you have to follow.

Did the people once living around the Mediterranean Sea include the versatile modern-day breakfast staple, eggs, as a part of their cuisine?

Even those that don't banish all carbohydrates from their fridges and pantries seem to have fallen prey to the notion that darker-colored breads, rice, pasta, are inherently better for you than their paler counterparts. Are white carbs, though, as bad as you think they are?

Deciding how to eat can be confusing if you're new to the world of diets, and two commonly confused options for those looking to decrease sugar and processed foods while feeling better in the process are the Whole30 and Paleo diets. What's the real difference between the two?

If you are considering jumping on the intermittent fasting train, you will be happy to know that you don't have to cut out your coffee completely — but you may have to modify your order.

Reverse dieting, also known as recovery dieting, might help you ease out of a restrictive diet without gaining the weight back. Reverse dieting is meant to help you maintain the weight you're at now. Reverse dieting sounds like the best way to ease out of a more strict diet. But does it work?

Getting enough protein in your daily diet is critical, but when it comes to choosing your protein source, you might be wondering if an animal or plant-based source is healthier.

Is it healthy to be eating a minimum of two to three eggs a day? Is it healthy to follow a fad diet even for a short period of time? What happens when the diet is over?

Before you swear off bread completely, educate yourself about Ezekiel. Made from sprouted grains with no preservatives, this health store favorite is one of the few loaves that can accurately describe itself as a healthy carbohydrate.

It's hard not to think about cherries without thinking about our favorite cherry-inspired desserts, such as cherry pie. But luckily for us, whether we eat cherries alone or smothered in all that extra goodness, there are surprising health benefits hidden within.

In recent years, diet soda has come under scrutiny by the health community. Is it really a beneficial switch to convert from the high calories of sugared soda to the artificially-sweetened option? Or are there hidden harms that come with the diet version, and do they perhaps prevent weight loss?

Beetroot, or beets, are a vibrantly colored root vegetable packed with healthy vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Here's why you should add more beets to your diet.

Peanut butter is a deliciously versatile food. Since the invention of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich in 1901, it quickly became a lunchtime favorite and a staple in the American home. Unfortunately, this nut butter has been linked to health concerns.

If you'd like to shed a few pounds quickly, perhaps you're considering the Snake Diet. No, you won't be feasting on cobra in the name of calorie cutting, but plenty of experts think this approach is poisonous for another reason.

Maybe you consume lots of fruits, vegetables, and protein - or maybe not. Either way, you're to want to make sure you start including these foods in your diet.

Raw eggs can be found present in tangy tartars, delicate meringues, and that delicious bite of cookie dough we sneak while waiting for the cookies to bake. Giving these foods up would be difficult, so what is the real risk we're taking when we eat raw eggs?

The F-Factor diet, created in 2006 by registered dietician Tanya Zuckerbrot, is popular with celebrities — but is it something that's medically recommended or safe?

A medium-sized donut is 198 calories, nearly the same number of calories in a skinless chicken breast. Yet, we may feel guilty after a Dunkin' run, but pat ourselves on the back for lunching on a lean, grilled fillet. Is there more to the story than a simple calorie count?

Even when choosing brown breads, is there a difference between whole grains and whole wheat? How do you decide which one is better?

How do you follow what's been dubbed "lazy keto," a dieting strategy that, as its name suggests, is perfect for lazy people who'd rather not be bothered with food-tracking apps, measuring cups, and food scales?