Nutrition Basics

Nutrition is a key part of overall health, and knowing basic information helps people make informed choices about what and how they eat. Understanding the benefits of different foods, as well as which foods to limit for overall health, creates a strong foundation for healthy eating throughout life.

Nutrition 101

A mix of carbohydrates
What Are Complex Carbohydrates? — And 28 to Add to Your Diet

Benefits of Fruit

Five slices of red watermelon on a cutting board, sitting on a dark wooden table.
7 Health Benefits of Watermelon
Oranges at fruit market.
Health Benefits of Oranges
female eating grapes with bowl of grapes in foreground
10 Health Benefits of Grapes
Fresh forest raspberries in wooden basket on rustic table. Sweet raspberry jam in background.
Health Benefits of Raspberries
bowl of blueberries on white wooden tabletop
7 Health Benefits of Blueberries
Hands holding a grapefruit sliced in half.
11 Health Benefits of Grapefruit
Closeup of a red guava cut in half, in the background several guavas and green leaf
Health Benefits of Guava

Explore Nutrition Basics

man cutting into a steak, a protein-rich food that's full of phenylalanine
Is Phenylalanine Bad for You? What To Know
A glass cup filled with oat milk on a table next to spoons and a glass bottle full of oats.
4 Benefits of Oat Milk, Plus Nutrition and Risks
close up of a young Asian woman eating mussels at a restaurant
Health Benefits of Manganese: Daily Intake and Sources
A homemade sourdough loaf
Should You Eat Sourdough Bread? 3 Surprising Benefits, Explained
Close-up of a hand dipping a carrot stick into a bowl of hummus topped with fresh herbs. Cauliflower florets sit on the table beside.
Your Guide to Heart-Healthy Snacking
Close up of a bowl of white rice with a sprig of cilantro on top
Everything You Need To Know About Refined Carbs
Close up of a woman pouring mint tea (greenish tea with mint leaves) from a kettle into a green tea cup. The woman, in the background, wears a white button down shirt, silver rings, and has brown hair in locs.
Health Benefits of Spearmint Tea
A person eats fries and hamburgers
Saturated Fat: Is It Good or Bad for You?
A bowl of powdered jaggery sugar and a plate with solid jaggery (thimble-shaped forms) on a wood table, with palm leaves and stalks.
Health Benefits of Jaggery
Unpeeled garlic on a wooden cutting board
5 Reasons Why Garlic Deserves a Spot in Your Diet Today
Close up of the annatto plant fruit and seeds: Spiky shells attatched to a green shrub open to reveal bright red seeds inside
Health Benefits of Annatto (Bixa Orellana)
person holding a tray of a cooked full turkey
3 Health Benefits of Turkey That'll Make You Want Seconds This Thanksgiving
Cropped shot of smiling young Asian woman eating pork loin with mashed potato, eating at an outdoor restaurant
Everything You Need To Know About L-Glutamine
Directly above shot of an assortment of multi-coloured pumpkins in various shapes.
Want Healthier Winter Meals? Here Are 10 Squash Varieties You Need to Try
Close up of a man's hands using a fork and knife to cut into sunny-side up eggs, with avocado toast and coffee
How Much Dietary Cholesterol Can You Have Per Day?
Health Benefits of Baking Soda
Health Benefits of Baking Soda
Young Black man wearing a button down shirt holding a glass of milk
Is Goat Milk Good for Gut Health? 5 Reasons to Add It to Your Diet
Young latino man wearing a striped button down and jeans is sitting on a couch at home with a headache. He has a pained expression and holds one hand to his temple while the other hand holds a glass of water. Houseplants sit beside and behind him.
Signs and Symptoms of Mercury Toxicity
A bar of dark chocolate on a wooden table
4 Surprising Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
Young black woman with long locks is wearing a yellow sweatshirt and standing outside in front of a body of water. She is eating a salad and listening to music through corded earphones
Everything You Need To Know about Lutein
black licorice
Is Black Licorice Bad for You?
A wooden spoon holding potato starch (white powder), laid flat on a wooden surface. A sack of potatoes spills out behind the spoon; one potato is half sliced
Health Benefits of Potato Starch
A close-up shot of pomegranates on a wooden bowl
4 Health Benefits of Eating Pomegranates
Pumpkin cut into squares
6 Health Benefits Of Pumpkin—Plus, Preparation Tips
Overhead view of carbohydrate foods: pastas, breads, beans, oats
Everything You Need To Know about Carbohydrates
Butternut squash
4 Health Benefits of Butternut Squash
a stew with tripe
What Is Tripe and Why It's a Nutritional Powerhouse
A metal spoon scoops bee pollen (small yellow nuggets) out of a glass jar. The jar sits on a rustic wooden table with yellow flowers in the background.
Health Benefits of Bee Pollen
A bowl of miso soup (broth, tofu, green onion) and a pair of chopsticks resting on a small blue chopstick holder, on a wooden table
Health Benefits of Miso
a salad
Everything You Need To Know about Polyphenols
Health Benefits of Amla
5 Benefits of Amla (Indian Gooseberry), Plus Facts and Nutrition
A small wooden bowl of raisins (dried grapes) on a wooden surface. More raisins are scattered around the bowl, and whole green grapes sit to the side
Health Benefits of Raisins
Possible Benefits of Eucalyptus
Health Benefits of Eucalyptus
Health Benefits of Rutabaga
Health Benefits of Rutabaga
Health Benefits of Nutmeg
Health Benefits of Nutmeg
Health Benefits of Thyme
Potential Health Benefits of Thyme
close up image of almonds soaking in water
Health Benefits of Eating Soaked Almonds
Health Benefits of A Daily Ginger Shot
Health Benefits of a Daily Ginger Shot
Health Benefits of Baking Soda Water
Health Benefits of Baking Soda Water
Overhead view: Raw chicken, steak, fish on a cutting board. Bowls of dry beans, peas, lentils. Almonds, eggs, chickpeas and broccoli.
Everything You Need To Know about Protein
Health Benefits of Amaranth
Health Benefits of Amaranth
Wooden bowl of shelled raw lima beans (green) surrounded by green bean pods
Health Benefits of Lima Beans
Health Benefits of Turkey Tail Mushrooms
Health Benefits of Turkey Tail Mushroom
A person adds sugar alcohol to a drink
What To Know about Sugar Alcohol and How It Affects the Body
Health Benefits of Red Meat
Health Benefits of Red Meat
a person taking a supplement
Health Benefits of Cod Liver Oil
Health Benefits of Red Wine
Health Benefits of Red Wine
Health Benefits of Logan
Health Benefits of Longan (Dragon's Eye)
Fresh garcinia cambogia on wooden background.
Health Benefits of Garcinia Cambogia
Health Benefits of Plums
Health Benefits of Plums
Wooden bowl full of prunes, with whole plums beside it
Health Benefits of Prunes
Health Benefits of Zucchini
Health Benefits of Zucchini
Health Benefits of Chia Seed Water
Health Benefits of Chia Seed Water
A mason jar of blueberries overturned over a table
4 Health Benefits of Blackberries
Two slices of honeydew melon on a wooden cutting board with a half slice melon behind it.
7 Health Benefits of Honeydew Melon
Health Benefits of Beta-Carotene
Health Benefits of Beta-Carotene
a person eating a piece of gum
Health Benefits of Xylitol Gum
Shot of athletic woman eating a healthy fruit bowl while sitting on floor in the kitchen at home
How Eating More Protein Can Help You Shed Pounds, According to a Dietitian
Person buying bulk beans at the market
Everything You Need To Know about Tyrosine
Sick young Asian woman standing in kitchen holding glass of water suffering from stomach ache,
Everything You Need To Know about Protease
View from the top of a bowl of ripe strawberries
6 Health Benefits of Strawberries
A man slicing a cantaloupe, Japanese melon
4 Health Benefits of Melons
Health Benefits of Shiitake Mushrooms
4 Health Benefits of Shiitake Mushrooms