Vitamins and minerals play an important role in maintaining our health. Vitamins are organic substances (made by plants or animals) and minerals are inorganic elements that come from the earth. We absorb vitamins and minerals from the plants we eat and need them to grow and develop healthily. The best way to get the proper amount of nutrients is through a well-balanced diet. Here is a breakdown of the most essential vitamins and minerals, how to identify a deficiency, and a natural diet source.
There will soon be seven billion humans on Earth, but how does that number compare to other species on the planet? We are certainly outnumbered by ants. Harvard biologist and ant expert Edward O. Wilson has estimated that there are a thousand trillion to ten thousand trillion ants at any one time.* That would be about a million ants for every one of us. And doesnt it seem like that when they invade our kitchens? Estimating animal populations, especially wild ones, is hard, but heres a look at one category of animals we can count: the ones we eat. Nigel Holmes
When this gourmet cupcake boom took off a couple of years ago, I couldnt believe it. The cupcakes Im used to are home-baked, hastily frosted and pocked with thumbprints. And before my family discovered a local cupcake café, the idea of shelling $4 dollar for a lavender lemon verbena cupcake would have made all of us laugh. Now, we do occasionally find each other lingering on the Food Networks Cupcake Wars (now into its 4th season). And Ive only softened somewhat to the idea of cupcakes-for-purchase, but Im definitely done holding my breathe for the cupcake bubble to burst.
Its the ingenious image of the sweet and simple cupcake that propelled the treats into a $6 billion industry. Weve all made cupcakes a thousand times. The ingredients are familiar, pronounceable items we always have on hand. Their authenticity helps us feel better about buying our kids and ourselves a $4 cupcake over a lot of other fast food snacks. But really, like most anything we eat nowadays, the cupcake represents global effort of laborers and products from places we dont tend to think about. Check out this new graphic weighing the ingredients of this trendy personal treat:
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