Micronutrients are small, but their impact on your health is massive. From boosting immunity to supporting mental clarity, these essential vitamins and minerals shape your well-being in ways most people don’t fully appreciate. Discover how to optimize your intake, avoid deficiencies, and use practical strategies to support your body at every life stage.

When Coca-Cola’s potential move back to cane sugar makes headlines, it’s often framed as a return to “real” ingredients and a nostalgic taste of the past. As a registered dietitian, I find that many clients interpret this shift as a health upgrade, believing cane sugar to be cleaner, more natural, and less harmful than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The reality, however, is far more complex. To answer whether this sweetener swap is truly meaningful, we have to step beyond marketing language and dig into the science of how these sugars are metabolized, what role they play in chronic disease, and how much the distinction matters in the bigger picture of nutrition and public health.

Sugar is one of the most hotly debated ingredients in modern nutrition, linked to obesity, diabetes, and a host of chronic health conditions. For many, the appeal of non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS), from aspartame and sucralose to stevia and monk fruit, lies in their ability to provide sweetness without the calories or blood sugar spikes of traditional sugar. But with headlines warning of potential health risks and social media amplifying conflicting claims, many people are left asking: Are these sweeteners a safe solution, or just another nutritional gamble?

As a health coach, I’ve seen firsthand how clients struggle to make sense of sugar’s role in their diet. Some fear every gram, while others assume that switching to alternatives automatically guarantees health. The truth lies in understanding how different sugars, table sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, naturally occurring fructose, and even sugar alcohols, affect metabolism, energy, weight management, and long-term health. With the right knowledge, sugar becomes less of a mystery and more of a tool you can manage wisely.

Water fasting has been trending as the ultimate way to “reset” the body, but is it really as powerful, or safe, as it seems? From fat loss and muscle breakdown to changes in metabolism and nutrition, fasting impacts the body in complex ways. Before diving headfirst into days, or even weeks, of nothing but water, it’s worth knowing what science says actually happens inside your body.

Quick-fix diets like the watermelon fast often deliver rapid but fleeting results, leaving people wondering if the sacrifice was worth it. Are these short-term “successes” masking deeper risks to your health and metabolism? In this article, a registered dietitian unpacks the science behind monofood diets, explores why they seem to work at first, and reveals the smarter, safer strategies you can use to achieve real, lasting progress.