Are bananas the worst fruit in terms of health value?

There is no such thing as a bad fruit. Bananas are fabulous! It all depends on how you define worst, which in turn depends on what nutrients you personally want or need from your diet. Bananas received a bad rep decades ago because they have a few more calories than other fruits … but that doesn’t mean they are bad at all.

Is it normal to be super hungry on a particular day even when I ate the same amount of food the day before?

Bodies can be mysterious … so, yes, it’s normal. It can be caused by many different things. Tiredness, hydration, stress, medication, alcohol/drugs, exercise and hormones are just some potential reasons for your seemingly unexplainable hunger. So, when you have one of those days, just relax and know that it will pass. If you’ve had enough to eat and “feel” hungry, try to determine if it’s actually your stomach talking or if there’s something else going on that’s causing you to feel hungry.

Do fad-diets actually work?

It depends on your definition of work … If you follow a weight loss diet, you will lose weight in the short run. The problem is, as soon as you stop dieting you will regain the weight you’ve lost (and often a little extra, too). What happens then? You feel like a failure, you feel frustrated. In fact, the diet is the real failure. The best option is to eat healthfully and balanced for your lifetime so that you don’t have to diet ever again! Remember, for the most part your weight is merely a reflection of your behaviors.

Why do some vitamin pills make you burp nasty, stinky burps after ingestion?

Generally, B-vitamins cause that all-too-familiar odor. Vitamins become more pungent the older they are or when they are exposed to air and moisture. You can minimize the aftertaste by taking your multivitamin with food. Ideally you would eat, then take the pill and then eat some more.

 

Betsy Reynolds-Malear is an M.P.H., R.D. Nutrition Specialist at Student Health.

 

A version of this article appeared on page 8 of the Monday, April 29, 2013 print edition of the Nexus.
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