Nutrition Crash Course:

Let’s make it simple. Try to stick to the pyramid prescription as far as how much you should eat of dairy, protein, grains, fats and fruits and veggies. Obviously, you can’t always stick to this because you have a life, kids, parties, holidays, etc, but try to eat this way most days of the week.

You should also limit alcohol: if you must drink, red wine is your best bet. And of course, don’t smoke.

Undo some of the damage by taking a mulitvitamin supplement, drinking at least 2 quarts of water a day and by consuming as many of the following nutrition-filled foods as often as possible:

Oats, flax seed, hot peppers, sweet potatoes, grapes, cabbage, cauliflower, black-eyed peas, chickpeas, kidney beans, lima beans, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, fish, nonfat milk, nuts, onions, garlic, oranges, tomatoes, cranberry juice, strawberries, mangoes, papayas, brown rice, bananas, asparagus, peppers, soy, prunes, olive oil, cabbage and yogurt, raspberries, guavas, avocadoes, leafy greens, cucumbers, and “green drinks containing wheatgrass”. Something for everybody!

Great Nutrition Secrets:

Tea Time: It’s time for you to do like the British, and make tea breaks a regular part of your day, or you will really be missing out on a marvellous health benefit. Tea contains polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that fight cell damage. Green tea contains the most antioxidants and black tea kills the bacteria that causes gum disease in addition to providing antioxidantsThis just in: A red tea, called rubios is purported to contain even more antioxidant power than green tea! Tea can give you nutrition, weight loss assistance and energy in one fell swoop!

Mooove to Milk: You need to consume at least 2 servings of milk products a day. Women need at least 1000 mg a day. A cup of chocolate milk will provide you with 1/3 of that recommendation. If you are not crazy about dairy, meet your quota with calcium supplements, like Tums. (Recent research shows that calcium supplements ward off symptoms associated with PMS).

Don’t Deep-Fry: Broiling, baking, microwaving and steaming are better options.

Flavor Fix: Rely less on butter and salt for flavor, and more on herbs, spices, lemons, or olive oil.

Sugar Substitute: Use sugar as infrequently as possible. Try Splenda, a sugar substitute made from real sugar.

Fresh Is Best: Use fresh foods whenever possible. Organic is even better!

Steam Dream: Steam or microwave veggies instead of boiling or cooking to prevent vitamin loss.

Love Low-fat: Substitute low-fat milk, cheese and sour cream for their fattening counterparts. When you bake, substitute ½ of the amount of butter the recipe calls for with moist healthy ingredients, such as applesauce or buttermilk. You won’t miss it!

Cheese Fiend Fix: If you are a cheese fiend, check out feta or goat cheese. Both have lower amounts of fat. Sprinkle feta cheese on your salad or spread goat cheese on your bagel. We love to chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions, throw them in a big bowl with some feta cheese crumbles, stuff the mixture into whole wheat pita bread pockets and top it off with a sauce made of plain yogurt, a little ketchup, a little lemon juice, and a little fresh garlic. It is so delicious and healthy!

Get Skinny: For optimal nutrition and a slender celebrity figure choose skinless, lean meats.

Magnificent Marinara: Cut down on creamy sauces. Order your pasta with marinara instead of Alfredo sauce. For extra nutrition, add chopped up veggies to your sauce.

Refreshing Dessert: Order fruit desserts or sorbet instead of pies and cakes. The nutrition content of the fruit in pies and cakes is nominal and the fat and sugar overpower any health benefits anyway.

Egg Swap: Substitute egg yolk with double egg whites or with Egg Beaters.

Nutrition Gone Pro: Learn as much as you can about eating right for your specific needs. You might want to consult a nutritionist. Find a registered dietician in your area by logging onto eatright.org. This professional can not only assist you by creating a customized nutrition plan, but can help you lose weight and gain energy, as well!

Showers for Your Inside: If you start drinking at least 8 servings of 8 oz of water a day you will notice a big difference in how you look and feel: Suddenly you look well rested, your skin is clearer, you have boundless energy, and your urine is almost clear! It is worth the effort. Here are some tips for making it a more convenient endeavour: Buy a Rubbermaid 2 quart pitcher with snap-shut top. This holds 8 cups. You can take this to work and just pour the water into cups. This way you are carrying your entire day’s supply with you. If you don’t like plain old water, try lemon slices in your water. Or try a sweetener like Crystal Light. This sweetener comes in canisters. Each canister holds four or more little tubs. One tub flavours your entire 2 quart pitcher! How’s that for convenience…no measuring!

Super Supplements: No matter how nutritious your diet, a multivitamin ensures that you are getting adequate amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. With so many on the market, how do you pick one? The bottom line: Although touted by countless manufacturers and health book authors, it is best to steer clear from mega-dose vitamins, at least until more research is in. The problem is that the Food and Drug Administration is not responsible for testing the claims of vitamin and mineral manufacturers and therefore many mega-dose vitamins are on the market. For certain people, mega doses of vitamins and minerals can be toxic. To ensure that you are getting enough but not too much of a good thing, take a multi-vitamin designed around the Recommend Daily Allowance (quantities deemed to be necessary and safe by the government).

You have probably heard about the benefits of the herb ginseng for producing energy, and ginkgo biloba in aiding mental clarity. Who wouldn’t like more energy and the ability to think clearer? But here we have the same problem, the Food and Drug Administration does not have to evaluate the claims of manufacturers of these products either. However, in clinical study after clinical study, these two herbs have been found to live up to their claims.

The bottom line is that you must ensure you're getting the vast majority of your nutrition allowance fro fresh fruit and vegetables and please stay away from processed food as much as you can. Also walk everywhere you can, it does you more good than you'll ever know :-)