Regular exercise and stress reduction are very important for promoting vibrant health, strength and vitality, but perhaps the most important factor of all is what we eat. The first step in bringing more awareness to our eating is to learn which foods are healthy and which are not. Many of the foods that we grew up thinking were good for us actually contribute to people being overweight and unhealthy. Chief among these are: milk products, white bread, and most of all sugar – particularly the high fructose corn syrup [HFCS] that is in so many processed foods. You also want to stay away from artificial sweeteners as tests have shown that these are just as bad for you as sugar.

We all pretty much know that the most healthy foods are fresh fruits and vegetables – preferably organic. The food expert Michael Pollan has a very simple formula for healthy eating: “Eat Real Food… Not too much… Mostly Plants”. “Real Food” excludes most of the packaged foods that you find in the supermarket which contain highly processed ingredients and chemicals. “Not Too Much” means only eat when you are hungry; “Mostly Plants” is not saying that you have to be a vegetarian, but perhaps to moderate the amount of meat that you consume.