5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Diet
	1. Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and even osteoporosis. They are a rich source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and various other beneficial substances. Fresh fruit and vegetable consumption is probably the best way to improve your health through diet. Potatoes, yams, corn and beans are not vegetables, and don't have the health benefits that vegetables provide (although beans, yams, and sweet potato are healthier than white potatoes and much better than the processed carbohydrate side dishes most of us eat on a daily basis). Potatoes and yams are tubers, corn is a grain, and beans are legumes. 2. Emphasize high animal protein foods from natural sources, such as organic fresh meat, fish, and poultry. These foods will keep you satiated, boost your metabolism, help prevent diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis, and provide you with high quality protein, vitamins, and minerals. Avoid processed meats and fish though, as they are high in sodium and harmful preservatives and additives. Also, choose leaner cuts of meat and poultry, since in this country cattle and chickens are fattened with grains and soybeans, giving them a less healthy fatty acid profile. If possible, consume free range, pasture fed beef or buffalo, which is vastly superior to the average meat in terms of containing less fat and antibiotics, and having a healthier fat profile. 3. Frequently include fresh, raw tree nuts in your diet. These include almonds, pecans, filberts (hazelnuts), walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and pistachios, but not peanuts or cashews, which are legumes. Tree nuts have been shown to have benefits for the heart, and may even improve longevity. They are one of the few natural sources of the mineral magnesium, which is sorely lacking in most people’s diets. Magnesium protects the heart and helps prevent osteoporosis. Nuts also contain a nice amount of fiber and other minerals. Avoid those nuts which are salted and cooked in unhealthy oils, opting for raw nuts instead. 4. Avoid all processed, boxed, refined, packaged and fried foods, as well as fast foods. These include baked goods, snack foods, frozen meals, processed meats, sweets, and starches. My article on glycemic load details the harmful effects of these foods, but in a nutshell, they may increase your chances of developing heart disease, colon, breast, and prostate cancer, diabetes, and obesity. They are high in refined carbohydrates, sweeteners, harmful fats, sodium, and preservatives, and low on vitamins, minerals, fiber, and nutrients in general. 5. Use only olive oil, preferably extra virgin olive oil. Avoid vegetable oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, canola (rapeseed) oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil, as well as margarine, shortening, and mayonnaise. These contain high levels of either n-6 or trans fats, both of which are extremely unhealthy.
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