I plan to present here many of the facets of good nutrition, facts about foods and how they can affect our health, our unhealthy lifestyles and ways to improve them, and the benefits we reap by eating sensibly. I'll be adding more and more information gradually, so be sure and return now and then to check out the latest.

I realize that this is an enormous page, and becomes even more so as I add more stuff, but I believe that there is value in what I've learned and I want to share as much of my knowledge as I can.

I want to start out discussing sodium, and the importance of "shaking the salt habit." I cringe when I see people pouring the salt on their food, and wonder if they know how potentially harmful it is to them.

Salt contains the mineral sodium which stays in the body tissues holding water. This results in swelling and may lead to high blood pressure which increases stress on the heart. Studies show that animals develop high blood pressure when their sodium intake is increased. Evidence suggests that people living in many traditional societies do not develop hypertension due to their low salt intake.

Most people need only 200 miligrams of sodium each day (equivalent to 1/10th of a teaspoon of salt). Americans consume 4000 - 8000 miligrams each day. To reduce the risk of high blood pressure we need to aim at a sodium intake of 2000 miligrams to start out with. Sodium found naturally in unsalted food is sufficient to meet our sodium requirement. One teaspoon of salt contains 2100 miligrams of sodium. Some medications such as antacids are also high in sodium.

There is much we can do to reduce the amount of our sodium intake. Check product labels for salt and sodium-based ingredients such as sodium saccharin, disodium phosphate, etc. When eating out, avoid high-sodium menu items such as soups or entrees with gravies and sauces. Ask if it is possible to order your food without salt. Check the ingredients on store-bought frozen entrees and dinners, as they can be very high in sodium.

There are plenty of good salt substitutes available in the grocery store. My favorite is Mrs. Dash, and you'll see that seasoning in many of my recipes. Mrs. Dash has a whole line of seasonings that are really worth trying. They are all natural herbs and spices, and absolutely 100% salt-free. I had a friend who carried a small shaker of Mrs. Dash in her purse, so that if she dined out, she could season her food without having to use salt.

In the hustle-bustle world we live in today, we dine out more than ever. It's really healthier to prepare your own food, so that you know exactly what is going into it. Here are some suggestions for for reducing salt in your food and replacing it with other things:

In general, combine 3 herbs or less in one dish and have a preponderance of one herb.

Use fresh herbs when possible.

Use lemon juice, wine and fresh ground pepper to accent natural flavors.

Try orange or pineapple juice as a base for meat marinades.

For poultry, try garlic, mushrooms, cranberries, orange slices, wine, curry, paprika, parsley, sage, or onion.

For fish, try bayleaf, marjoram, onion, fresh mushrooms, dry mustard, green pepper or ginger.

For pork, try applesauce, apples, garlic, onion or sage

Try experimenting with different spices and you'll see just how delicious your meals will taste, even without salt.

Black tea and green tea have antioxidants called "flavonoids" which combat free radicals which invade one's immune system. Flavonoids are also found in many fruits and vegetables. Non-herbal teas have about half the amount of caffeine as an equal portion of coffee does. (Herbal teas, of course, have no caffeine.) There are fierce studies going on now delving more into the benefits of drinking tea. Studies are showing that people who drink a cup or two of hot black or green tea (or a glass or two of iced tea of those varieties) per day have a 44% less chance of developing heart problems. As antioxidants are a big thing in the study of cancers, scientists are looking more into the benefits of tea regarding that health issue as well.

The Lipton company has a great website with lots of information and recipes. It's definitely worth the time to check them out.

I was raised with the philosophy of "all good things in moderation," which is good, basic reasoning, but lacks substance. It's a simple statement, but much, much too broad to try to put into practice. One day a number of years ago I arrived home from work and turned on one of the afternoon talk shows. The host was in the process of introducing a physician who had developed a plan for people to become healthier, more energetic, and more vital. Doctor Robert Giller then walked out on stage to a moderate applause. After he was seated, the host began interviewing him by asking him to tell the audience and the viewers his age. As he stated his age, which was 40 at the time, the sounds of gasps and shrieks could be heard throughout the television audience and in my very livingroom. (The sounds in my livingroom were mine and mine alone.) I probably could be heard down the hall yelling something barely audible like, "WHAT??? NO WAY!!!!" I mean, the "kid" didn't look a day over 25.....I was dumbstruck. So, I listened to what he had to say....very intently. What he had to say was basically what I had been taught as a youngster....only broken down into clear, logical explanations as to what constituted a healthy lifestyle. I took notes, which I have kept to this day. His advice was that good....and it makes absolute, perfect sense. He didn't just put his ideas out there, but he explained himself in a way that anyone could understand the whys and wherefores of what he talked about.

Dr. Giller's medical approach was holistic, preventive and natural. He made me realize that a lot of problems I was having at the time was due to my lifestyle, my diet, and things my body was lacking. Headaches I was having at the time was due in large part to the amount of caffeine I was consuming. My hyperactivity was a result of too much sugar intake. My overall negative sense of well-being was related to the lack of proper exercise. I decided to try his plan out, and it worked.....very effectively.

Dr. Giller didn't believe in diets. They are fine for a quick fix, but they don't quite cut it. In order to really become healthier, for good, a complete change of lifestyle must occur. Habits need to be cultivated, but it's definitely not an overnight thing. The changes that need to be made have to come about gradually, in a logical order. This is basically what Dr. Giller's plan was all about....making healthy changes, one at a time.

I started out my "medical makeover" by getting on a high performance vitamin and supplement regimen, which I have maintained for over 10 years now. I take a multiple vitamin containing a mineral complex, 10,000 IUs of vitamin A (beta carotene), and 50 milligrams of each B vitamin. This high-potency formula serves to increase the energy level without invoking hyperactivity. In addition, I take 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, 400 IUs of vitamin E, 50 mcgs of Selenium, and 100 mcgs of Chromium (GTF). These are the daily measurements. Increasing these recommended dosages really don't do any good, although some people will increase the vitamin C to 2,000 milligrams a day. The body will naturally eliminate what vitamin C it doesn't need, so increasing is not at all harmful. Chromium helps you with sugar withdrawal. As you begin to eliminate the amount of sugar you consume, Chromium will help calm your nerves and stabilize the glucose in your blood. Selenium helps to preserve elasticity in body tissues and enhances the action from the vitamin E. Dr. Giller believed that it is also an important anti-stress element.

I started on my vitamin and supplement plan, and just maintained my daily regimen for two weeks, while cutting back on my food intake before beginning the next step, kicking the caffeine habit. Dr. Giller clearly pointed out the negative side effects of caffeine on the body system, and pointed out logically that caffeine has absolutely no health benefits....NONE. He made me realize that whatever I consume which cannot help my body or my health is a waste. So, I took a giant step by quitting caffeine, cold turkey. I replaced my coffee and tea with beverages which were totally caffeine-free. I replaced cola and other soft drinks with water enhancers like Crystal Light, tea containing caffeine with herbal teas, and I replaced my morning coffee and donut with a breakfast drink Dr. Giller suggested which gave me a great energy boost in the morning (recipe below).

After the third week, I was noticing major changes taking place within me. I was more energetic throughout the day, I was sleeping more fitfully at night, I had begun to lose some weight, and magically, my headaches disappeared completely. I was ready, and eager, to begin the next step, which was eliminating sugar.

I want to take a moment to regress a little here. I have had a life-long love affair with chocolate. It's all my mother's fault LOL. One day, when I was a very small child (just under a year old, I would gather) I stood in my playpen watching mom iron clothes. We were in the kitchen, and mom was standing near the kitchen counter, where a Hershey chocolate bar sat unwrapped. The sun was shining through the window onto the chocolate laying on its wrapper, and as it started to melt, my eyes began dancing, and I began drooling, gurgling and cooing. Mom took notice of my locked gaze on the chocolate, and thought she would see what my reaction would be to my first taste of chocolate. She took the tip of her finger, dipped it into the melted chocolate, and introduced me to Heaven on Earth. I licked and smacked, and all was lost from that moment on.

Needless to say, I developed quite a sweet tooth over the years. Cutting out the sugar was a major change for me. It turned out to be easier than I would have imagined, because of the Chromium that had become inherent in my system. I stopped putting sugar in my tea. I cut down my sweets to one special dessert a week. No more candy bars. I switched from ice cream to sherbets, frozen yogurt and Italian Ice. These were changes I felt I needed to make, and I really wanted to. After a week of my sugar reduction, I was ready to proceed. I was continuing to lose weight, gradually, and I was feeling superb.

The next step involved rearranging my eating habits, which took me about two weeks to stabilize. I had already altered my morning meal, so I just needed to work on lunch and dinner. Learning about the digestive system helped me understand the best way to consume food. The system breaks down fruits the fastest. Vegetables take a little longer to digest, grains come next, and meat takes the longest for the body to process. That is the order in which you should eat. It is far better to eat one thing at a time, before proceeding to the next dish. The system works best when the body is at rest. Believe it or not, activity slows the digestive system down. Contrary to popular belief, it really is better to have the main meal of the day in the evening before retiring.

Lunch consisted of fruit and vegetables only, as much as I wanted. Most of my vegetables I ate raw, as I did the fruit. In place of the fruit, I sometimes had a small container of yogurt with fruit. But I always ate the fruit first, then the vegetables.

Dinner consisted of fruit, vegetables, no more than 4 ounces of meat, and 2 slices of whole grain bread or a whole grain roll. I would have beef twice a week, pork once a week, poultry twice a week, and fish twice a week. If I wanted a mid-morning snack, I would have a piece of fruit. A mid-afternoon snack might consist of another piece of fruit or some raw veggies. In the evening before bed I'd have a cup or two of camomile tea.

My overall well-being continued to improve. I was gaining balance in my physical as well as my psychological being. I was becoming more positive-thinking, more energetic, more emotionally stable, and much, much healthier. My blood pressure dropped from an average of 150/85 to a steady 120/70, which I still maintain. My cholesterol dropped right into a prime level, as did all of the other elements of my body. I was ready to begin my exercise program, which was the easiest of all.

My exercise consisted of brisk walking. A lot of people are under the misconception that all the walking they do during the day while at work represents exercise. It doesn't, because it generally is not sustained exercise. Whether you do your walking based on time or distance, really doesn't matter. I would spend 10 minutes on my morning and afternoon breaks at work walking around the block. When getting home from work, I would change into comfortable clothes and tennis shoes and take a brisk walk of between 3 and 5 miles. On the weekends I would enjoy a brisk morning walk of the same distance.

Two months into my medical makeover, I had lost 35 pounds, and felt better than I had in years. I had fewer colds, my stress level was exceptionally low, and even my skin was healthier. I had shed a lot of bad habits and replaced them with healthy ones. I had actually changed my lifestyle, and with much less effort than I thought it would require.

The benefits of adding sprouts to your dishes are unbeatable. Broccoli has been proven to prevent certain kinds of cancer. In broccoli SPROUTS, the cancer-fighting components are even stronger. Sprouts have been proven to fight cholesterol and heart disease, control blood pressure, and build the immune system. That should be enough to make you want to start using them.

You want to eat your sprouts raw. When you add them to steamed vegetables, for instance, never cook them with the vegetables. Instead, just sprinkle them on top of the vegetables before serving them. Sprouts can be added to sandwiches and salads, and broccoli sprouts are great on pasta.

If you'd like to try growing your own sprouts, I suggest the easy method I use:

Take a clean, empty quart jar, and fill it with 2 tablespoons of alfalfa or broccoli seed. Cover the top of the jar with 2 or three layers of cheese cloth secured firmly with a rubber band. Run cold water into the jar until it's full. Slowly and carefully drain the water out of the jar. (Seeds are very fragile, so you want to do this rinsing gently.) Rinse the seeds in this manner three (3) times. Prop the jar upside down, at an angle, in the corner of your kitchen sink. Do this twice a day; once in the morning and once in the evening. In 4 or 5 days you'll have sprouts!! When the jar is full of sprouts, store it in the refrigerator. You can begin using the sprouts immediately.

You can sprout beans the same way. You'll need about 1/4 cup of beans for a quart jar. I usually have about 4 jars going at once.

If you'd like to learn more about sprouts, growing them yourself and the nutritional value, try the link below:

In 1994 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established an organization to help improve the nutrition and well-being of Americans. For as far back as I can remember, we Americans have been the most over-fed population on the planet. Fast food establishments have only contributed to our over-indulgence and unhealthy eating habits. The old food pyramid had basically been shoved aside as a grounded guideline for both food providers (including school cafeterias) and increasingly busier home cooks. The pyramid was complex in its application and just not quite basic enough to apply simply and easily. The new-formed Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) formulated a new set of nutritional guidelines which are much more basic and easily applied by all age groups. Thus, My Plate was born.

The general idea of a balanced diet consists of making 50% of the food on your plate fruits and vegetables, 20% protein, 15% grains (at least half of which should be whole grains), and 15% dairy (the majority of which should be non-fat or low-fat milk).

The CNPP website has a wealth of nutrition information which should be shared by all, especially young growing families. Please visit My Plate.

Rocco DiSpirito is a gifted and inspired professional chef whose innovative and ingenius cooking techniques promote healthier eating and lifestyles. He has written two books, the one shown above and its predecessor, "Now Eat This!" Although implied, these are not actually diets designed to apply for brief periods, but plans to completely change your eating habits permanently. This latest book does include a 14-day plan which can be used to jump-start your new way of eating, but I just jumped right in and started planning my own menus from Rocco's recipes. Trust me, these are not just cookbooks. They are packed full of valuable information on nutrition and amazingly delicious recipes, and they are truly life-changing. You can find both books on Amazon or just about anywhere books are sold.