As you think about adding more plant-based foods to your diet, aim for balance and variety. Include a number of different types of foods—like whole grains, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, cru­ciferous vegetables, to name a few. Within each category, go for va­riety so you get the full benefit of all the nutrients these foods offer. For example, there is much more to citrus fruit than oranges and grapefruit. Don't stop at spinach and broaden your horizons be­yond brown rice. Here are some tips for adding more fruits, veg­etables and grains to your daily fare.

- Substitute vegetables for the meat in lasagna and other pasta recipes. Rich-tasting Portobello mushrooms, for example, have a "meaty" texture. Add vegetables to marinara sauce.

- Double your normal serving-size of vegetables.

- Add cooked lentils and beans to salads.

- Add chopped, firm tofu to salads, soups, stir-fries and pasta sauces.

- Start your day with two fruits—for example, orange, grape­fruit or tomato juice and a sliced banana on cereal or toast.

- Make ice cubes of fruit juice and add them to sparkling water.

- Bake, stew or poach apples, pears or peaches with cinnamon, cloves and honey.

- Instead of jelly, add grated apple or chopped dates to a peanut-butter sandwich.

- Cook grains in fruit juice or vegetable juice instead of water.

- Experiment with new grains. Quinoa, for example, is a good source of calcium. Use it instead of rice. Millet, which is high in B vitamins and iron, is good in stuffing and casseroles.

- Plan grains into every meal—for example, hot or cold cereal in the morning, whole-grain bread at lunch, brown rice or an­other grain at dinner.
 

When you are buying fresh products, seasonal fruits and vegeta­bles usually are your best choice—for nutrition, taste and cost. But don't dismiss frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. Nutrition­ally, they are often comparable to their fresh counterparts. Frozen spinach, canned peaches and apricots, and canned tomatoes are some examples.

The degree to which mood can be altered with food is a matter of heated debate among researchers and is likely to be the subject of scientific inquiry for years to come. In the meantime, what nutri­tional steps can you take now to lessen the effects of stress on your body and keep yourself on an even keel?
 

If you often crave carbohydrates, try eating small meals (don't forget breakfast!) and snacks throughout the day that include car­bohydrates such as whole-grain breads and starchy vegetables. You'll not only keep your cravings in check, you'll also avoid the extra fat and calories that come from eating too much. And if you lose your appetite when you're under stress, eating a series of small meals will be easier than trying to consume several big ones.

Re­member that stress slows digestion, but the fiber in grains, fruit and vegetables will help keep your digestive system functioning nor­mally. Be sure to drink a lot of water, too.

Remember, you don't have to give up your favorite sweets. In­cluding a couple of sweet snacks in your day will help you avoid bingeing later. If you're a chocolate lover, have some for dessert after a meal when you're less likely to overdo it. During times of stress, you also might want to boost your exercise level. Exercise can stimulate the release of calming endorphins—without those extra calories from chocolate.
 

In terms of dollars, women themselves are the greatest con­sumers of health care. We make significantly more physician visits than men and are hospitalized more often. We also account for three-fourths of today's long-term-care patients—not surprising when you consider that women's average life expectancy is almost eighty years, which is about seven years longer than men's.

But even though women are living longer in general—and longer than men, in particular—we are not necessarily living better. Women suffer from more illnesses, particularly chronic diseases, than men do. We also experience poorer health outcomes and greater disability than do men. The following statistics bring women's vulnerability into sharp focus.

♦   Heart disease is the number-one killer and disabler of America's women. Some 245,000 women die of heart disease each year.

♦   Cancer is the leading cause of premature death among women. 250,000 women die of cancer each year—46,000 of them from breast cancer.

♦ Osteoporosis affects more than twenty-five million Ameri­cans—twenty million, or 80 percent of them, are women.

♦   Six and a half million American women are afflicted with dia­betes. Approximately 60 percent of the newly diagnosed cases of diabetes arc in women, with a disproportionate incidence in minority women.

♦   One-third of U.S. women are overweight.
 

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It is true that information regarding food and exercise can be found in hundreds of books and magazines and many of the people know most of the important facts about nutrition and exercise. However, “eat healthy and exercise and you will become fit” is simply a concept and still many people consider this concept as a major challenge.
 

Success in this field has more to do with desire than intelligence. How bad do you want it? As an example, there is a brilliant person who actually works in the medical and nutritional field who is 80 lbs. overweight and another person who never made it past 10^th grade but who is in excellent physical condi­tion. He lost 60 lbs. by eating sensibly and exercising regu­larly and most important, his desire was to lose weight, even though he wasn’t probably smarter than the 80 lb. over­weight medical worker.

 
You need to touch a nerve somewhere and fire up your desire to be physically fit. Once that fire is lit, you are on your way on loosing weight. Knowing and learning about nutrition and exercise is important, but having the desire to stay healthy is what dieting is all about.
 

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Coffee and hot tea can be a great help when you are trying to lose weight. They give you something to consume instead of food. Also, it takes a considerable amount of time to drink a cup of coffee or tea. This is time that you are not concentrating on food. Don't put anything in your coffee but nonfat skim milk (no more than three ounces). Do the same with hot tea, although some lemon juice is just fine. Use all you want. Sip your coffee and tea slowly. Never use any sweeteners, not even the diet versions.

However, too much of it is not good either, so try to hold your coffee and tea consumption down to three cups per day. No doctor would ever recommend it, but if you have to, go up to four or five cups per day. Never go over five. Remember that this is a very temporary luxury. Use these extra cups as a crutch only if you have to. A couple of months of this abuse and you should cut back to two or three cups per day. Try your best not to abuse either one. You may want to consider switching to decaffeinated since you're walking a tightrope here.

A couple of small glasses of pure fruit juice (no sweet­eners added), spaced out during the day, provide a healthy shot of quick energy. Avoid the huge glasses of juice if you are trying to lose weight. They are very healthy, but they do contain calories.

It is better to eat an orange instead of drinking a large glass of orange juice.
 

Hoodia Gordonii Special