Make Healthy Eating and Exercise Part of Your Daily Routine

Carbohydrates are good. Carbohydrates are bad. You should eat more protein. You should eat less protein. The less fat you have in your diet, the better. Your body needs a certain amount of fat to function properly. You need to exercise for 30 minutes a day; now the experts recommend 60 minutes.

What will it be next? It seems like the guidelines for a healthy diet and lifestyle change daily. It can be hard to keep up with the latest theories and even harder to know who to believe in light of conflicting advice.

One nutrition fact you can always be sure of is that fruits and vegetables are a tasty and healthy part of any diet. They are a great way to reduce your risk of cancer, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke and other illnesses.

A Web site created by the Produce Marketing Association and the Produce for Better Health Foundation can help you learn more about fresh fruits and vegetables -- from selecting them at the store to storing them at home. Located at www.aboutproduce.com, the site also provides you with free healthy recipes and ideas for fitting produce and exercise into your daily routine, such as:

* Add a serving of fruit with breakfast to start your day off in a healthy way.

* Park your car further away from the grocery store or the mall and walk. Get off the bus a few stops early and walk the rest of the way to work.

* Choose 100% fruit and vegetable juice for a refreshing break after your next workout. Eating 5 A Day helps replenish vitamins and nutrients the body uses throughout the day.

* Take the stairs at the office -- instead of the elevator or escalator.

* Put some produce into your lunch with either a salad, some fruit, or 100% juice.

* All exercise counts, even if you don't do it all at once. Break up your workout and make it easier to fit exercise into your schedule by taking three shorter walks each day instead of one long one.

* During the day, select fruits and vegetables for snacks full of vitamins, nutrients, and good taste.

Consider that a recently released study by the Institute of Medicine established new ranges for daily intake of fat, carbohydrates, protein, and daily exercise limits. It also made the important distinction between natural sugars (found in fruit) and added sugars (incorporated into foods during production). The next time you're hungry after a workout, reach for an apple or banana instead of a candy bar.

Fruits and vegetables provide a tasty, low-fat, low-sodium snack and are high in vitamins, nutrients, minerals, and fiber. They're also quick and easy to prepare and eat on the road or at home.

So the next time you're in a quandary about healthy food choices, just remember: You can't go wrong with fruits and vegetables.