Making Changes to Your Nutrition

Everyone's on a diet. No matter what you eat, the food you take in each day is your diet. It may be a high-fat diet or a particularly unhealthy diet, but it is nevertheless a diet.

The most successful changes to nutrition are those that come about gradually. Research has shown that people who lose weight very quickly invariably regain that weight. But even dietary changes that have nothing to do with weight loss tend not to last if they're too abrupt and restrictive.

The secret is to make small changes that you can live with forever. If a change seems like a life sentence of deprivation, then it must be adjusted. Clearly, the best way to prevent the torture of dietary limits is to start early. Do your kids a favor and start them on the path to healthy living early on.

Meanwhile, your elderly parents and your own aging body may need a health boost. Sure, if your Dad's been eating red meat with mashed potatoes six times a week for 75 years, he won't be excited about steamed broccoli, but you'd be surprised at how much the immediate benefits of a healthy diet tend to boost the immune system and bring relief from some of the discomforts associated with aging. Even something as simple as a regular bowel movement is enough to convince elderly people that broccoli and bran are their friends!

This section is divided into multiple articles covering:

To research other mind and body topics, please use the morefocus search tool, or see the related topics listed to the left.