Poor diet

What you eat probably affects your health more than anything else you do. When you eat a poor diet-fatty, processed, or fried foods and simple sugars-you invite rapid aging by burdening your body with chemical additives and trans-fats and depriving your body of essential nutrients. On the other hand, when you eat the life-giving foods, you prevent disease and improve organ functioning. In general, your diet should consist of a wide array of colors and balance of organic sources of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables.

Numerous studies show that the different pigments in the skins of fruits and vegetables are powerful antioxidants that are crucial for maintaining health, preventing cancer, and protecting against environmental toxins.

Avoid fatty foods, processed or fried foods. Keep dairy to a minimum because most dairy products are high in saturated fat. Take candy, sugar, soda, and all simple sugars out of your diet. Excess sugar gets stored as fat in your body, which spells in weight gain-a sure path to cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes. The News