The significance of this most basic of human needs—not just eating, but eating well—is often overlooked or pushed aside with the demands of busy, daily life. Yet how we feel on a day-to-day basis, and how healthy we are—and remain—is reliant upon this one thing more than anything else. You have the power to influence your health profoundly, not just now but for the years to come, by the choices you make in your diet today. As good ol’ Hippocrates once said, “Let food be your medicine, and medicine be your food.”

So, let’s skip the New Year’s resolutions this year (too much wiggle-room!). Instead, let’s make a commitment: A commitment to start eating healthier. A small change each day will soon add up to benefits bigger than you would have ever imagined: more energy, improved sleep, weight loss, less aches and pains, better sex, improved mood, improved ability to handle stress... better health can be yours, and it’s not complicated. Best of all, it will be fun! We’ll all do it together, here, and I’ll start by sharing a few simple tips for healthier eating in 2011:

• choose more brightly colored fruits and vegetables – those oranges, reds, and yellows indicate they’re loaded with healthy antioxidants and protective nutrients like carotenoids
• eat a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms to broaden your intake of beneficial phytonutrients
• eat more berries (ok!)
• as much as possible, choose organically grown foods – these are not only better for you, they’re better for the planet due to sustainable farming practices
• choose less processed, packaged foods and more whole, closer-to-their-natural-state foods

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be offering lots of healthy-eating tips that’ll help keep you on track for a healthier, and more joyous, life.

We’d love to hear your suggestions for simple tips on healthy eating, too!