"Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food."

~ Hippocrates, Greek physician, known as father of modern scientific medicine

There are enough fad diets out there to make our heads spin. I find it alternately amusing and frustrating that the authors of these diets seem to contradict one another more than they agree.

But, if we got them all in a room together, they'd agree on these fundamentals (well, not all but…):

1. Drink plenty of water (at least 8 cups per day). Why? Your body needs water for everything from releasing toxins to maintaining skin health. If you're not drinking enough water, your energy level will drop and you'll be more likely to get headaches.

Your brain and your heart are especially sensitive to even the slightest levels of dehydration. If you don't drink enough water, your blood volume will be affected, requiring your heart to pump harder to circulate blood throughout your body. The chemical and electrical signals in your brain need water. You'll feel tired and lethargic if you're thirsty. So, drink more water.

2. Eat plenty of fruits (2-4 per day) and veggies (3-5). This one is pretty straight forward. Fruits & Veggies = Good. Eat more.

Most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and provide many essential nutrients important for health that you're just not going to find in the average Twinkie or Snickers. Adequate consumption may help reduce the risk for high blood pressure, and some studies have shown a relationship between the amount of vegetables and fruits consumed and risk for certain types of cancer--the more fruit you eat, the lesser the risk.

3. Eat breakfast. Did you know “breakfast” literally means “break the fast”? The meal is intended to break the 8-12 hour fast your body just went through overnight.

Researchers say that by having a healthy breakfast, we increase our metabolism by 10%. Did you eat breakfast this morning?

4. Avoid refined sugars. Oh, but they taste so good! Refined sugars (i.e., those found in processed foods like white sugar, cola, candy bars, etc.) wreak havoc on your blood sugar level and also cause your body to release the hormone insulin, which inhibits fat loss.

Tip: Substitute those twinkies and candy bars for fruit!

5. Avoid saturated fats. But these taste so good, too!

To be clear, some dietary fat is needed for good health. Fats supply energy and essential fatty acids and promote absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Most of us are aware, however, that high levels of saturated fat are linked to a greater risk for heart disease.

The main sources of saturated fats are meat, milk, and milk products and a lot of the snack foods we munch on throughout the day. Try to replace these sources with natural fats found in olive oil, nuts and seeds and some fish.

6. Take a multi-vitamin. It's good for you.

Tip: Remember the lesson on consistency vs intensity? Try working on one habit at a time. Don't try to change everything at once. Pick one of these fundamentals and try to master it this week. Then go for another...and another...