4 simple tips to get your diet on track

With a plethora of fad diets and weight loss trends out there, finding credible information about healthy options can be challenging.

Dr. Edward Rybka, a family medicine physician with Advocate Medical Group in Oak Lawn, Ill., offers four tips on making healthy choices.

• Eat four to five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. The vegetables should include grains, as well as starchy vegetables that are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and lack added fats, sugar or sodium.
• Choose good carbohydrates. When you are looking at carbohydrates be cautious about high glycemic index carbs such as those found in foods like pizza, rice and pancakes. Replace those with foods that have lower glycemic index carbs, such as fruits and vegetables. Generally, grainy sugars shouldn’t comprise of more than 25 percent of the total calories that we eat every day.
• Calcium and vitamin D are some of the key nutrients that everyone needs. We need at least 800 IU of vitamin D daily and post-menopausal women should strive for at least 1,200 milligrams of calcium a day.
• Choose a diet. From weight loss to weight gain, to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, there are a variety of diets that target different needs. The appropriate diet varies from person to person.

Dr. Rybka encourages his patients to try the Mediterranean Diet, which has been linked to improved memory.

“Generally, the Mediterranean Diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, a low to moderate amount of fish and dairy products, and the key factor is small amounts of red meat,” he says. “A number of studies show a significant reduction in cardiovascular mortality and risk for certain types of cancer.”