By Dulce Zamora WebMD, February 2005 Eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Choose whole-grain, nonfat, or low-fat foods. Be physically active daily. Watch calories. Limit the fat. Get enough calcium. We live in a world with a dizzying amount of scientific research pointing to foods and habits that make for good health. In an ideal universe, that's good news. If we exercise and eat right, we give our bodies essential nourishment and movement to work at their best. Yet our world is far from ideal. There are responsibilities, deadlines, and food or lifestyle preferences that get in the way of healthy eating. Real life happens, and in the rush to satisfy daily hunger and desires, we may succumb to less-than-healthy choices. It doesn't always have to be that way. No matter what our lives are like, there's always room for improvement. "There is always something positive that can be done for our health," says Sue Moores, MSRD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). "Maybe it's eating an extra fruit a day, maybe it's cooking a food a different way, or maybe it's (trying) a new food that's out that we didn't know much about because of all the ethnic influences." Busy Bees Can Eat Healthy, Too Demands of work, family, and community can keep people from preparing for healthy meals. This is true for workaholics, supermoms and dads, overachievers, frequent travelers, and a host of other people trying to beat the clock. Because of their lack of time, these folks often turn to quick-fix foods that are high in fat, sugar, sodium, or calories, and low in essential nutrients. The solution isn't to find more time, but to work with the schedule you do have. The minutes spent perusing fast-food or vending machine options could be used toward time to visit the grocery store, where you can pick up prepared salads, sandwiches, and meats, pre-washed and cut fruits and vegetables, canned soups, low-calorie and low-fat frozen meals, yogurt, string cheese, and cereals. "We continue to see a really strong link between how we eat and what we eat, and being well," says Moores. "The better we do on our part to choose good foods and eat healthfully, the more effect it has on helping us stay well, feel good, and enjoy life." Here are some more healthy tips for busy bees: Cook a bigger batch of food on the weekends, and refrigerate or freeze for weekday consumption. Set an alarm for mealtimes. Even if you're buried in a project, don't skip meals; designate a time to eat. Try not to do anything else while eating. Mindless consumption prevents the enjoyment of food. When that happens, people tend to eat more and eat unhealthy alternatives. Put fresh or dried fruit where you can see it to remind yourself of your goal to eat healthy. Bananas, grapes, and apples make handy and nutritious snack items. If at a restaurant, turn down the supersize option, and choose baked and broiled instead of fried. Order the lunch portion at dinnertime, and hold off on fatty condiments. Keep handy snacks around, such as fruits, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, trail mix, carrot or celery sticks, wraps, and sandwiches. Motivating Couch Potatoes You love your TV shows, and can't think of a better way to relax after a hard day's work. Yet studies have found a strong relationship between tube-watching and obesity. Perhaps it's because TV viewing is a sedentary activity. Or maybe it's because people tend to eat mindlessly in front of the screen. If you eat in front of the TV, you probably have no sense of how much you're eating, says Christine Filardo, MSRD, director of public relations for the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH), a nonprofit consumer education group. "If you're sitting there [in front of the TV], and you rip open a bag of chips, it's very easy to eat the entire bag of chips and not really think about what you're doing, because your main focus is not on what you're eating, but on what you're watching," says Filardo. Substitute candy and chips for light popcorn. Baby carrots with a low-fat dip and a bowl of fruit are also good alternatives. Also try light yogurt instead of ice cream. Junk Food Junkies Planning healthy meals and snacks ahead of time is crucial for people who want to curb their junk food cravings. "Some junk food junkies just fall into that habit, because there's nothing else around, and so they hit the vending machine, or stop at a convenience store, and that's what's there," says Gidus. If you must have junk food, sample the healthier alternatives, such as baked chips, dried fruit, or sugar-free Popsicle. Look for low-calorie, low-sugar, and low-fat options. In place of chips, the crunch-lover could try chomping on light popcorn, whole grain crackers, carrot sticks, red peppers, and rice cakes. For the sweet tooth, sugar-free pudding, sugar-free Jell-O, fruit bars, baked apple, fresh fruits, and dried fruits are options. Kitchen Phobes Don't know how to cook a healthy meal? No problem. "You don't have to be a gourmet cook to eat healthfully," says Filardo. "A couple of chicken breasts and sliced up sweet potatoes can be roasted in the oven. You can stir fry a bag of baby spinach with some garlic and olive oil." Take advantage of the work that has already been done for you, adds Filardo. There are low-calorie frozen foods, prepared salads, and cut-up fruit readily available at grocery stores. If you get take-out, try healthier versions of the food. For example, when ordering pizza, go light on the cheese and order a salad to go along with your meal. At Chinese restaurants, ask the chef to use less oil. Order vegetables, and go easy on the rice, noodles, and deep-fried foods. For soups, go with the broth-based option. Choose tomato sauce as opposed to cream sauce for pasta. Indeed, no matter where you are on the spectrum of healthy eating, it is possible to make a positive change without drastically changing your lifestyle. Make enough of these small changes in your diet over time, and a healthy body won't have to be just an ideal. It can become reality. chekurwight@talkabc.com