Nutrition Lessons for the Not-So-Smart (Like me!)

Ideally, your daily intake of calories will break down like this:

45 to 65 percent from carbohydrates

10 to 35 percent from protein

20 to 35 percent from fat

For a typical 2,000 calorie diet, eat two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day.

Have at least six portions of beans, cereal, grains, pasta, rice (preferably brown), or whole-grain bread per day.

Consume three cups of fat-free or low-fat milk or similar dairy products per day.

Go easy on the salt shaker. You should get no more than 2,300 mg — or about a teaspoon — of salt per day.

Watch your calories. Staying trim is an important part of staying healthy, so try not to take in more calories than you burn.

Eat a variety of foods.

Red : Plants like strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, and red bell peppers possess some of the strongest antioxidants known to science. Antioxidants trap and absorb free radicals, those unstable oxygen molecules in the body that can damage cells and lead to cancer. Free radicals are also linked to heart disease.

Orange-Yellow : Mangoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes are loaded with the antioxidant beta-carotene. They’re also packed with vitamin A, which boosts your immune system and is crucial to healthy eyes and strong bones. Oranges — besides being a powerhouse of vitamin C — also contain the disease-fighting chemicals known as liminoids and flavonoids. (One flavonoid found in oranges, hesperetin, is thought to protect against cancer, heart disease, and infections.) Bananas are full of potassium, which can prevent or reduce high blood pressure (and may help keep plaques from forming in arteries as well).

Green : Chlorophyll, the phytochemical that makes plants green, is not a huge disease-fighter. Nevertheless, the green vegetables are stuffed with other nutrients and substances essential to good health. Broccoli is the king of cancer-fighters with its rich supply of vitamins C and K (used in photosynthesis), as well as specific cancer-preventing compounds like indoles (thought to be especially effective in fighting breast cancer). Spinach is a rich source of vitamin K, folic acid, and lutein, which helps prevents age-related macular degeneration (and may reduce cataracts as well).

Blue-Purple : Blueberries are extremely rich in antioxidants and contain nearly 100 phytochemicals, which help protect against cancer, bacteria, and ulcers, among other things. They may also help protect the brain against aging, according to Joseph and Nadeu. On the vegetable side, the antioxidants in eggplant have been shown in preliminary studies to reduce the wrinkling and aging of skin.