1. Avoid trans-fatty acids and partly hydrogenated fats (‘bad fats’). They may increase the shelf life of certain food products but they decrease the shelf life of people who eat them.

2. Consume some omega-3 fatty acids every day (‘good fats’). As little as 3 grams a day of omega-3 fatty acids may reduce your risk of sudden cardiac death as much as 50-80%, lower your triglycerides, reduce inflammation (as seen in arthritis, for example) and even help prevent cancer. You can eat fish (including salmon, mackerel and halibut) or take fish or flaxseed oil capsules from which contaminants have been removed.

3. Eat fewer ‘bad carbs’ like sugar, bread, grains creals etc They are low in fibre, so you get a double whammy: a lot of calories that don't fill you up, and because such carbs are absorbed quickly, a blood-sugar spike and insulin surge.

4. Eat more ‘good carbs’ like fruits, vegetables, particularly greens . They are rich in fibre, nutrients and are essential for healthy living.

5. Calories count. Not in the sense of how many but in the quality of the source. You can eat fewer calories by eating less food (which is why you can lose weight on any diet that restricts entire categories of foods or limits portion sizes), but you may get hungry and gain it back. Fat has 9 calories per gram and is essential for health and fat loss as is Protein.

6. Avoid trans-fatty acids What you include in your diet is as important as what you exclude. There are at least a thousand substances that help protect against chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. With few exceptions, those protective substances are found in Fruits and vegetables.

7. Lose weight in a way that enhances health rather than harms it. You could lose weight by smoking cigarettes or taking stimulants like amphetamines, fen-phen or ephedra. But you’re likely to do irreparable damage to your body in the process.

8. Eat in a way that promotes health, enjoy good food and you will reap the benifits for a healthy life.