To Be or not to Be Healthy the Choice is yours

Your doctor utters those dreaded words; you must lower your cholesterol or face the possibility of heart disease. You think you will have to give up all the foods you love. However, being healthy does not mean eating a rabbit's diet. Retailers are increasingly helping consumers find ways to eat the foods that they love without fearing the next checkup.

Here are some tips to help you understand how to eat any foods without a big serving of guilt.

• Choose and enjoy a variety of foods every day. This will help you maintain a balanced diet.

• Eat moderate, balanced portions. When portion sizes are reasonable, it will be easier to eat the foods you want and to stay healthy.

• Eat exactly what you're hungry for. If you crave sweet food do not eat something salty. By listening to your body, it will be easier to have control of the food you eat.

• Choose foods that use non-hydrogenated oil such as fries. Using a non-hydrogenated oil will reduce trans-fatty acids, which are better for managing blood cholesterol levels.

• Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods. All foods can fit. Even higher fat and higher calorie foods, when eaten in moderation, can fit into a healthy eating plan. The secret is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.

• Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be perfect.

• Remember to look at the big picture. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or "bad." Remember that healthy eating does not come down to what you ate today or yesterday. Instead, it's about your overall eating habits and the amounts and types of foods that you usually eat.

• Use flavouring to spice up food. There are many ingredients such as garlic, lemon juice, herbs, onion, pepper and other spices that can add zest and flavour to your food.

There are no bad foods, only bad choices. Choosing a balanced diet has never been so easy.