1. Eat A Healthy Diet - Don't Forget the Fruits & Veggies. Your mother always nagged you to eat your veggies, right? Her advice was spot on, even though she perhaps didn't understand the scientific reason why. We know now that fruits and vegetables contain substances called phytonutrients. These plant-based nutrients, with hard-to-pronounce names like lycopene (tomatoes), anthocyanins (berries) and carotene (carrots), have been linked to everything from diabetes, heart disease and cancer prevention to anti-aging. Various colors of fresh produce represent different families of phytonutrients, so it's important to keep your daily plate as colorful as possible.

What constitutes a healthful diet? Definitions around the word vary by degree, but not by essence. Whether it's the U.S.'s Mypyramid, the U.K.'s Eatwell Plate, South Africa's ‘Food-based' Dietary Guidelines, Japan's Spinning Top or Guatemala's Food Jug, the essence is that whole grains share with fruits and vegetables as the foods recommended to be the biggest share of the plate, with lean protein and low-fat dairy foods in lesser amounts, and finally much smaller servings of foods high in fat, sugar and salt. That's not to say you won't munch a chocolate or chip now and again; just don't make these ‘junk foods' a big part of your daily diet.

2. Small Meals Often. Snacking on sensible and nutritious fare twice a day combined with three small meals is the optimal diet plan, according to Kellogg's Smarter Snacking Report published in May. The study, conducted in the UK, showed that spacing what you eat through the day this way helps to control hunger so you won't overeat at mealtimes and can enhance mood and mental performance. According to the study, 71 percent of participants felt that they were more productive when they took two snack breaks a day. What are good snack choices? An apple and peanut butter. Yogurt and graham crackers. Handful of cashews and a fresh pear. Celery sticks with cream cheese and raisins. Mozzarella cheese stick, wheat crackers and sliced tomato.

3. Protein = Alert, Carbohydrates = Asleep. What you eat can definitely affect your mood. Judith Wurtman, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) proved this fact over a decade ago. Basically, the food-mood connection all boils down to brain chemicals called ‘neurotransmitters'. Foods that increase the production of the neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine, will make you feel more alert. These are protein-rich foods such as lean red meat, poultry and fish. Foods that increase the production of the neurotransmitter, serotonin, will make you feel relaxed and sleepy. These are carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice, pasta and bread. So, if you have a busy day ahead, go for a couple of boiled eggs rather than plate of pancakes. Conversely, if you want to nod off fast, go for a bowl of pasta rather than big grilled steak.

4. Vitamins & Minerals - No Replacement for a Good Diet. Pop a couple of multi-vits and pig out on junk food? No, the former isn't going to make up for the later. Supplements aren't going to make you leap tall buildings in a single bound either, but they do have their place. A one-a-day type of supplement that gives a sprinkling of vitamins and minerals is good ‘insurance' against nutrients you may be lacking in your diet on a particular day. Other that this, supplements are useful in specific situations. For example, is you don't eat well or eat less than 1,600 calories a day, a supplement is necessary. This is also true if you're a vegetarian and don't substitute or complement your diet appropriately; have a medical conditions that affects how your body absorbs nutrients; or have had surgery on your digestive tract.

6. ‘Magic' Foods - Super Foods, Caffeine, Herbals. No matter what you read, see, hear or are told, there is no one food that will grant you the miracle of good nutrition and health. In fact, the old adage is true that variety is the spice - and staff - of life. That said, there are some foods that contain some really good sources of one or many nutrients. The media and book authors have dubbed these ‘super foods'. The Washington, DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest have dubbed sweet potatoes, grape tomatoes, 1% milk, broccoli, wild salmon, crisp breads, brown rice, citrus fruits, butternut squash and spinach super foods. The bottom line is to eat foods such as these often, but in the context of other healthful choices as well; don't just eat these ten foods alone.

The latest buzz on the ‘energy' scene is caffeine. Beyond coffee and tea, it's drinks like Red Bull, Jolt, Arizona Green Tea Energy, Guru Energy Drink, and Rockstar, that are now the cool way to caffeine up. True, caffeine can perk you up, clear the fog from your brain and make you feel productive. On the other hand, heavy use - more than 500 to 600 mg/day - can be counterproductive and make you feel restless, anxious and irritable as well as give you sleepless nights, nausea and diarrhea and even abnormal heart rhythms.

Finally, herbs are another big ‘in' these days. Herbal supplements have active ingredients that can affect how your body functions just the same as over-the-counter medications. More is not better in many cases. When choosing herbal products, first, buy only single-herb products with the amounts of each herb clearly shown. Secondly, practice moderation. If a claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is.