By Dr. Graham A. Colditz

Siteman Cancer Center

March is National Nutrition Month, prompting me to wonder how often this column focuses on the links between what we eat and our health and well-being.

The short answer is: a lot. Over the years, it’s been fairly rare that we don’t address eating in one way or another.

What we eat may play a small role in one condition or a bigger role in another, but the overall message has been that choosing healthier foods and drinks is one of the best things we can do for our health.

This not only can help us live longer, it also can help lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, dementia and cancer — among other serious conditions. Healthy eating can also help us keep weight gain in control, which brings many additional benefits.

Admittedly, though, in a time of nonstop news and social media influencers, it can be hard to know what “healthy eating” exactly means.

The good news is, when we take a step back, the basics of a healthy diet are pretty simple — and they haven’t changed much over the past few decades.

Overall, the main focus is on eating more healthy foods from plants while cutting back on foods high in sugar and unhealthy protein. Try to:

Choose more fruits and vegetables — Make fruits or vegetables a part of every meal. While fresh options are great, frozen and many canned versions are good choices too, as long as they’re low-sodium and unsweetened.

Choose more whole grains — A lot of nutrients, and health benefits, get stripped from whole grains when they’re processed for foods like white rice and white bread. Try to choose 100% whole-wheat bread, whole-grain pasta, oatmeal and other foods labeled “whole-grain” or “100% whole grain.”

Choose more healthy drinks — Opt for healthy options to stay hydrated, including unsweetened tea and coffee, fizzy water or plain water flavored with a splash of lime juice. Sugary soda and similar drinks are linked to weight gain and obesity. And many specialty coffee drinks can have a lot of calories and added sugar.

Choose more healthy fats and oils — Instead of cooking with butter, lard or other oils high in saturated fats, try to choose options like canola and olive oils, which are higher in healthy unsaturated fats.

Limit fast food and other processed foods — Although convenient, fast food and processed foods are typically high in calories, salt and unhealthy fats. We don’t need to avoid them totally but cutting back is the healthiest choice.

Limit red and processed meats — Choosing healthier protein options like chicken, fish, beans and nuts, is healthier than picking red and processed meats.

Limit alcohol – zero is best — Alcohol has a lot of risks, including increasing the chances of developing several cancers. So, not drinking alcohol is the healthiest choice overall. Alcohol-free versions of beer and other drinks can be good alternatives to try – and something I’ve been enjoying lately.

It’s pretty remarkable that one of the more powerful tools we have for improving our health and lowering the risk of many diseases is something we do every day.

It’s not always easy to put healthy eating into practice, but we don’t need to tackle it all at once. Small changes to one or two areas can make a difference, and we can build from there.

It’s not a race; it’s a step-by-step journey — fueled with healthy food.

Dr. Graham A. Colditz, associate director of prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized leader in cancer prevention and the creator of the 8ightWays® to Prevent Cancer series.