It seems as if this is big on everyone's list these days. However it really is not as hard as all the food, vitamin and supplement manufacturers want you to believe. The truth is finding your way back to basics. We can live about 30 days without food yet only three without water, so the old adage about drinking is oh so true, however tap water with all the chemicals, bacteria and other undesirables included can be downright unhealthy if not out right toxic to your body.

To avoid these noxious impurities you should try to get your water supply through one of the following methods; purification, distilled, filtered or through reverse osmosis. One should be careful as to the amount of water one is taking in, as water when consumed in large quantities can become toxic to the body and has even been known to kill as was made headline news by a recent radio show contest. One should watch how much water they are losing do to sweat that sometimes is not even apparent on the surface and should add a pinch of "sea salt" not table salt to about one gallon of pure water to help replace the lost electrolytes.

As far as the foods we eat, we should aim for the same back to basics ideology, the closer to the point of growth the better. The saying of an apple a day keeping the doctor away is a well known fact yet we have moved so far from the apple's source there is hardly any truth to it anymore. Now the new guidelines are to eat five vegetables and fruits a day, yet eight to ten is where we should all be. That sounds like a mountain of fresh produce to climb, yet if you replace everything you have been consuming with fresh or as close to fresh as possible your body will be grateful.

This means fresh, frozen, dehydrated and as Jack Lelanne would say "juiced" please. During winter months in large parts of North America, Europe and Asia canned often replaces these abundant sources of vitamins and minerals. When having to resort to means that move further away from the source it is advisable to increase the number of fruits and vegetables. You should read the label and see what else they are sticking in there. Watch out for varieties that are loaded with salt and try to get the non-sodium or at least low sodium verity and low in bleached sugar.

As for the meat supply there is a raging debate going on around the world as to the health impact of growth hormones and other things added to our animals through injections, and feed sources. Ideally ones best source would be livestock grown on our own and fed purely through organic means and used as soon as possible after slaughter. Anyone that has had the fortune to have had the livestock grown and consumed this way would point out the richness and increased flavor of the meat is incomparable to the product one gets from their local supermarket.

One way you can get closer to this is to look for local slaughterhouses in your area, many have butcher shops that sell to the public by which you can buy your meat much closer to fresh. You should try to stick to leaner types and cuts of meat also with poultry leading the way but this should be skinned and have any visible fat removed. Try to cook it on a raised pan, which allows the grease that is left to drain away such as a broiler pan or a backing pan with a raised rack in the bottom of it.

One of the best and most over looked sources of low saturated fat and high protein foods are the nut group. Nuts although they contain fat are made up of the healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that are healthier sources of fats the body needs to stay properly balanced. That is probably the number one thing that most Americans have lost sight of in their diets, properly balancing things out.

The closer and truer you stay to the basics of good nutrition and maintain that healthy balance in the foods we eat the better off our bodies are at being able to fight off the harmful affects of stress and pollutants that bombard our bodies everyday with toxins that have all sorts of harmful affects on us from being over weight, heart disease to headaches and numerous other factors that work to lower ones quality of life.

One should also watch their intake of starches and processed sugars as these cause the pancreas to work overtime and is a leading contributor of diabetes in Americans. These take and fake out the pancreas into producing too much insulin witch in turn causes the body to store fat and thus starts a vicious cycle of weight gain which in turn puts stress on all our body systems from the heart, knees and other joints to breathing issues.

As a general rule of thumb you want to stay away from the white food groups such as white potatoes, white rice and processed white sugar. Try to find healthier substitutes to these like sweet potatoes, wild long grain rice and natural sweeteners like raw sugar, honey or even pure maple sugar. Chose summer squash and zucchini over the heaver winter squashes like butternut and acorn squash.

One of the biggest back to basics is in what we drink. Try to stay away from all processed drinks such as non-pure fruit drink mixes, milkshakes, and number one soda especially diet. Pure water is the best thing for the body for re-hydrating. If it says diet be very careful, also such things as low fat, nonfat and the like, these are usually signs they've played with the mixture. Watch out and read those labels, these are often big red flags for they've loaded it up with sugars or something else to balance out the reduced fat to still make it marketable to an uninformed consumer that sees the label and thinks it must be healthier than the regular.

Many times this is not the case and in fact just the opposite is true. So, in the end the best advice is to educate yourself and move your food back to basics. This is not only sound advice for our diets but also for our lives in general as way to many Americans are living a lie in what they eat and the ways they live.