Food for thought

Snacking on cherries or drinking cherry juice at night can help you fall asleep. They contain tryptophan, like your Thanksgiving turkey.

A handful of almonds will help ward off pre-period headaches, ladies.

Drink green tea for thicker, lusher hair.

Eat grapes to help repair and even prevent premature dryness, fine lines, and sagging of the skin.

Complex carbs, like chickpeas (think hummus), lentils, & whole grains, can help banish a bad mood. When we are feeling blue, we crave sweets because the simple carbs prompt the brain to secrete serotonin, the calming hormone that eases depression and stress. But after the initial high, the blood sugar crashes and can make your bad mood worse. So stick to the complex carbs!

Protein rich foods can help with splitting nails. Sedentary people need half their body weight in grams of protein daily. Active people need more.

Plain yogurt can help with bad breath. The cultures in plain yogurt get rid of stinky sulfur compounds in our mouths. The sugar in breath mints just make things worse.

Eat an apple with peanut butter for an energy boost in the afternoon.

Low fat dairy can help with PMS. When women don't get enough calcium, they may experience more cramps, mood swings, and bloating. If you also get headaches, you may be low in magnesium. 1/4 cup of almonds or cashews will give you 30% of your daily magnesium needs.

Zinc-rich foods (crabmeat, yogurt, baked beans, green peas, pumpkin seeds) can help with a dry, flaky scalp or hair loss.

10 little changes you can make right now

Here's a list of 10 changes you can make right now for better health...

1. Switch from refined oils including vegetable oil to unrefined oils, such as extra virgin olive oil, flax oil, sesame oil, etc. The benefits include eliminating processed, heat-treated, & damaged fats and increasing your intake of healthy omega-3fatty acids.

2. Switch from sugar to agave nectar or honey. Both are sweeter than sugar, so you can use less in your coffee or tea. Another benefit of agave nectar is that it is low on the glycemic index, so it won't enter your body all at once and cause you to crash later.

3. Change from margarine to butter. Butter is all natural, unprocessed.

4. Change from table salt to celtic sea salts. You will be adding essential minerals that your body needs.

5. Switch from all purpose white flour to whole wheat flour, or at least go half & half when you bake.

6. Change from overly processed, conventional meats to organic meats that come from grass fed livestock and are free of hormones, antibiotics, and preservatives. You will reduce your body's toxic load.

7. Change from conventional produce (fruits & veggies) to organic. In addition to reducing that toxic load, organic produce has been shown to have a higher nutrient content. Plus it tastes better!

8. Switch from eating excessively refined carbohydrates to pairing complex carbs with protein at each meal and snack. For example, an apple paired with a tbsp. of nut butter. Protein helps you feel fuller longer, improves your mood, and keeps your blood sugar stabolized.

9. Switch from white stuff (bread, pasta, rice...) to whole grains. Foods made with white flour have basically had all the nutrients sucked out of them. Like protein, whole grains help you feel fuller longer and add fiber to your diet, which we all need daily.

10. Switch from candy, chocolate bars, and other sugary treats to dark chocolate. Look for 70% to 90% cocoa. Good quality dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and minerals, especially magnesium.