Snack Box

To prevent cavities and maintain good oral health, your diet -- what you eat and how often you eat -- are important factors. Changes in your mouth start the minute you eat certain foods. Read More...

Did You Know?

Brushing Fun Facts

45-70 seconds is the amount of time most people brush their teeth a day
2 - 3 minutes is the recommended amount of brushing time

March 2012

Spring-Clean Your Diet

Fruits and vegetables taste best and are healthiest when just harvested. Find out which spring foods to cook with for a healthy diet of seasonal food.
By Beth W. Orenstein
Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH

Spring is a great time to clean up your closets — and your diet. As the weather warms and heavy soups, stews, and casseroles lose their appeal, start taking advantage of seasonal spring food, especially the fruits and vegetables that are so tasty in the earlier part of the year. It’s easy to follow a healthy diet when you incorporate spring food.

Seasonal food is a great food choice for several reasons, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN, the Chicago-based author of The Flexitarian Diet, The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease, and Add Years to Your Life. First, seasonal fruits and vegetables are at optimal flavor and quality. Second, they’re in abundance, so they cost less at the grocery store or farmer’s market. And third, says Blatner, “They are more nutritious because they don’t sit around. Seasonal foods don’t have to travel as far or as long to our table as those grown in faraway locations.”

Seasonal Food: What’s in for Spring

Which fruits and vegetables are seasonal? It can vary somewhat from region to region, says Blatner, who is also a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, but among her favorites are:

Nutritious Brown-Bag Lunch Ideas

When you bring your own healthy lunch to the office, you're assured of a tasty and nutritious meal. Here's how to make brown-bagging it as easy as child's play.
By Beth W. Orenstein
Medically reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH

Bringing a brown-bag lunch to work has many benefits: Not only do you get foods you like but you can control your portion sizes, boost your nutrition, and save yourself a lot of time and money.