It’s National Nutrition Month, the perfect time to discover new foods that delight your taste buds and help prevent chronic disease.

At Moda, we know that eating a diet rich in many different vitamins and minerals can help protect you from cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions. So, our Healthcare Services team put together a new “Don’t walk by, foods to try” guide of healthy foods to inspire you to try these natural treasures to develop sound eating habits.

When it comes to understanding the impact that our diet has on our overall health, Moda Health nutritionist, Taylor Bruner, says our food choices can keep us healthy and functioning at our very best.

“Diet is a primary piece of our health puzzle. It trickles down into every single aspect of our lives,” she says. “Eating a healthy, balanced and plant-focused diet improves our mental and physical health by ensuring that we receive all vital nutrients we need to function at our best. Our sleep, mood, mental and physical performance, and even our long-term health, are all directly and indirectly dependent on the nutritional choices we make every day.”

Along with teaching you how to properly shop for, store and enjoy 44 different fruits and vegetables, our healthy foods guide entices you to try some new soup, salad and recipes that are as delicious as they are good for you.

Download our healthy foods guide 

Small, impactful changes
When it comes to eating healthier, Taylor says there are two things to keep in mind. First, an impulse-based diet limits your body from getting the nutrients it needs to function properly. Second, making small changes is key to maintaining a healthy diet.

“Nutrition directly affects our health for maintaining a healthy weight, supporting healthy digestion, preventing illness and disease, and ensuring proper function of all working components of the body,” she says. “When we slip into a habitual or impulse-based diet, it’s easy for our bodies to become imbalanced and lacking in specific nutrients that keep us operating optimally. Consider making smaller changes over time to prevent burnout and building in ‘treats’ that are meaningful and mindful to improve the longevity of those changes.”

The 80:20 Rule
We all know it’s tough, if not unrealistic, to eat perfectly all the time. To avoid burnout, Taylor recommends striving for the 80:20 Rule — 80% of the time, eat for your good health and 20% of the time, eat for your soul and spirit.

“It’s very important to give yourself small, specific opportunities to indulge — to prevent the stress of watching what you eat from overpowering the health benefits of making healthy changes,” she says. “Implementing the 80:20 Rule can prevent burning out on restrictive dietary guidelines and helps reduce the stress associated with making healthy dietary changes.”