This year, PATH will help you improve your health and well-being by focusing on the key pillars of wellness — nutrition, physical activity, mental health, sleep and social connections. We’ll kick things off first quarter by looking at how good nutrition affects our mental, as well as physical health. Good nutrition not only reduces the risk of developing heart disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, but it can also positively impact our mental health.

So, what is good nutrition? It’s a balanced diet with more whole foods than processed foods, so your body gets the right amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to function properly. You’ll want to eat the right number of servings of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein and fat-free/low-fat dairy products each day…

PATH’s January Healthy Habits Challenge and More

Now that we’ve got you thinking about good nutrition, we want to talk about good fats. Yes, “good” fats. There really are some fats your body and mind need to stay healthy.

Whether it’s the olive oil that’s essential to the Mediterranean diet or avocados (that even the Mayo Clinic recommends), healthy fats are part of good nutrition. Of course, this doesn’t mean you need to — or should — have avocado toast every morning for breakfast! But in moderation, good fats can improve or prevent certain health conditions...

Make Your Goals SMART

If you’ve ever been disappointed in not achieving goals you set, this year, increase your chances of meeting them by making them SMART goals! SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound — important factors in helping you reach any goal. You also can create short- and long-term goals, and celebrate small successes while becoming more confident in achieving bigger goal(s).

How do you create a SMART goal? Let’s use an example to make it easier to understand...

Learn More About Good Nutrition

If you do an Internet search for “healthy diets,” you’ll get nearly three million results! But they’re not all truly healthy. Before you choose a diet to follow, be sure to verify the information you find online and check with your primary care physician.

If you want to learn more about good nutrition and healthy eating, the links below are to knowledgeable sources about healthy eating…