National Nutrition Month: Tips to live a healthy lifestyle

NORFOLK, Neb. -- While many people associate the month of March with St. Patrick's Day or college basketball, March is actually National Nutrition Month.

And what's a better time of year to get back into shape with the Spring weather right around the corner.

Melinda Heller, a Registered Dietitian with Faith Regional Health Services, says the best way to start being nutritious is by first creating goals for your nutritional journey.

"I usually recommend starting with one or two goals, possibly three if your super ambitious, but not to overhaul everything at the same time because that's just going to be very overwhelming and we're looking for a long-term sustainable lifestyle change rather than an acute diet," Heller explained.

Heller recommends that cutting out sugary drinks such as soda and lemonade is a great start to getting more nutrition.

She recommends substituting those beverages with water, unsweetened tea, kombucha, and milk.

Heller also mentioned that adding four or five servings of fruits and vegetables can help reduce heart risk as well.

She says this month is a great time to bring awareness to health issues that can be caused by our diets.

"Our country tends to focus on treatment rather than prevention, so it doesn't get quite enough attention," Heller said. "We want to prevent these issues rather than thinking "maybe I should eat healthier after having a cardiac event." But, what if we started years before and prevent it."

According to the Mayo Clinic, it is important to get 150 minutes a week of moderate cardio activity.

That can be 30 minutes a day of walking, swimming, or biking.