Approximately 70% of your diet should be fresh vegetables and fruit. Reserve the fruit for first thing in the morning. Although winter makes finding local vegetables a little more challenging, it is well worth your while. Vegetables contain most of the essential nutrients for your body and alkalize your body. In addition, vegetables contain fiber, of which most of the population is deficient. Fiber is much more essential than you may realize. You may think fiber is just important to ensure regularity, so if you have regular bowel movements you may feel you are eating enough fiber or don't need to consume more. The reality is that fiber does play a role in bowel regularity but it also plays a huge role in your immune system by feeding your resident "good" bacteria as well as providing the building blocks called glyconutrients. Your good bacteria, or probiotics, require vegetable (not grain) fiber to live. This is why I recommend taking your probiotic supplements with meals. Glyconutrients are carbohydrates that are involved in cellular recognition. This is how your body identifies cells that are part of itself versus cells that are abnormal or foreign invaders. For example, the only difference between the blood types are the sugar molecules on the surface of the blood cells. This has huge ramifications in cellular communication, cellular function, and immune function. The most formidable example is cancer. Cancer is an immune issue. People develop cancer because the body is unable to recognize cancer cells as abnormal and terminate them. This explains why high fiber diets are associated with decreased cancer risk. My last point is that vegetables alkalize your system. The typical diet tends to push the body toward acidity, which it will go to great lengths to avoid. Such implications of an acid blood stream include osteoporosis and high blood pressure which are both pandemic in our society. Keeping your body more basic or alkaline helps to maintain your body's essential balance and thus allow you to express wellness. While there are many good supplements out there to provide basic nutrients. Supplements cannot provide the fresh vegetable fiber our bodies require. There are some green powders that will provide nutrients, alkalize your system, and provide glyconutrients. These are a good option for those who choose not to consume vegetables or by nature of their lifestyle find it quite difficult to obtain fresh vegetables. My best recommendation remains to eat lots of fresh, raw and preferably organic vegetables.