Unlike other breakfast cereals that are loaded with sugar and stripped of all fibre, which give you a sugar-loaded burst of energy and then drop drastically, allowing it to drop.

Oats are slow to digest and thus provide you a steady sustained flow of energy to take you through the first few hours of the day.

Oatmeal is also loaded with fibre, especially the soluble kind, and has thus been proven to be invaluable in the battle against high cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Tomatoes contain a carotenoid (a class of highly unsaturated yellow to red pigments occurring in plants), called lycopene.

Not only has this powerful carotenoid been proven to improve immunity as well as reduce the risk of developing heart attacks, it has also been proven, believe it or not, to reduce the risk of cancers of the prostate, breast, lung, stomach, pancreas, colon, esophagus, mouth and cervix!

While we realise that there are just so many raw tomatoes that we can stomach, here is where it gets more interesting.

Thus, they are often overlooked for their fibre and protein content as well as being an important source of healthy unsaturated fats and numerous beneficial minerals and vitamins.

While all nuts do have their benefits, if I had to name just one as the most beneficial, it would have to be almonds.

These tasty, crunchy treats are sprinkled into cereals, salads, ice cream as well as being a calming cooling airline snack we rely on to curb our hunger during those long flights.

Little do we realise that not only do almonds provide taste and texture to foods, they also provide more complete nutrition in one handful than you can imagine.

Just 28 grams (around 23 almonds) provide us with 9 grams of mono-unsaturated fatty acid, 6 grams of muscle building protein, 3 grams of fiber, 200 mg of potassium, 65 mg of bone strengthening calcium as well as a hearty dose of vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorous, copper, zinc and riboflavin.

As with most other foods, moderation is important.

When we were younger, fish was inexplicably considered 'brain food'.

Studies in later years concluded that the omega 3 fatty acids were what actually made fish brain food, as well as making it one of the most beneficial foods as far as heart health, lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels and treating psychiatric illnesses, like depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, were considered.

Recent studies have also shown benefits of omega 3 fatty acids for people suffering from arthritis and other joint conditions.

Let us not forget the protein punch that fish provides us with, as well as delicious taste whether we decide to order it soaked in butter and garlic or whether we decide to go healthy and have it steamed or grilled.

Think she had any idea that milk is one of the highest quality sources of whole food protein, with a biological value second only to eggs?

And let's not forget the calcium content that milk provides us with, preventing our bones from becoming weak and hollow and developing osteoporosis later in life.

Recent studies have also proved that calcium could be beneficial in our battle against body fat.

Just make sure to have low fat or fat free milk, which provides us with the same important nutrients minus the fat and the cholesterol.

So let's thank our mommies for nagging us all those years and drink away to a lean muscular physique!

Bananas are rich in heart-healthy potassium, strawberries rich in disease-fighting antioxidants, watermelon is rich in heart-healthy and cancer-preventing lycopene, etc.

But we have decided to name the apple as the fruit of our choice due its high antioxidant and fibre content, its taste, its ability to fill a person as well as its extremely low caloric content.

Apples are often overlooked due to the lack of vitamin C when compared to fruits like oranges.

But recent research has indicated that apples have more antioxidant activity than would be expected from their vitamin C content.

This antioxidant activity is thought to come from other natural substances in apples, collectively called phytochemicals.

The nutritious content of the apple is very favourable: a medium sized apple contains a mere 80 calories, with no fat or cholesterol content as well as a whopping 5 grams of fibre.

Unfortunately, most people go for sugary soft drinks or creamy café lattes.

It's time to switch. To tea!

It is tasty, contains some caffeine to perk you, but not too much that it leaves you jittery. It also provides a cupful of antioxidants called flavonoids, that may help prevent cholesterol-damaging arteries.

Recent research also suggests that this popular beverage can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart attack and Parkinson's disease.

While most teas are good for you, green tea contains the highest amount of flavonoids, making it an extremely potent antioxidant.

Epigallocatechin Gallate (ECGC), the green tea extract, is also known for its fat-burning benefits.

It aids in keeping the heart healthy, wards off coughs and colds, reduces cholesterol and triglycerides, controls high blood pressure, and chases away vampires and witches (as well as a couple of friends and family members)!

Water is a fundamental part of our lives. It is easy to forget how completely we depend on it.

Water has been ranked by experts as second only to oxygen as essential for life. The average adult body has 55 to 75 percent water.

Two-thirds of our body weight is water. A human embryo is more than 80 percent water. A newborn baby is 74 percent water.

The water you drink literally becomes you!

The functions of water go far beyond just hydration. They include aiding digestion, weight loss, battling water retention, regulating body temperature, aiding the kidney in excretion, lubricating our joints, the list goes on and on and on.