Here at That's Fit, we often talk about how a healthy diet is good for you. But what does "good for you" actually mean? According to Diet-Blog, a healthy diet can have a positive impact on your immune system -- important information as we head into cold and flu season.

How does diet affect your ability to prevent or fight off nasty bugs? It gives your body the nutrients it needs to not only run efficiently, but also to fight off invaders before they infect. Since eating these foods won't stop a cold once it starts, you'll need to make these highly nutritional choices part of your daily diet.

For a healthy immune system, eat foods like:

• leafy greens, carrots, and sweet potatoes
• 100% juice
• high-quality protein like lean meats and fish, beans, lentils, or soy
• vitamin E-rich nuts and seeds, like sunflower, almonds, and walnuts
• whole grains, oats, quinoa, and brown rice
  
  

Of course, the choices are endless and Diet-Blog has even more ideas for you. Pair a healthy diet with sleep and exercise, and you can say bye-bye to those bugs and hello to a healthy winter.

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Several of my nieces and nephews are in college now. This summer, while getting things ready for their kids' apartments, my sisters went out and purchased new mattresses and furniture. I thought they were a little nuts for spending that money. When I think back to my first college apartment, my roommate and I had a couch we bought for $10, an entertainment center we found on the side of the road, and a chair we found abandoned at the apartment complex. After reading this article about bedbugs, however, I think my sisters did the right thing by not letting their kids go garbage picking for furniture.

College campuses and dormitories are like a luxury resort for these blood-sucking little critters. Students frequently visit each other's rooms (possibly transporting little friends as they do so). Universities like Texas A&M, Ohio State, Stanford, and the University of Florida have had to deal with outbreaks of bedbugs.

Bedbugs are hard to spot. Waking up with small, red welts is one tell-tale sign. You may also spot tiny black or reddish-brown spots on your sheets.

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• Mix baking soda and water to make a paste, and apply to the sting.
• Lay a fresh slice of onion or garlic on the area, or eat them instead.
• If you can find them, plantain leaf or calendula flower can also be rubbed on the wound.

Before trying any of these, however, the stinger needs to be carefully scraped out (not pulled!). If you're allergic to bees or think that you're having an unusual reaction, forget the natural remedies and get medical attention -- pronto!

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Sometimes I don't know which one is worse: dealing with the bugs or dealing with the greasy, smelly, full-of-toxic-chemicals bug repellent! Thankfully there are natural ways to cope.

Here's just about the last thing you want to find out now that the summer grilling season is in full swing ...

Men's Health reports that leaving a burger exposed to insects for as little as 30 minutes (which is very possible during a backyard BB-Q) can make it susceptible to E. faecalis, a nasty bacteria that's responsible for the majority of intestinal infections. Even worse, this specific type of bacteria is resistant to antibiotics, so don't expect any immediate reprieve, either.

Evidently, this risk is not limited to our backyard cookouts; 97 percent of flies, collected by Kansas State University researchers from major fast-food restaurants, also tested positive for the bacteria. Hungry yet?

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Oh man. This is one of those statistics that makes you either swear off eating all together or throw your hands up in the air in disgust. I mean seriously. Who is the guy with the weird job which allows him to research these odd little details? I'd hate to be his wife, as he comes home each night with all the yucky tidbits in life that I really never want to know.

I learned about my bug consumption while flipping through the June 2008 edition of Women's Health magazine. Seems more the type of scoop you'd find in Maxim, but no ... it was my beloved Women's Health that broke the news.

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One day, you might find yourself ordering via the drive-through or your friendly restaurant server not a hamburger, not a slab of ribs, not a grilled piece of chicken. Nope. It might be a giant water bug, a caterpillar, or a spicy Mexican grasshopper you'll choose.

An adventurous eater, or Gastronaut, is what you'll be called if bugs become your food of choice. And a healthy eater you'll surely become.

Insects are nutritious little critters, says David Gracer, a self-described nature boy, in this Discover magazine article. Although they don't contain quite as much protein as beef or chicken -- 100 grams of grasshoppers have about 20 grams of protein, compared with 27 grams in the same amount of lean ground beef -- but they do contain one-third the amount of fat found in beef. Water bugs have four times as much iron.

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If someone told you that desks (like the one you're probably using right now) have more germs and bugs than bathrooms... would you believe it? I wouldn't have fallen for it before reading this article. Researchers say our desks could accommodate as much 400 times the amount of germs than a restroom.

It's no wonder we work ourselves into sick symptoms -- it could actually be our desk causing the problem! Even though our world is filled with all kinds of microscopic organisms, the place at which you sit and work for hours of the day harbors germs that can make you ill.

Millions of bacteria cover the surface of your desktop. While it's not grounds for hosing it down or living in a bubble, if you engage in other activities like eating or putting on makeup, then it's more likely to trap and spread sick-causing germs. In fact, experts recommend wiping the desk down once at the end of every day with disinfectant wipes. After all, it could make the difference against a small weekend head cold. But who is more at risk for dirtier desks: men or women?

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The folks at Reader's Digest surveyed 1,800 men and women recently about the topics of weight and sex. Here are some basic findings:

• Of the women surveyed, 46 percent categorize themselves as overweight, and 11 percent consider themselves obese. Men: 45 percent say they're overweight; 5 percent say they're obese.

• About 43 percent of readers say they've gained weight in the past six months.

• About 78 percent of all respondents say losing weight will improve their sex life.

OK, now check out this finding:

• More than 26 percent of women who consider themselves overweight would rather eat live bugs than let their partner watch them walk naked out of a well-lit room.

Surprised? I am. I guess the thought of eating bugs scares me more than parading around in the buff, loose tummy and all.

There's more where these statistics come from. Click here to take a peek at all survey results -- you'll find out how many women rate themselves as "yuck," "OK," and "hot" and what women have to say about short skirts and low-cut tops.

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"Don't let the bedbugs bite!" I teased my astute four-year-old once. "BUGS?" She was alarmed. Oops. I assured her there were no bugs in her bed, but then I read this article and thought, maybe I shouldn't tease so lightly.

Bedbugs, which were thought to be eliminated by pesticides like DDT, are making a strong comeback, and no area of the country seems to be immune. Big cities, small towns, even dormitory rooms can be infested with the pests, and they aren't easy to exterminate.

You'll know you have bedbugs if you wake up with extremely itchy red spots, black spots in your bed, or even squashed bugs. You might find them by lifting up your mattress, but they can live in walls, cracks, and crevices for up to a year without food. If that isn't enough to make you stop reading so you can itch and squirm, read more about the bugs and how to eliminate them here.

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Sometimes I over-shop. I buy too many bananas, a loaf of bread my family never finishes, even ground turkey meat that sits in the fridge beyond it's expiration date. Sadly, these foods end up tossed in the trash. What a waste.

As first reported by Kristin Darguzas on ParentDish, American families trash, on average, 14% of the food they buy, mostly because it spoils. Never fear, though. According to this article, there are six measures we can take for storing our food for lasting freshness. Now these are some tips I can use. How about you?

• Refrigerate fruits and vegetables separately. Some fruits emit a gas that speeds the ripening of veggies.

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I think there's a little germophobe in all of us, I mean who isn't grossed out by the average public restroom? Germs, viruses, and bacteria are all around us, and although we can never eliminate them completely there are things we can do to drastically reduce their numbers and our exposure in key areas like on toothbrushes and doorknobs. You might be surprised at how many handy gadgets are out there to help, including things you've probably heard of before like toothbrush sanitizers to things you may not have -- like the handy PursePal that keeps your bag off the floor in restaurants and bars.

See this slideshow for all kinds of great germophobe-friendly ideas and products.

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Having recently returned from a two-month-long holiday, I have to admit I've got a bit of the post-travel blues. While it's always a bit of a downer to return from travelling, the trip home is much worse if you come back with a travel-related illness. I'm not one to worry too much about things like SARS and Avian Flu -- I'm no expert but I think the danger of either for a healthy adult is very low -- I do think it is important to be aware of the types of bug you can pick up in the location you're visiting.

Both the US and Canadian governments have sites that detail potential risks in most countries as well as vaccinations and tips for staying healthy. Check out this article for a quick break-down of what you might pick up from contamiated water or food, insects or other people. Various forms of hepatitis as well as malaria and yellow fever are a few of the big ones to protect yourself against.

I have a friend who contracted Dengue Fever in Vietnam, and as a result ended up delerious for the last few days of her trip. Eventually some of her skin peeled off and chunks of her hair fell out in response to having such a massively high fever. There was a big scare in the city where I live last week when a young woman came back from a holiday in Thailand, returned to work at a local gastro-pub and then started to show symptoms of Hepatitis A. As a result, the eatery had to shut down for a few days and everyone who had eaten there recently had to line up for a booster shot. So while it may seem like the risk is low, the results of coming down with a nasty illness while travelling make it worth educating yourself and taking preventative measures before you go.

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If you are busy planning a family vacation for the summer months or just itchy to get outside for a swim or run in the sun, you might want to do more than slather on sunscreen to keep safe outside.

While the nightly news reports of deaths due to West Nile virus are certainly scary, I imagine a lot of us (and I count myself in this) don't know much more about how to avoid the disease other than spraying down with some kind of bug repellent and being aware of how many mosquitoes are buzzing around us. The reality is that most people who have the virus don't show any signs or symptoms. Only 20% develop West Nile fever, a mild infection with symptoms that include fever, muscle and back aches, skin rash, nausea, swollen lymph glands and other indications that the body has waged an immunity battle.

A much smaller percentage of people -- about 1% -- experience serious and threatening effects of West Nile, including neurological infection and swelling of the brain, spinal cord and surrounding membranes.

Even though the numbers seem low for folks that experience symptoms and need extensive treatment, it is important to seek out medical attention if you recognize the warning signs in yourself or other people around you. That paralysis, severe infection and fatalities can happen and do for some people each year, should be enough to motivate you to keep mosquitoes, the West Niles' main culprit, away from you and especially the more vulnerable people in your family.

The Mayo Clinic has a comprehensive article that will bring you up to speed on West Nile virus, from the causes to risk factors to when and how to seek treatment. I also recommend printing off the prevention and signs and symptoms pages to tuck inside your glove box, first aid kit or suitcase so you can head out on that road trip or water park adventure well-informed and far less worried about any little buggers.

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With all the products lately boasting "antibacterial" and "antimicrobial," can there be such a thing as good germs? Some bacteria, called probiotics, are actually very beneficial for your health. Thankfully they've been getting more mainstream attention lately, and you may even start seeing them advertised on food labels (think yogurt) in the grocery store.

Probiotics help with the absorption of nutrients, production of vitamin K, and even help crowd out populations of unhealthy types of bacteria. They can be particularly beneficial for people who have just finished antibiotic therapy, since antibiotics kill the good guys along with the bad.

Probiotics have also been shown to have positive effects on conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and chronic constipation. Think maybe probiotics are for you? Although they are widely available in stores, they can be expensive and may or may not greatly benefit you. It's probably a good idea to consult with your doctor first, and see if in your specific situation it's worth dropping the extra cash.

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