Ugh, supplements. For a lot of people they're a "must have" for a healthy diet, and although I don't disagree, I'm also really bad at taking them because it's just so confusing determining what exactly I need -- the list of "recommended" supplements is at least a mile long it seems! But a nutritionally-complete diet is almost impossible to come by through food alone these days, and many supplements can give an extra boost of valuable disease and age-fighting properties to help fitness goals be that much easier to both achieve and maintain. But if you're like me and find yourself either overwhelmed or just generally intimidated by the prospect of taking regular supplements, this list of the 5 most valuable supplements compiled by experts for Natural Health magazine could be a big help! Here they are:

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With the stress of the holiday season getting close to full swing it's as important as every to take care of yourself and stock up your arsenal of weapons against the cold and flu. And that arsenal, besides a healthy lifestyle and perhaps a flu shot, should probably include the following:

• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Echinacea
• Elderberry
• Licorice Root

The first three were things I already had on the top of my mind, but the last two I may not have considered before now. You can get more info on each of these here, but as always be just as careful with home remedies as you are with prescription ones.

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I don't know how I got so blessed but my entire family all comes down with hay fever and pollen allergies every fall -- everybody except for me. But seeing people like my mom and sister suffer really brings home the fact that having allergies can present a real problem because often the medications that are supposed to help come with side-effects that are almost as bad as the allergies themselves. And although the drug companies are getting better and there are more options out there than ever before, what if you'd rather just do something natural?

Mother Earth Living has come up with this list of natural allergy fighters, including garlic & onions, honey, horseradish, vitamin C, and ginko biloba. You've probably already got several of these in your kitchen cabinet, so have you ever eaten them with allergies in mind?

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On the heels of the latest news from the CDC that most Americans aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables comes new data from a study funded by the canned food industry that says canned fruits and veggies are often just as nutritious, if not more, than fresh or frozen. Experts still say that over-all fresh is still the best, but since we don't all have our own personal farms it just isn't a real possibility to always have fresh food handy. But not only are canned goods often equal nutritionally, but some nutrients like vitamin C and lycopene are actually more abundant and available in canned items versus fresh.

One thing to be careful of however, is that many canned foods have added sodium. Look for low levels of added salt and sugar, and try to incorporate a variety of canned, frozen, and fresh fruits and vegetables as much as possible into your diet year round.

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