Girlfriends ... if you want to live longer, stay away from the Western diet. Many women filling their grocery carts with healthier choices -- fruits, veggies, beans, whole grains, fish and poultry -- are literally extending their lives.

A new study by Harvard researchers examined dietary habits and longevity of more than 72,000 American women between 1984 to 2002. Women who ate Western diets -- plenty of red and processed meat, sweets, French fries and refined grains -- were 21 percent more likely to die during the study period than women who steered clear from those foods.

I've known for years a Western diet is not a healthy one. But hearing these sobering death statistics in relation to a Western diet really makes my double X chromosomes think twice about ordering a burger and fries.

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Who doesn't love a cheeseburger, Philly cheese steak or a slice of pizza ala Windy City? A new study shows that engaging in the typical western-style diet -- that is, pizza, burgers, sodas and fried foods -- can lead to a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Although this is something many of us have heard before, the findings should remind us of something: over and over again, subjecting oneself to a strict western diet all the time can have dire health consequences. Even China, which is seeing more of its population eating a western-style diet, is seeing negative health effects.

Dr. Lyn Steffen indicated that eating two hamburger patties and one diet soda per day can "substantially" boost one's risk of developing metabolic syndrome. This happens when three of the following five factors are present: a large waistline, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, or reduced levels of good (HDL) cholesterol.

Although dumping burgers, fries, pizza, soda and fried foods in general would be impossible for some, limiting your intake of them would be a prudent idea based on this new research -- and the multitude of related stories before it.

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If you're looking to find a diet for that New Year's resolution, which ones are you considering? There is a plethora of them, some of which will grow stale over time (and cause you to get off track), while others will be enjoyable and will make the transition to a healthier nutrition lifestyle much easier.

The 'Medieval' diet, which is comprised of fish, fruit, whole grains and olive oil (and red wine) sounds like a limited menu as it is.

Well, it may be -- but forming the basis of a diet around those items is never a bad idea. Want a start? Begin phasing out butter in all those meal preps and sub in olive oil -- I've found it words almost anywhere butter would. We don't have to work laborious, 12-hours days like those in Medieval times did, but we can eat like it.

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