BALTIMORE, M.D. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Forty-five percent of the U.S. population is suffering from at least one chronic disease, such as heart disease, asthma and diabetes. These conditions are often preventable through diet, but with new fads continually popping up, eating healthy can sometimes be confusing.

One of the healthy-eating rules Cindy Geyer, M.D., the medical director of Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Mass., abides by is eating from the color wheel, or eating fruits and vegetables that come in a variety of hues. She says eating different colors will provide you with a variety of disease-fighters like phytonutrients and antioxidants. For example, green plants contain calcium, chlorophyll, fiber, folate and lutein, among other nutrients while yellow and orange plants contain beta-carotene, flavonoids, lycopene, potassium, and vitamin C. The most nutritionally-beneficial foods may be those that are black, such as black beans, black cod, black mushrooms and black rice.

As a healthy model for a good diet, Dr. Geyer also recommends following a Mediterranean diet, which involves consuming large amounts of vegetables, legumes, fruits, fish, cereal, and unsaturated fatty acids while restricting saturated fats, dairy, meat and poultry. Mild to moderate alcohol consumption is also a key element of the diet. “This is emerging as one of the healthiest diets that we see,” Dr. Geyer told Ivanhoe.