Next Sunday, March 8, we'll set our clocks ahead to begin Daylight Savings Time 2009. Each year, many people are energized by having an extra hour of daylight in the evening: more time to get out and walk, bike, or run; more time to spend in the garden; a chance to enjoy a sunset dinner.

When you reset your clocks and watches, you may also wish to reset Your Program for a Balanced Life. If you've been following your program for a while, you may find that things seem a little stale and your motivation is lagging. That's a good time to change things up a bit.  You can start by retaking the Balanced Life Index to see where you've made good gains and where you still have challenges. Would you like to try some new activities? Now's a good time to review the Activity section of SMC and make some new choices. Maybe you need a change of venue. If you've been exercising indoors, taking yourself outdoors can make a big difference.

What about your nutrition plan? Trying a least one new recipe a week from the SMC Nutrition pages can tantalize your appetite while helping you reach goals for better balanced ways of eating.

When you set your clocks forward one hour this coming weekend, why not take ten minutes to think about how you'd like to reset your plan for balanced living?

What's the best way to get the vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients you need for health? Eating a balanced diet or taking a multivitamin supplement? The evidence-based Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommend that healthy children and adults get the nutrients they need by eating a variety of whole foods. The research behind this recommendation suggests that the combination of many vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients such as fiber in whole foods work synergistically together to provide benefits in ways that taking a supplement does not. You may have seen recent news that  researchers in the Women's Health Initiative study tracked multivitamin use for eight years in more than 161,000 women and found that taking a multivitamin was not associated in any lower risk of chronic disease or mortality among this population of women. Research is ongoing to understand just why micronutrients consumed as food and consumed as supplements may work differently in our human bodies. Meanwhile, what's the smart thing to do?

My recommendation and that of nutrition professionals is that you first aim to eat a balanced diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and that is lower fat, features healthy oils (poly- and mono-unsaturated oils), and goes slow on "empty" calories like added sugar. If your physician or health care provider recommends certain supplements for specific conditions or reasons, do take them. There are a number of specific conditions for which specific nutrition supplementation would be appropriate. Finally, if you have tried for more balanced nutrition but are still concerned that you may be low in some micronutrients and wish to take a multivitamin supplement, choose one that provides no more than 100% of the Daily Value (DV) for each nutrient included. And keep trying to add variety to your menus (and physical activity to boost other elements of health).

You may have seen news just last week about a recent study that found that eating a Mediterranean diet was associated with lower risk of mild cognitive impairment. A Mediterranean diet features higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fats such as olive oil, and fish and lower intakes of meat, saturated fats, full fat dairy products. Studies have long shown that such a diet, which is in keeping with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, helps to control cholesterol and maintain health blood pressure, which are risk factors for heart disease. These are all good reasons to aim for balanced nutrition.

On the Eat Well pages of Start Making Choices you'll find lots of resources to help you follow this healthful approach to eating. Check out this month's feature on Low Fat Cooking Methods and tips on how to choose healthy fats. There are also recipe modifications that show you how to fix great recipes that are great for you. None of these tips take a lot more time; they are just better for you. Give them a try--your heart and your head will thank you.