By now we should all understand how pivotal a role nutrition plays toward our overall health. Deciding which foods are considered “healthy” and “unhealthy” gets a little more complicated with the variety of labels found on supermarket shelves, including “gluten-free,” “no sugar added,” “7-Grain, ”and “whole wheat.” Health care triage host and pediatrician Dr. Aaron Carroll has offered up some of his very own healthy eating tips and, unsurprisingly, unprocessed food is the enemy.

“These are general rules that I live by,” Carroll explains. “They’re the ones I share with patients, with friends, and with my family. They’re the ones I support as a pediatrician and health services researcher. But let’s acknowledge upfront that these may only apply to healthy people without metabolic disorders.”

1a. Get As Much Of Your Nutrition As Possible From A Variety Of Completely Unprocessed Foods.

1b. Eat Lightly Processed Foods Less Often And With, Unprocessed Foods.

1c. Eat Heavily Processed Foods Even Less Often.

2. Eat As Much Home-Cooked Food As Possible, Which Should Be Prepared According To Rule 1.

3. Use Salt And Fats, Including Butter And Oil, As Needed In Food Preparation.

4. When You Do Eat Out, Try To Eat At Restaurants That Follow The Same Rules.

5. Drink Mostly Water, But Some Alcohol, Coffee And Other Beverages Are Fine.

6. Treat All Beverages With Calories In Them As You Would Alcohol.

7. Eat With Other People, Especially People You Care About, As Often As Possible.