The health advice market may be the biggest clustering of charlatans, con-men, and sociopaths there is. Millions of people are suffering symptoms of poor health - acne, obesity, high blood pressure, fatigue just to name a few - because many of those same people have little or no knowledge of good health. And these aren't just minor annoyances. People are desperate to solve most of these problems and will happily throw money at people who claim they can help them do it. That would be fine - if the majority of people selling health advice weren't con-men selling bogus cures or information A fool and his money are soon parted, but a desperate fool might as well have not even had money to start.

So where does one turn for objective, no-nonsense health tips? That's why we wrote this article. The tips we're about to offer are logical, don't require you to buy any expensive product, and can be verified with some simple research. Enjoy!

1) Eat a balanced diet

Everyone says to eat a balanced diet, but few of us actually do. So we'll say it again: eat a balanced diet. Really. Do it. Just start doing it now. This should be considered the bedrock, the foundational principle of any sound health advice. The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" applies. If you aren't giving your body the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals it needs, it wont be able to keep pace with you. You will tire faster, get irritated more easily, and feel less of a zest for life. So how do you eat a balanced diet? Easy - .

Nobody likes changing their eating habits, but if you're serious about being healthy there's no way around it.

2) Exercise - even just a little!

Yep, it's the other side of the "nobody wants to hear it" health coin - exercise. People hear the word "exercise" and imagine that they need to become huge gym buffs who work out 7 days a week. Not so. Something as seemingly insignificant as a nightly walk or job is infinitely better than getting no exercise at all. If you can squeeze in 2-3 days of moderately intense exercise, so much the better. Unfortunately, the health advice con artists have discovered that people don't like exercise and will pay for special products (like belts that electrically stimulate your abs) to make it easier. Don't buy any such products. You don't need them. Just exercise!

3) Take one or two safe, carefully chosen supplements

Nutritional supplements do have their place in a healthy lifestyle. However, it's easy to bed led astray here by snake oil salesmen, late-night TV pitches and the allure of "miracle cures." So here's a rule of thumb: don't look for supplements to do anything more than play a complimentary part (key word part) of your overall health plan. Generally speaking, there is no miracle pill you can take to drastically, immediately improve your health. Rather, they will, over time, take effect and help complement your good diet and other habits. Try a good, all-purpose multivitamin like Centrum, and possible some fish or flax-seed oil for Omega 3's. Anything more (unless your doctor prescribes it) could be overkill!

4) Don't rely on coffee or energy drinks to perk you up

Too many people rely on coffee or Red Bull to wake them up. Sadly, the only reason they usually need artificial, sugar-packed drinks is because they are neglecting the three steps above. If they weren't, they would have enough energy without needing a caffienated drink to literally force their heart into a state of excitation. Either way, relying on these drinks is harmful and potentially deadly over the long term. The heart is not made for constant overdrive and could well fail much earlier in life than if the people in question just lived healthier lives.

5) Don't use prescription drugs for non-chemical problems

Another all-too-common mistake is relying on prescription pills to cure things that are not at all chemically based. Take depression, for example. In his excellent blog post "", psychology student Chris Carlino dissects how anti-depression pills are advertised as cures, not to depression, but to general unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Commercials show stressed our single moms or people in dead-end jobs being screamed at by their bosses, and the implication is that you need this pill to feel better. But these are not cases of depression at all! Rather, these people are in stressful situations. They will in no way be aided by taking drugs intended for chemically imbalanced depression patients. So before you take any anti-depressant drugs (which all too many adults are turning to) make sure your unhappiness doesn't fit this criteria.