Planning healthy menus can help you lose weight and, possibly, live a longer life. More and more research indicates that we truly are what we eat. Food affects how we feel, how well our brains work and even how we look.

In order to create the healthiest menu for any meal of the day, the first step is to "cut out or substitute". Each meal or snack should include a good source of protein, some good fats and some complex carbohydrates.

All three are necessary for the body to build new cells and muscle fibers. Proteins and fats are satisfying. They keep you from getting hungry before your next planned meal or snack. Carbohydrates give you energy. The body converts them slowly to glucose, which is fuel for the brain cells.

Simple carbohydrates are among the least healthy foods. They are digested very quickly. If you are a professional athlete or a marathon runner, you might need that quick energy.

But, when the average person eats simple carbohydrates, more glucose is produced than the body can use. Eventually, the glucose makes it back to the liver, where it is converted to fat.

So, healthy menus do not include simple carbohydrates. Starchy foods are bad choices, too. Here is a short list of some of the foods to steer clear of:

Irish, white or baking potatoes

White rice

Enriched pasta made from white flour

White bread and other baked goods made with white flour

White sugar

It is easy to make substitutions. Instead of using potatoes, try yams, cauliflower or turnips. Instead of using white long grain rice, choose wild rice. Pasta, bread and baked goods can be made with whole wheat flour, which is made with the germ and the bran, intact. Instead of using white sugar, use brown, sugar cane or honey for sweetening your foods.

Good protein sources for healthy menus include fish, beans, lentils, legumes, nuts and lean, skinless white-meat chicken. In some cases, your protein source will also be a source of fat. For example, fish and nuts are a source of both protein and fat. The fats that they contain are some of the good ones.

Saturated and fatty acids are bad for our health. You can cut fatty acids out of your diet completely, simply by reading nutrition facts or by looking at the label of ingredients. If it contains "partially hydrogenated vegetable oils" then it is a source of fats, which play a role in cancer and heart disease.

Healthy menus include good polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as the omega-3s and omega-6s. They are necessary for the production of new cells and for making hormones, as well as for providing energy.

Omega-3s are found in olive and canola oils, as well as fatty fish. Some nuts, such as walnuts and almonds are good sources, as well.

Whatever you do, do not forget your fruits and veggies. To create healthy menus, try using veggies as your main dishes and put a little fat and protein on the side. You might live longer, as a result.