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For this blog post, which is probably the umpteenth one you’ll see on the topic of New Year’s Resolutions this month, I’m going to make it easy on you. I mean that literally. The elusive solution to all those ambitious resolutions, which almost always trail off by February and never really happen, is to make them “easy on you.”

For many years, the healthcare industry has been issuing warnings about the risks associated with the consumption of too many sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages with a high sugar content. Sugar-sweetened beverages also include flavored juice drinks, sports drinks, sweetened tea, sweetened coffee and energy drinks. Too much sugar can lead to a wide range of health issues, and as we know, soda contains a staggering amount of sugar. In fact, a 12 ounce can of soda may easily have up to 39 grams of sugar. Visualize one teaspoon of granulated sugar, this contains 4 grams of sugar. To put this another way, a 12 ounce can of soda containing 36 g of sugar (grams of sugar will be listed on the nutrition facts label) equals about 9 teaspoons of granulated sugar.

For many of us, salt is a common food craving. Many people routinely add table salt (approximately 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride) to their food before they even taste it, in many cases adding extra salt to foods that already are loaded with sodium. However, most of the sodium in our diets comes from food bought at a grocery store or restaurant. More than 75 percent of the sodium Americans consume comes from a processed, prepackaged or restaurant food, not from the salt shaker. Processed meats, cheeses, salty snacks, pastas, breads and many other products contain sodium, even if they don’t taste salty.

The numbers aren’t pretty. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, out of 10 million Americans with osteoporosis, 8 million are women. About 50 percent of women over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis, and the risk of a woman breaking her hip is equal to her combined risk of developing breast, uterine and ovarian cancer.

Many people have heard that nuts can be a powerhouse of nutrition providing protein, healthy fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Nuts are a smart choice to incorporate into our daily meals and snacks, not to mention nuts are easy to take with us for the busy “on-the-run” type of days. Different types of nuts provide different nutritional benefits, eating a wide variety is the best option. Many healthy eating plans recommend incorporating nuts, including the Mediterranean diet.

People from up north – or Floridians who have recently moved here from colder climates – may roll their eyes, but the winter months can get pretty chilly in the Sunshine State. Cold enough, in fact, that many people who stay active when the weather’s nice, cut way back on their exercise routines at this time of year.

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection of the organs of your body that are meant to funnel urine out of your system, including the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. Most infections are bacterial and start in the bladder, but they also can originate from the kidney, urethra or elsewhere.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, potentially debilitating disease that affects the central nervous system. More than 2.3 million people are affected worldwide, with symptoms that range from fatigue to difficulty seeing, to challenges with mobility. Symptoms can start or worsen without warning, taking a mental toll as well.

A stroke can be sudden and debilitating—it’s the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of long-term disability. But the faster a stroke is treated, the better chance a person has for recovery. That’s why it’s important to know the signs of stroke, so you can get help for you or others, fast.