In my last column, I shared what's new in my exercise routines and gave workout tips. But all the exercise in the world won't impact your health if you don't eat right.

Every day I go to the gym and see the same group of people working out. A majority clearly have high body fat. They may be focusing on exercise, but they're ignoring their nutrition.

And that stirs up a deadly killer, silent inflammation, considered the root cause of all age-related diseases and accelerated aging. Physicians use a Cardio CRP blood test to detect the otherwise hidden inflammation.

A "greater than 1" score indicates significant inflammation and a risk for degenerative diseases: cardiovascular, blood vessel disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, stroke. The very diseases killing most Americans.

The major key to controlling silent inflammation is with a low-fat, low-glycemic, anti-inflammatory diet, the right nutraceuticals and having a low body fat percentage.

Life Nutritional Pyramid. Forget following the USDA Food Pyramid. It ignores the impact certain foods have on blood sugar, disregarding insulin control and contributing to our national obesity epidemic.

I believe the Life Nutritional Pyramid creates a much better environment in your body to control blood sugar levels and insulin production, reducing and/or preventing risk for silent inflammation.

It's the starting point for optimized health and better body composition, what I call the Basic Nutrition level. You can go to deeper levels, depending on your commitment level and medical needs, but this is everyone's launching pad.

The focus is natural foods, low-glycemic vegetables, limited low-glycemic fruits, low-fat protein, limited healthy fats and proper food combining. The lowered fat intake proves vital if you want to lose weight or have vascular disease.

The low-fat protein-chicken, turkey, fish, soy, egg whites-works synergistically with the veggies to keep insulin levels down.

You'll notice there are whole grains/ starches, but little of them. That's a different approach from the popular Mediterranean Diet, which is tilted on the grain-starch side and elevates blood sugars. Limiting whole grains delivers the best opportunity for reduced disease risk. So focus on steel-cut oats, pumpernickel, rye, whole wheat, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, etc.

Personally, I keep to a semi-vegetarian diet, allowing for fish, poultry and egg whites. A vegetarian approach (with less than 10% fat) is the only diet shown to reverse heart disease. Research in the last three years demonstrated that vegetarians not only had more optimized cardiac function, but also improved vascular reactivity, lower blood pressure, balanced blood sugar levels, good cholesterol scores and trimmer bodies.

Get a game plan. You can't go haphazardly throughout your week and expect to stay on target nutritionally. Believe me, I went through that and it's a sure-fire recipe for disaster.

What I do is cook enough steel cut oats for my breakfasts for the week, then take my morning portion from that. I do the same thing with chicken. And I keep a lot of single-pack frozen vegetables and some fish in the freezer so I can pull them out, steam them in my Krups (10-cup auto rice cooker/slow cooker/steamer) and have a great-tasting meal ready in 10-20 minutes.

Have three main meals with two smaller ones in between to stave off hunger, keep blood sugars balanced and stabilize energy levels. Keep calories to 250-300 (men)/250 (women) per meal or snack. That adds up to 1500 calories a day for men, 1250 for women.

Watch food combinations-eat protein at every meal, every snack. If you must have dairy, then go for nonfat or soy cheeses. Eat fruit sparingly, choosing an apple, orange or some berries. Avoid tropical fruits and fruit juices, which spike your blood sugar.

Main meals: 1 portion low-fat protein (palm size/4 ounces), 1 fist full low-glycemic carb (1/4 cup), 1-2 fists full of veggies, small bowl of berries.

Snack ideas: protein shake, apple with low-fat cheese, orange with handul of almonds, celery or carrots with low-fat cheese, soy yogurt.

What works for me. Every morning, I put 1/2 cup of my previously cooked steel-cut oats in a bowl, top it with Egg Beaters and microwave it for a couple of minutes. When done, I top it with salsa and sit down to a satisfying breakfast.

For two meals a day, salads are my choice, with various veggies topped with protein (cut-up chicken). I'll use either balsamic vinegar or a low-fat/low-sugar dressing.

Dining out, I order a salad or ask to have chicken or salmon grilled with no oils, just lemon juice and spices. I also ask for steamed veggies. Most good restaurants are happy to oblige, so don't be shy in asking.