Lesson 1: Eliminate coffee.

You may know intuitively that coffee is not the best fluid to drink but not really understand why. Here are several reasons to eliminate coffee from your diet:

• Coffee beans are frequently grown outside of this country. Therefore, we have limited controls on the use of pesticides where the beans are grown. Coffee beans are known to be high in pesticides.

• Coffee interferes with your cells' ability to use water and promotes fluid loss.

• Coffee has been shown to raise cholesterol, worsen your insulin control, contribute to rheumatoid arthritis and stroke, damage your blood vessels, increase risk of heart disease, and contribute to miscarriage.

If you are struggling with food changes, you can leave coffee at the bottom of the list. However, quitting coffee should be one of your goals. Coffee should never be consumed if you are pregnant, or have high blood pressure, insomnia or anxiety.

Here are a few tips to help reduce the chance of harmful effects until you can completely eliminate coffee:

• Use organic coffee.  Coffee is a heavily sprayed crop, so drinking organic coffee might reduce or eliminate the exposure to toxic herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers. The only drawback is that the countries where coffee is produced probably have less control and monitoring for compliance to organic practices. You will also be helping to protect the health of the people working in the coffee fields, as you will be helping to reduce their toxic exposure as well.

• Try "Swiss Water Process" decaf. If you are going to drink decaffeinated coffee, be sure that it uses a non-chemical based method of decaffeination. The "Swiss Water Process" is a patented method and is the best choice. Most of the major brands are chemically decaffeinated, even if it says "naturally decaffeinated" right on the container. If you are unsure of the methods, contact the manufacturer.

• Avoid sugar and milk. These are actually much worse for you than the coffee itself. Don't compound the detrimental health effects by adding milk or sugar to your coffee.

• Only use unbleached filters. If you use a "drip" coffee maker, be sure to use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people use, are chlorine bleached and some of this chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process.

Lesson 2: Eliminate all forms of alcohol, beer, wine and hard liquor.

While moderate wine consumption -- one to two glasses per day -- can have certain health benefits, all alcohol use impairs driving performance, and can pose significant health and safety risks. It is well established that alcohol is a neurotoxin, which means it can poison your brain. I don't normally recommend it for most people.

I believe alcohol should be reserved for people who are at no risk of alcohol addiction, and have already achieved optimal wellness and therefore have their carbohydrates (sugars and grains) under control, as alcohol -- even wine -- will increase your insulin levels.

Lesson 3: Eliminate fruit juices, sports drinks and energy drinks.

Store-bought fruit juices are frequently contaminated with mold and therefore we should avoid them. They also contain a large amount of refined carbohydrates. Each 12-ounce glass of juice has about the same amount of sugar (8 teaspoons) as a 12-ounce  soda, even if no sugar is added.

Sports drinks, such as Gatorade, must also be avoided as one of their main ingredients is high-fructose corn syrup.

Energy drinks can contain huge amounts of caffeine -- as much as 300 milligrams in a single serving. (For comparison, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits caffeine in food and beverages to 65 mg per serving. Energy drinks, however, are not regulated by the FDA.)