It may be a cliche, but a balanced diet is the key to good nutrition and good health. Yet women often feel too busy to eat right. Tending to children, senior parents, making time for partners, pursuing careers and engaging in volunteer efforts all create a time crunch.

It's often easier to pick up fast food than to prepare a healthy meal at home. But fast food is usually high in fat and calories and low in other nutrients, which can seriously affect your health. At the other extreme, there is a multimillion dollar industry focused on telling women that being fit means being thin and that dieting is part of good nutrition.

Between our busy lives and the messages we hear from society, it's no wonder that many women suffer from poor nutrition.

Good nutrition means eating a balanced diet. Poor nutrition is just the opposite, and it can lead to a myriad of health problems. It's important to learn how to eat right, which means including the right amounts of the right kinds of food.

Nutritious eating isn't that difficult - in theory. It comes down to basics you probably already know. Eat a varied diet that includes plenty of grain products, vegetables and fruits, but limit your intake of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugars and salt. Drink enough water, at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily - more if you exercise frequently.

And eat regularly. Skip breakfast and eat lunch on the run, and you will be ravenous in the afternoon. Some experts advise planning healthy snacks - fruit, yogurt - to stave off the munchies.