The Healthiest Man Alive Shares His Get-Fit Tips

Superfoods. Supplements. Cleanses. It seems like in the health world, it's one fad after the next, and frankly, we're exhausted. Eating healthy should be simple, but it's often anything but, leaving us confused and annoyed and....reaching for the closest pint of Ben & Jerry's. In an article and video for People magazine, health guru and Oprah bestie Dr. Oz says that he feels our pain (and indigestion): He's a reformed "meat-and-potatoes" kid himself.

On this heavy diet, Dr. Oz says: "By sixth grade, I was so slow I wasn't even picked [for kickball] anymore. Even intellectually I wasn't feeling quick." Oz credits his wife Lisa, a vegetarian, for inspiring him to put down the fluffernutter sandwiches (yes, the "healthiest man alive" once ate marshmallow fluff) and reach for leafy greens and sweet potatoes instead.

Eating simple, whole foods (such as Greek yogurt, brown rice, and broccoli - no complicated mail-order ingredients here) is what helps Dr. Oz function at the top of his game. At 52, he wants to encourage Americans to follow his lead. "Most of America is living at 20 percent of who they could be. I want to get everyone to appreciate what living at 90 percent could be like," he says.

His advice for getting to your optimal level of health? Making sure you've got the right supplies: Oz says you should have healthy food options on hand, always, so that you won't succumb to gorging on junk food. That means your fridge and pantry should be stocked with the following: fresh juice, wheat germ, organic eggs, fresh herbs, bitter greens, nuts, steel-cut oatmeal, dark chocolate, superfood seeds, and legumes.

In theory, this all sounds grand, but even Dr. Oz admits that maintaining such a healthy diet can be exhausting. "It's joyless. I'm not going to celebrate food," he says. We're all for eating well and feeling better (his Rejuvenating Fruit Smoothie sounds seriously delicious) but that sounds so depressing. One of the simple pleasures of life is good food and we don't see why eating healthy and enjoying what you eat can't go hand in hand.