KANSAS CITY, MO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/03/09 -- It's one of the simplest, but most important decisions made daily. Choose incorrectly and your health, weight loss goals, productivity at work, even your kids' grades may be in jeopardy. Registered Dietitian Joan O'Keefe, co-author of The Forever Young Diet and Lifestyle, introduces her free online video series, Nutrition 101, aimed to educate and motivate us all to live healthier. In the first video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFvfNSYdJFM, O'Keefe emphasizes that her number one healthy diet and lifestyle rule is simply to eat a good breakfast.

Though breakfast plays a major role in our health, nearly half of American families do not eat breakfast during the week (the Impulse Research Institute). O'Keefe sympathizes with families who struggle to find time for breakfast everyday, but through Nutrition 101 she is able to offer practical useful advice to improve the morning routine. "Mornings are hectic enough. We (my four children and husband Dr. James O'Keefe) keep it simple by always including two colors and one protein in breakfast," O'Keefe says. She recommends simple breakfasts like nonfat yogurt mixed with frozen berries and a sprinkle of cinnamon, leftover protein from last night's dinner or whey protein isolate shakes with berries and fruit. O'Keefe's make-ahead protein pancakes are a family favorite. Find this and more of O'Keefe's suggested recipes at www.foreveryoungdiet.com.

O'Keefe says that a good breakfast fuels our brains and metabolisms. "Eat the wrong breakfast and your blood sugar will spike and crash, causing cravings, making you feel tired, sluggish and ultimately unproductive," said O'Keefe. "Your brain runs on one nutrient -- and your brain requires that nutrient in the morning to get your mind and body going. Since blood sugar levels drop significantly during sleep, breakfast is essential. This is what gets that metabolism nice and high so we're burning calories throughout the day."

Nutrition 101 with Joan O'Keefe, RD, is a free, online video campaign to help educate individuals about lifestyle, weight loss, cardiovascular health and nutrition. The first video emphasizes the O'Keefes' first rule for a healthy lifestyle: eat breakfast. Future video topics include exercise, food consumption and crucial supplements.

Joan O'Keefe is a Registered Dietitian, national speaker and nutrition consultant to adults and teens. James O'Keefe, MD is an internationally renowned Preventive Cardiologist, speaker and author.

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