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America is becoming more health conscience. Although, our obesity rates are still high across the board, Americans are becoming more aware of the need to take care of our bodies.We all want to feel good. Living healthy is not as hard as it may seem. All it takes is some simple daily disciplines that will give you a great start.
- Increase you water intake– Water is such an important part of EVERY body system. The human body is made up of approximately 60% water. We know this and yet we still struggle to get all the water we need. We should be drinking about 50% of our body weight in ounces, For example, if you weigh 160 you should be taking in 80 ounces of water. That is a far cry from the old rule of thumb, 6 to 8, 8 ounce glasses of water. Hydration is crucial to the normal functioning of our cells, organs, tissue, and the regulating our temperature.
- Get rid of sugar– Did you know that in Russian the term for sugar, actually means white death. We could learn a lot from the Russians. Sugar has even been proven to have addictive properties and is now even been linked to the cause of cancer and other diseases. With the high rise in cancer, that in itself, should be a motivator to cut out sugar. There are many natural, much healthier options to sweeten our food.
- Lose the white flour– About the only thing white flour is good for is play dough. 🙂 There is not much nutritional value in white flour other than what they have added back into it after the enriching process. Have you ever heard the saying “The whiter the bread the sooner your dead”? It rings true. If you are going to eat bread eat the real stuff! Better yet get rid of bread altogether.
- Get moving– I am not saying you have to go workout at the gym or run an Ironman, but you need to be moving! The American culture is so much more sedentary than years past. We need to get up and get physical. I hear an Olivia Newton John song in my head 🙂 . Movement is also crucial to a normal functioning body. It increases circulation and our filtering system, the lymphatic system, uses movement to function and clean our bodies. Our bodies are designed for movement.
- Supplementation– Our food does not provide all the nutrition our bodies need. Our soils are depleted and tainted with pesticides and other chemicals. Our supermarkets have been over run with processed and convenient foods. I am a firm believer that the bulk of our vitamins and minerals should come from the foods that we are eating, but gaps happen. Supplements should never replace whole foods and a healthy diet rich with fruits and vegetables. Nutrients gathered from a food source are much more bio-available and recognized by our bodies as fuel, however, there is a place for proper supplementation. (If you need a place to start, here are the amazing supplements I take that fill my nutritional gaps… mokomox6.le-vel.com)
- Sleep– Our bodies cannot function properly if they are not resting properly. Our body systems do all the recovering and rebooting at night when we are sleeping. If we are not sleeping well or getting enough sleep our bodies are unable to re-coup and recover. Without proper sleep our bodies go into limp mode. It is kind of like when our check engine light goes on in our car. It cannot function at it’s optimum. It has shut other functions down to survive and make it through the day.
- Change your Mind Set– Attitude is everything! It is amazing what we can do if we just shift our mind set. Our minds are a powerful thing and can truly effect our physical health. Think about this…we all now know the effect stress and anxiety have on our physical body. Science is proving that stress and anxiety have a direct correlation to the onset of disease. 98% of mental and physical illness comes from our thought life, according to www.naturalwellnesscare.com/stress-statistics.html. There are multiple scientific and medical studies out there linking disease to our thoughts.
Feeling good and living a healthy life does not come over night, but start by implementing these seven simple steps and you will start feeling better as each day goes by. And as a side note, this does not negate the importance of wellness checks from your doctor. 😉
These seven steps are just a start to feel good and start living healthy. The key word START!
On your mark.
Get set.
GO!
Blessing to you!
Kelly
