5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Health
We all have the power to change, just remember that it is a marathon not a sprint. Dr. Mercola believes the key to improve your health and wellness is to facilitate the natural health capacity that all of us have within. This can be done to a remarkable degree through changes in lifestyle, diet and exercise. Vancouver Health Coach is ultimately about the journey to higher health and the unique path we each must take to achieve our goals for a happier healthier life with friends and family. After all, this is truly what we all want in life. Therefore, it is important to take responsibility for your own health by nurturing your body.
Here are just 5 tenets of “nurturing” that are easy for everyone to incorporate into their daily life and to improve your health:
1. Drink Lemon Water Daily: Ideally drink 8 ounces of room temperature clean, pure water and the juice from ½ of a lemon first thing in the morning to help neutralize acidity in the body. Then drink water throughout the day to stay hydrated and flush toxins from your system. Click here to read more about balancing the pH in your body.
2. Change Your Oil: Fats are a basic component of nutrition (just like water, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals) and necessary for normal body function and can aid to improve your health. Not only does fat supply us with energy, it promotes cell growth, protects all vital organs, and assists anti-inflammatory fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K do their jobs. And very importantly for women, fat regulates hormones. Consuming raw oils insures fats are in their pure state. Processed oils may contain chemicals; genetically engineered corn, soy or canola; or may have been exposed to high temperatures that oxidize the oils. Oxidation creates free radicals that can prematurely age and damage cells. Coconut oil, avocados, olives, olive oil, butter, flax, chia, seeds and nuts are examples of nurturing raw oils. All these fats are low in carbs and do not impair insulin. Try to eat a variety of raw oils daily for maximum benefits.
3. Eat Raw Food Daily: Fresh raw foods are full of nutrient rich enzymes, phytonutrients, minerals and vitamins. Therefore, try to eat a large portion of your food raw, ideally at every meal, by focusing on a diet of fresh, whole foods, ideally organic and local when possible: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, raw oils and high quality protein. Minimize processed foods containing refined grains, sugars and oils, which denature plants of their natural nutrients.
4. Learn to Cook: As Michael Pollan states, “The decline of everyday home cooking doesn’t only damage the health of our bodies and our land but also our families, our communities and our sense of how our eating connects us to the world.” It is important to learn to cook so that you can better control what goes into your body.And it isn’t necessary to cook dinner from scratch every night. Roughly plan your meals at the beginning of your week and spend time doing some food preparation to help you stick to a healthful diet. Cook in big portions and then freeze in smaller quantities and use as needed. Instead of thinking cooking as a chore, make it fun family time- listen to music, talk, and laugh!
5. Learn to Read and Understand Food Labels: Knowing how to read food labels is an essential past of taking responsibility for your own health by understanding what is in the food you put in your body. Look at serving size, calories, sugar and ingredients. You want ingredient lists short and easy to pronounce. “The most important thing to remember is to take the time to read the label,” said Mary Poos, deputy director of the FDA Office of Nutrition Labeling and Dietary Supplements. “Many consumers spend very little time looking at the label, and some consumers only look at a label the first time they purchase a new product.”
