Achieving optimal health is about creating and maintaining balance. We are whole beings and need to consider our mental/ emotional state, activities/ exercise and the food/ nutrients we are using to fuel are life processes as equally important. We can’t separate our heads from our bodies, so why would we think that we could separate our emotional wellbeing from our physical wellbeing? To put it simply, optimal health is about what you think, what you eat and how you move!
People are becoming more and more aware of the connection between diet and health. Research has linked conditions such as obesity and cardiovascular disease to diets high in fat and carbs, kidney stones and osteoporosis to diets high in protein or mineral imbalances, Type I diabetes mellitus to diets high in dairy at a young age, Type II to high carbohydrate diets and colon cancer to diets low in fiber and Vitamin D. What may not be so obvious, however, is that a poor diet can also be a contributing factor to such day to day problems as fatigue, headaches, mood swings, brain fog, indigestion, constipation, skin problems, menstrual discomfort, allergies and degenerative diseases etc. Changing life-long, deeply ingrained eating habits can be difficult. As you strive to follow these principles be patient with yourself, keep a sense of humor and enjoy your successes. Do not hesitate to seek support, I’m always there to help you.
Personal sense of wellbeing and emotions play a huge role in affecting not only your mental health but your physical health as well. Negative emotions and stress bring you down in all ways. Accentuate the positive and work on this until you’re coming from a “good place”. It may seem difficult to have a different perspective at first but you’ll reap the benefits forever! Manifest Gratitude! Think of all the things you’re grateful for each day.
People were meant to move! Activity is essential to maintaining physical strength, muscle tone and range of motion. Exercise also has a positive effect on your mental clarity, emotional state and sense of wellbeing. It may be tough to get started but you will feel so much better that you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it before! Move It, Use It or Loose It !!
Some Guiding Principles
- Include plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. These foods promote health by providing an abundance of fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes (if eaten raw), and many other life-giving substances that science is just beginning to discover.
- Include a moderate amount of protein from meat, poultry, eggs and fish (Alaskan or Pacific, no farm raised), beans and bean products, lentils, seeds and nuts.
- Try to minimize the saturated fat in your diet, but keep in mind that some fats like Omega 3 and 6 are essential to health. Do not eat hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated oils or trans-fats and avoid eating deep fried foods. These things are like poison to the human body.
- Wherever possible, eat foods in their natural rather than processed form. Fresh vegetables, for example, have more food value than frozen vegetables, which in turn have more food value than canned vegetables. Over cooking and processing destroys vitamins and enzymes and depletes the nutrient value of foods.
- Wherever possible, choose organic over non-organic foods. Foods grown non-organically often contain pesticides, herbicides and other chemical residues, which have been linked to certain cancers, environmental and degenerative disorders. Organic farming also helps preserve farmland and decreases contamination of our ground water.
- Drink plenty of clean, fresh spring water or purified water. Do not drink water straight from the tap. Use showerheads etc. that filter chlorine and other contaminants from water you wash with.
- Maintaining healthy pH levels is increasingly difficult today. Drinking RO or purified water, carbonated beverages, coffee etc. and the decrease in vegetable intake all increase acidity. I checked the water from an RO machine and it had a pH of 5.5 when a neutral pH is considered around 7.4.
- Go to a Biological Dentist. Don’t put amalgam (silver metal) fillings and other metal crowns in your mouth as they increase the burden of toxic heavy metals in your body. Avoid root canals, a large percentage of root canal teeth become toxic.
Daily Supplements
It has become fashionable to talk about taking supplements for the purposes of increasing energy levels, improving performance, building better bodies and better health. All of the biochemical reactions that occur in our bodies to support life, require enzymes. These enzymes are made up of vitamins, minerals and other co-factors. Equally as important as the building processes but rarely talked about, is the elimination of the waste products created. If not eliminated, these waste products join with other environmental toxins to impair cellular function. This dysfunction pulls us away from health and moves us toward degeneration and disease. Eliminatory processes also require enzymes, vitamins and minerals, so it’s easy to see why our requirements are actually much higher than what was previously thought. When looking at the government’s RDA (recommended daily allowance), keep in mind that this is the least amount of a nutrient required to keep you from getting a disease. It has no relationship to “optimal health”. The increased toxic burden of modern life along with the depletion of our soils and the decreasing nutritional value in our food supply make supplementation a necessity for anyone interested in optimal health and longevity.
- Multiple Vitamin/ Mineral supplement
- EFAs (essential fatty acids), fish oil, flax oil or ground flax seeds, Borage, Evening Primrose oil
- Certain nutrients may be used specifically to address an individuals requirements or challenges.
Do Not Eat
- All Hydrogenated, partially hydrogenated oils or trans-fats. Avoid eating deep fried foods. All of these things are like poison to the human body.
- All artificial sweeteners (aspartame, nutritame, sucralose, saccharine/ Splenda/ Equal)
- All Diet Soft Drinks
- Tap Water
- Limit simple sugars including fruit juices and refined and or high-glycemic carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, white potatoes and white rice.
- All high fructose corn syrup
- All Artificial Colors, Flavors and Preservatives
- Limit (or Avoid) Dairy product consumption, especially in young children.
- MSG
- Hydrolyzed Soy protein.
- Atlantic, Great Lakes and All Farm Raised Fish
- GMO – Genetically Modified Foods
Notice on the above that all listed were invented, modified, processed or “toxified” by man!!
Do Eat
- Organic foods whenever possible.
- Foods as minimally processed and as lightly cooked as possible.
- More vegetables, moderate protein and less carbs.
- Drink natural spring water, purified or filtered water.
- Hormone & antiobiotic free whenever possible
Interesting Web Sites
www.ewg.org www.feingold.org www.drrobnmd.com
