Health By Choice, Not By Chance.

One of the greatest challenges I’ve faced trying to be healthier was foregoing the mainstream lifestyle & dietary choices of friends, co-workers and family taking my health into my own hands.

If you leave your health to others or to culture, then you’re going to get mediocre results, at best.

A healthy lifestyle & diet are the best weapons you have to fight the chronic degenerative diseases that collectively claim many lives globally. Seeing amazing results with these changes is as simple as remaining consistent enough to form new habits.

What are the most important things you can do to take your health back into your own hands?

Food is something you should look at first.

Even if you’re eating plenty of food, you may not be getting enough nutrients. Nutrient- dense foods have the fiber, minerals, and vitamins you need, and they tend to be naturally lower in calories.

To get the nutrients you need, pick foods like fresh fruit, vegetables, whole-unprocessed foods, and organic whenever possible.

These foods should comprise the bulk of your diet, with organic meat & eggs from free-range and grass-fed animals comprising a minority. I’d suggest eating fish (preferably cold water fatty fish) twice a week.

Recent research suggests that eating fish rich with omega-3 fatty acids can be a potent preventative against heart disease.

Colorful fruits, greens, and sweet vegetables should be integrated into your diet as much as possible. The tools needed to make them more palatable should be purchased; tools such as a steamer, blender, juicer, and a great set of kitchen knives.

A variety of whole greens, the right sources of protein, and alternative proteins like legumes, nuts & seeds are a good idea. Fibrous sources of protein, unlike meat protein, offer additional enzymes and roughage to help with digestion.

The next step is skipping many of the nutrient-lacking choices you’re probably used to…

Even if you cut down on the amount of food you eat to take in less calories, you still won’t be getting the nutrients needed for your body to be healthy.

Limit beverages and foods that are high in calories but low in nutrients, and limit problem substances like saturated fat, sodium, sugar, and trans fat.

Beware of the sugar content of many commonly cited health foods;” Check the packaging and labels of all foods you buy at the health food store.

As you go about making improved daily food choices, base your eating habits on these rough guidelines:

• Pick lean meats without skin and prepare them without added oils & fat.
• Skip the dairy.
• Cut back on foods with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
• Pass on processed foods.
• Reduce alcohol intake.
• Reduce sugar dramatically. Keep an eye on the portion size when you’re eating out and skip desert as well.
• Eat local food.
• Organic when possible.

Even though you know what to eat, how you eat can be just as important when you’re developing good eating habits.

• Eat with others whenever you can as eating with people has numerous emotional and social benefits.
• Take time to chew and enjoy your food. When you chew, you activate enzymes that help with digestion.
• Eat smaller meals throughout the day and don’t skip eat breakfast.
• A healthy breakfast can get your metabolism going and keep it going throughout the day.
• Don’t eat at night because eating too much before bed can make you put on weight.
• Store your food in glass containers below 35 degrees.
• Don’t drink with meals

What about exercise?

There’s an equally important contributor to a longer lifespan and a higher quality of life….regular exercise!

Regular exercise helps control your weight, combats diseases, improves mood, boosts energy levels, promotes better sleep and more regular bowel movements, helps out your libido, and it’s fun.

Shoot for at least 30 minutes of hard, heart-pounding, high-intensity exercise each day. For the rest of the day, try to remain physically active as much as possible, but in a light and ordinary way– walking, gardening, chores, reaching with the opposite hand, dancing, playing, et cetera.

Recent studies show that the sedentary lifestyle most Americans are used to could be as dangerous as smoking and “exercising it away” might not work.

If it’s at all feasible for you, it’s best to have a regular and ongoing experience of physical activity daily.

Who knows?

You just might like the enhanced energy you get from all the light exercise as opposed to lounging about like a couch potato.

Don’t overlook sleep.

We’ve gone through the two most publicized lifestyle factors, food and exercise; But what about our resting period?

This is when our bodies recuperate and recover, replenish and refine, and ready themselves for the next day.

If you’re a night owl like me, don’t forget great sleep has a lot of surprising benefits – it just doesn’t get as much mainstream attention as diet and exercise.

Sleeping 8-9 hours per night is associated with longer lifespan. Sleep helps reduce inflammation, which is a major contributor to the chronic degenerative diseases that can afflict many of us.

Hopefully, now, you won’t be able to say you were completely ignorant to the right kinds of dietary, exercise, and other lifestyle choices that can keep you feeling superb well into old age.

Health by choice, not by chance.

-David Aston

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