General Health Tips

Stop Smoking
If we are a smoker or someone who receives significant secondary smoke, stopping the inhalation of this deadly concoction of carcinogens is the most important single thing that we can do to increase your well-being. Smoking damages the immune system more than any other activity and is the chief cause of cancer and heart disease. In the light of current public awareness on the dangers of smoking, smoking is nothing more than slow suicide.

Reduce Stress
When we are stressed, the body is awash with adrenal hormones such as cortisol which have a devastating effect on the immune system. For this reason, it is important that we live lifestyles that do not chronically trigger the fight and flight response. This means that we have to take responsibility for our emotional states and the activities which affect them. Strategies might include daily relaxation exercises, yoga, meditation, country walks, time away form (or with!) the children, marriage counseling and a change in career. These are priorities and not luxuries.

Take Food Supplements
Despite what "experts" tell you, a balanced diet CANNOT give you all the nutrients you need to maintain optimum health. This is a dangerous fallacy and one that is dangerously repeated ad nauseam by many doctors and old-school nutritionists. The world we live in now is vastly different from the one in which the human species evolved: we face huge amounts of pollution which requires more nutrients to neutralize, and our food is mass produced which means that it is invariably grown in depleted soils, picked unripe and/or grown with pesticides/hormones. Coupled with modern eating habits, and you have a deadly concoction of a high-calorie low-nutrient diet and an unhealthy toxic overload. This is why nutrients are vital for optimum health. A good multivitamin and mineral supplement is a good thing to take as is a good antioxidant complex. However, unless it is for short-term therapeutic use, avoid mega doses of nutrients. It is far better to supplement in small doses once the above lifestyle changes are implemented.

Cut Out Sugar and Reduce Carbs
Sugar and other carbohydrates make up a huge proportion of our modern diets. The problem with this is that it means that we tend to have chronically high levels of insulin in our blood in order to cope with this. This can lead to insulin-resistance and a whole host of symptoms such as excess weight, tiredness, mental fuzziness, diabetes, heart disease, strokes and eye problems. In fact, the latest research indicates that sugar is worse for you than fat. It is important to remember that some savoury carbohydrates such as potatoes, white rice and bread can trigger the same problematic response in the body. We should focus on moderate amounts wholefood carbohydrates that have a low glycaemic index such as whole grains and vegetables.

Take flax seed oil or an EFA supplement daily
Essential fatty acids are very important to include in the diet, and flax seed oil is a pleasant tasting non-fish source. Take at least a tablespoon a day with meals. This is one of the most essential nutrients missing from the modern diet. It is also the switch that turns off hunger and so can help to reduce cravings and appetite. Make sure you buy refrigerated oils contained in opaque or dark glass bottles as these oils degrade very quickly in light and air. Alternatively, increase the amount of fresh fish in the diet.

Exercise Regularly
A sedentary life is extremely bad for your body, leading to a whole list of problems which tend to accumulate as we age. It is important that we get to move all the fluids around inside of us by simple stretching, weight resistance and cardiovascular exercise. Exercise helps the body to be a lot more efficient and is a great tonic for depression and other low mental states. Remember that exercise MUST include all three exercise elements of cardiovascular work, muscle strengthening (especially as a person gets older) and comprehensive stretching (for example, simple yoga - very important but often discarded).

Drink More Water
Try not to drink too much tap water as this contains chlorides, fluorides, and other pollutants. It is important to either filter water or drink bottled water. If you are going to drink bottled water, pick one with a neutral or alkaline pH. Most nutritionists say a good goal is to drink half of your body weight of water in ounces (ex: a 150 lb person should drink 75 oz. of pure water per day). If you receive your fluids from tea and coffee, remember that this doesn't count as they are diuretics — they encourage your body to expel water.