The Power Of Proactive Health By Laura M. Turner, M.Sc.
CNHP
In
the book 101 Great Ways To
Improve Your Health, Dr. Joseph
Cilea describes our health as a bank
account. In effort to live in a
state of what he calls "Proactive
Health" then, we need to make more
deposits than withdrawls. I love
this idea. We all know how to make
healthy deposits - go easy on the
red meat, easy on the carbohydrates,
eat desserts only in moderation,
drink water, exercise daily. Yet,
we've also been told - with all of
the best of intentions - even the
elite of health can fall prey to
chronic diseases due to poor
genetics. If this is true, then why
bother depositing anything into our
wellness account in the first place?
Yes, you and I are health conscious.
But based on the statistics, obesity
is more the norm than the exception.
And as I've told readers previously
when I confessed to gaining
twenty-five pounds in college - even
the veterans of fitness can fall off
the wellness wagon. Yet, there are
reasons to keep getting back on the
road to health. According to authors
of the Definitive Guide To Cancer,
Lise Alschuler, ND and Karolyn A.
Gazella, genetics plays only a small
role in your risk for chronic
disease. Turns out, according to
research, our first line of defense
against cancer (and other chronic
diseases) is none other than
prevention.
With this in mind follow your
healthy instincts. And from the
author's of the Definitive Guide
To Cancer's prescription for
disease prevention, I'd like to give
you a short list of healthy minded
activities that I feel will make the
largest deposits into your health
account.
Exercise More:
The
good news is, any amount of movement
will stimulate metabolism and get
the body's systems working more
efficiently. There is no need to
restrict your exercise to the gym.
For example, I've personally used
the 10,000 steps a day program to
lose a significant amount of weight.
Too, aerobic/anaerobic activity is
one of your best bets for staying
heart healthy, burning calories and
body fat. Again, there's no need to
spend tons of time in the gym.
According to my friend, research
scientist and author of Ready,
Set, Go! Synergy Fitness, Phil
Campbell, 20 minutes sprints are all
you need to get your body moving
effectively. And if you don't
believe me check out the September
issue of Oprah's O Magazine - his
program was reviewed and given the
thumbs-up by her editorial staff, as
well.
In addition,
resistance training is also key to
building lean muscle mass and
winning the war on body fat.
Resistance training builds what is
called "lean muscle mass." It is
important to recognize, when you
resistance train 2-3 times each week
with weights, you will not only
strengthen your muscles to support
your skeleton, the muscle will also
work to displace cells known as
adipose - better known as fat. Check
out Phil's Ready, Set, Go!
Synergy Fitness for a great
workout.
Weigh
Less:
This topic could also be renamed -
eat less. In truth, there is really
no other way to lose weight
efficiently. To exercise away the
pounds alone would be exhausting,
ask me! Further, cutting back on
calories and learning how to choose
the right foods for you will help
you get into the weight loss mode.
To help get you started, I've
created a short eCourse called
"7-Easy Weight Loss Strategies." If
weight is a concern for you, give my
eCourse a read to help get you
moving in the right direction.
Eat
Organic:
As
I've discussed in past articles,
toxins love to live in the body fat.
Therefore, eating organic and eating
the right foods could be the best
and wisest thing you could do for
your body. Finding and buying from
the organic section of your
supermarket will help you reduce
your exposure to toxic hormones,
pesticides and scary genetic
engineering of foods. If you still
feel confused - there is a great
book that you can use as a resource
that I keep on hand. It's called
What To Eat by Marion Nestle.
Here, Nestle uses her intelligence
as a professor of nutrition in
effort to give you simple
common-sense information.
Boost
Your Immune System:
In
a perfect system our bodies could
get all of the nutrients it needs
from our diet. However with the
continuation of genetic engineering
and pesticide treatment, as well as
the increase of processed foods -
this is becoming less possible.
Therefore, finding the right balance
of diet and supplementation for your
body is challenging, yet necessary.
There are resources available here
as well. My favorites include :
The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book
by Shari Lieberman, Ph.D. and
Nancy Bruning and Dr. Jansen's
New Vitamin Revolution by
Michael Janson, M.D.
There is also evidence that liquid
antioxidant products have great
value when it comes to balancing our
bodies delicate pH. Keeping the
body's environment alkaline is
important as it will create a
unfavorable environment for
pathogens to live. For this reason,
it is well worth your while to check
out a liquid antioxidant supplement.
I use NingXia Red by the Young
Living company, daily. This is the
supplement I endorse, yet there are
hosts of others. Continue your
research for more information and to
find an antioxidant source that is
right for you.
Connect Mind and Body:
Studies continue to show promise in
the connection between mind and body
for promoting health. To get all of
your cylinders firing, you will want
to learn more about exercising your
spiritual muscle. In many of my
previous articles, I've extensively
covered ways to do this. Here's my
favorites: Meditation, journaling
and affirmations. These three
continue to top my list of healthy
mind, body and spirit activities. To
learn more you won't want to miss my
article: "Cultivate A Sense Of
Spirituality" available from the New
Body News and Wellness Letter.
Another favorite resource on
spiritual healing I continue to
reference is You Can Heal Your
Life by Louise L. Hay. If you
don't own this book already, it is a
highly recommended addition to your
healthy book collection.
In
Conclusion:
I
do hope you will find all of the
activities I've described here are
easy to add in to your daily life.
It is up to you to make time for
them. In your efforts, continue to
think as Dr. Cilea when making
lifestyle choices and continue to
add more currency into your lifetime
wellness bank account. I think you
will find your efforts will reward
you - with interest.
For
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*****
Laura M. Turner, M.Sc., CNHP is an
author, journalist and wellness
mentor specializing in natural
anti-aging
practices and nutritional medicine.
Visit her online at
www.beauty-and-body.com and
subscribe to the
BodyTalk eZine -
www.bodytalkezine.com. While
you're there grab her
new eBook Retro-Aging and
enroll in her "Take Charge Of
Your Health" eCourse FREE,
as well as improve your health with
Nature's Healing Treasures:
www.beauty-and-body.com/youngliving.
