Whether you have a New Year’s resolution to get healthy or not, it seems like all of us are looking for ways to feel and live better. Here are three things that you can do right now to be make incredible positive changes to your quality of life for 2018.
If your body is digesting a lot of chemicals from processed foods and a lot of animal fat, it is much harder for it to relax and sleep. So one of the keys to getting a good night’s sleep is to lighten up your meals.
You should only be eating about 10% protein in any given meal. That means hamburgers are completely out. A steak in a potato should never be considered dinner. If you want to eat meat, it should be mixed in with your vegetables. The rest of your diet should be about 70% fruits and vegetables, and the other 20% is carbohydrates like bread, rice, or pasta.
If you can eat your meals following this ratio, you will sleep much better. You also feel much better throughout the day with more energy because your body is not working so hard to digest things that it doesn’t want. You should also focus on eating foods that are fresh and locally sourced. Foods that are packaged tend to be full of preservatives, artificial colors, flavor enhancers, and other things that your body does not like to digest.
Another way to live and feel better is to manage your stress. I know, it’s much easier said than done, especially if you are working 8 to 10 hours a day and/or have kids. However, it is essential to take breaks throughout the day, lasting about 10 to 15 minutes, to calm your body.
You can do this by meditating, listening to music, going for a peaceful walk, or engaging in any other activity that removes you from your stressors and gives your body a break. Biofeedback research has shown that these little breaks lower stress for hours. So even though you only meditate for 10 or 15 minutes three or four times a day, the calming effect it has on your body last all day long.
If you take these breaks throughout the day, your body will remain in a much calmer State. This will improve everything from mood to food digestion and even how well you sleep at night. It’s all connected.
Finally, you should focus on drinking at least 8 oz of water every single hour. One of the reasons our bodies become weakened and susceptible to viral attacks is dehydration. If you have a dry feeling in your mouth, you are already in a moderate state of dehydration. You should not wait until your mouth feels dry to drink water!
Your body is made up mostly of water, so keeping it hydrated will help everything, including your immune system, your energy level, your mood, and even the metabolism of the food you eat. Water is critically important. It is also essential that the water you drink is not stagnant because stagnant water is dead water. Even animals know not to drink it!
Unfortunately, the water that comes from our tap and bottled water is stagnant. This means it sits around for extended periods before you drink it. During this time, it loses all of its natural antioxidants, and when you drink it, it doesn’t detoxify your body. Instead, it oxidizes your body, essentially bleaching it. If you drink stagnant water for too long, you can severely damage your health.
Your body needs water to detoxify itself effectively. Otherwise, toxins build up and cause damage to our cells. Toxins will even be put into storage in the form of fat cells, which is one of the main reasons why Americans are battling obesity at record levels.
You can’t bottle antioxidant water, so the only way to obtain it is by drinking directly from a natural source, such as a natural spring or glacial stream, or by purchasing a water ionizer. Asian markets are savvy to this fact. More than one out of every three homes owns a water ionizer. Americans are a little slower to adapt water ionizers into their homes, but that doesn’t make it any less critical.
A water ionizer will also remove toxins from your tap water, making it healthier and fresher to drink. If you can drink ionized water every hour, eat a balanced diet, and take breaks throughout the day to de-stress, your life will improve by leaps and bounds. These are the three surefire ways to improve your health and get healthy, so we hope that this New Year’s, you will take some time to take care of yourself and live the life you always wanted to live.
