If improving your health in the New Year is one of your goals, I want to share five simple steps you can take to help you make this your healthiest year ever!
1. Begin to gradually replace all calorie-laden, nutritionally empty beverages with water. Drinks like soda, powdered iced tea or lemonade, energy drinks, lattes simply add calories you don’t need and actually dehydrate you. A cup of coffee or two is ok and teas (like green tea, oolong and herbal teas) have excellent health benefits. However pure, clean water is critical. Your body is over 70% water and none of your body systems will function properly if you are dehydrated. You can reach this goal by eliminating one of the empty drinks each day and simply replacing it with 8 oz. of water. The ultimate goal is to drink one-half your body weight in ounces of water daily.
2. Eliminate all processed, junk food and especially anything that contains artificial sweeteners. If you consume “artificial” anything – your body doesn’t even recognize it as food and you are putting an extra burden on your liver to detoxify these chemicals. Just as an added “bonus,” these sweeteners actually cause weight gain, so if losing a few pounds is part of your goal, ditch the aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame k. Stevia, xylitol and Lakanto are great natural alternatives.
3. Replace all the “white” things in your diet – sugar, flour, pasta, bread, rice and potatoes – with whole grains instead. These white flour products are refined carbs which convert to sugar immediately. Whole grains also contain fiber and protein so they are digested more slowly and therefore don’t cause a big spike in your blood sugar.
4. Add color to your meals by including a variety of flavorful vegetables and also by using spices and herbs liberally. Seasonings not only make your foods more delicious, they increase the nutrient value exponentially. The vegetables are powerhouses of vitamins, minerals and fiber and are super-alkalizing for your system.
5. Take time to connect with God. Prayer, meditation, bible study, praise and worship are all great ways. The world is stressful and unstable – our lives are hectic and we can easily become frustrated and overwhelmed. Stress is the cause of 80% of all illness! Make it your goal to connect with God daily.
Try implementing these suggestions and see how great you will feel!
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