As we go forward into 2014, my gift to you is 10 easy (well most are easy) things to do for your body that make a huge difference to your health. Enjoy and read on.
1. Sleep - said it once, say it again. This one is so important that I will be reminding you of it until the cows come home. And since I don't own any cows, that means as long as I can type. If you don't believe me, get one of the new trackers and log in your sleep, take stock in how you feel the day after a good night's sleep. Not the night you think you got, but one that actually shows you had good restorative sleep. There are too many benefits to mention all. Some keys ones, flushing out toxins (for those of us that have less than perfect diets), improved memory, brain function, and my favorite weight loss.
2. Meditate - All right stop rolling your eyes, this does not mean you have to practice 30+ minutes a day (although that would be nice). Start slow, 5 minutes then work up to more. Studies show even with as little as 10 minutes a day, you can lower your blood pressure, get better sleep, increase your immunity (and with the colds going around this year, 10 minutes is worth it). Produces longevity and better quality of life, and in some cases increased cognition.
3. Water - drinking warm water with lemon is alkalizing, which supports detoxification from all the stuff we encounter and put in our bodies on a day to day basis. Stimulates bowels, enough said on that topic. It boosts energy with less issues than those pesky 5 hour energy drinks or the super duper hyper cups of coffee.
4. Floss - yes, flossing does more than just keep our teeth from having food stuff sticking out from them. It prevents gum infections, even small ones can get into your blood stream and cause general inflammation...general draggy not right feeling. 2 minutes to floss is well worth it.
5. Probiotics - Not activia, try some with less processing. There are some very good pills out there, as well as other less chemically inclined yogurts, Kefir is a good one, I love Fage. Probiotics keep the gut healthy, which will improve overall mood. A lot of stuff is link to the gut, the happier the gut, the happier the person. Mainly because one of the biggest producers of Serotonin is the gut.
6. Skin - Clean up your skin care routine. Does anyone read the ingredients of all the products that you put on your skin? Lotions, toners, moisturizers etc. It all adds up and our skin is the biggest organ in the body. It helps to loofah in the shower, and loofahs are bio degradable so it helps the environment too. Look out for sulfates in products, they strip the skin of protective barriers.
7. Wear Sunglasses - Wearing sunglasses with 99-100% UV absorption actually decreases cataracts. The bigger the sunglasses the better. I guess we are all going to look like big bugs, but big bugs that can see.
8. Fiber - This is another one that has been around for a long time. It does not mean you go and eat bran muffins all day. Veggies have fiber and vitamins, yeah for vegetables, not to mention you can pretty much eat these all day everyday ( a variety please), as much as you want. It will help to increase longevity, weight loss, regulates cholesterol, reduces inflammation, cuts risk of diabetes, and lowers blood pressure.
9. Green Leafy Stuff - incorporating a green leafy salad at least once a day, can reduce risk of certain cancers, weight management (it actually cost a body more to digest most greens), regulates digestion.
10. Warm Up - To many of us take the short cut of jumping right into the workout, we are stressed for time and it is just easier to get it over with. Doing a dynamic (meaning moving) warm up can decrease injury substantially. It also increases performance, increased performance more calories burned. Cool downs are also important to bring the body back to its restive state.
Now instead of trying to go out and do all these wonderful ideas at once, add one every two weeks. I did not put them in any particular order, so pick the easiest one out there. Practice it first, then add another one in once the initial one has become ingrained in your daily life. If you are having trouble figuring out fun ways to incorporate these into you day, call me.
Have you ever eaten something and then thought "why did I just eat that"? New studies are showing mood has more to do with it than you think. When we are in a good/happy mood, we tend to be able to make better food choices. When we are in a poor mood we tend to make not so great choices (sour cream donuts anyone?). Researchers are saying this is more to do with big picture vs immediate gratification outlook.