When it comes to your health, this should be the number one priority. So many unnecessary illnesses, diseases and conditions come about as a result of not looking after your health. This includes looking after your body as well as your mindset. You can have a healthy body but if your mindset is off, then that’s also quite probably a recipe for disaster.
Thankfully though, you’re reading this article and that’s a great sign that you’re already on the right track. Here is your starter guide to improve your health naturally.
Water
First thing’s first. You need to be drinking enough water or indeed fluid per day. No you don’t get points for drinking 10 pints of lager! And no the wine, gin and tonic or indeed any other alcoholic beverage also does not count here.
So what does count?
You can drink water, squash, juice and hot drinks such as herbal teas. All of these count as healthy fluids.
Avoid caffeine if possible. This includes coffee, tea and herbal teas that include caffeine. Together with soda drinks such as coca-cola.
It’s also best to avoid all other fizzy drinks that contain either sugar or sweeteners.
So if you want to improve your health naturally and quickly, the first step is to drink plenty of water ideally. Although other liquids (not all) can also help.
Sugar is the enemy
Sugar is quite literally the route of all evil. Whether brown or white sugar, both are bad for you. Indeed so is chocolate, sweets and sugary drinks.
Carbs too convert to sugar once consumed, so it’s best to focus on complex carbs such as brown rice, quinoa, berries and vegetables.
Note that much fruit contains ample amounts of sugar, so if you eat 10 apples in a day that’s not going to be healthy for you. Bananas also contain a lot of sugar, as do grapes. You can of course enjoy a few grapes or an apple or banana per day or every other day. However, you really want to focus on fruit such as blueberries, raspberries or strawberries which are lower on the sugar index.
Sugar also makes your body act like a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Eat some sugary breakfast cereal such as Cheerios in the morning and your sugar levels will spike. They will then drop again as the day goes on and you’ll feel a dip in energy levels. Have a sandwich, a sugary cake and soda drink for lunch and whoosh your insulin levels will spike again. Followed by a crash in the afternoon. These energy highs and lows cause havoc on your body and also raise cortisol levels, (cortisol being the stress hormone).
Instead the perfect diet would include complex carbs for breakfast such as porridge with berries. Alternatively, you could enjoy more protein such as eggs and bacon with baked beans on the side, together with a healthy fat such as avocado. A breakfast such as this will balance your energy levels so you don’t have spikes of energy, followed by energy crashes. It will also keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Avoid Sweeteners
Sweeteners whether natural or artificial are usually found in sugar-free drinks and foods such as 0 calorie jelly, sweets or ice lollies. Quite simply, they are equally as bad, if not worse as sugar.
These types of foods are known to be huge contributing factors to a wide variety of health issues, including weight gain, bladder issues and tooth decay, to name only a few.
The reason for this is because sweeteners stimulate your taste buds and send signals to the brain that affect your hormones, which then slows your metabolism. All of this means you soon feel hungry again and want more food.
Eat Your Veggies
The absolute best way to improve your health naturally is to eat vegetables. Any type of vegetable consumption will suffice, whether you prefer more salad based veg or winter based veg.
You can get so creative with vegetables too! Ever had red cabbage with apple chunks and apple cider vinegar? It’s delicious. Try melting cheese over your broccoli or cauliflower and adding a few ground nuts for some added flavour.
There are so many recipes online so get creative.
Vegetables are quite simply the best foods on the planet. They are packed full of vitamins and minerals, which aid in combating cell damage and oxidative stress.
If you want to go one step further, be sure to check out the clean fifteen and dirty dozen. These are foods that are broken down into two categories. The dirty dozen are foods that are most likely to absorb chemicals and pesticides throughout the farming process. You would want to perhaps eat organic versions of these foods, which include cucumber, celery, bell peppers and lettuce. The clean fifteen are foods that are less likely to be affected by pesticides and other nasties as they’re usually foods with skins on or protected by large leaves such as avocado, broccoli and cauliflower.
For an up to date list of the clean 15 and dirty dozen, visit the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website here.
Get Moving
You don’t have to get slogging on the cross trainer at the gym (unless you enjoy that)…
Just a simple walk once a day is a great way to get started. If you haven’t exercised for a while then start with a 15 minute walk and build it up.
If you lead more of an active lifestyle, then going for a run or swim a few times a week is a brilliant way to get some cardio into your routine.
Exercise is great for the body, both mentally and physically. For a start it releases endorphins (happy hormones), that could actually be better than having sex! Yes, I did actually say that…
It can also be a great social thing. A dance class, running or swimming club can be a great way to meet people, make friends and enjoy the social side of things without realising you’re actually exercising and doing amazing work for your body as well!
It goes without saying although the amount of people who forget to do this is huge… however stretch before and after exercise. This will limit the risk of any injuries. Quite often it’s the people who do not stretch before and after exercise who are visiting me for their Deep Tissue Massages.
Also don’t eat for an hour before doing any form of exercise as it will make you feel quite uncomfortable and you won’t digest your food properly.
Vitamins and Minerals
Stocking up on vitamins and minerals should be an essential part of your lifestyle and a key component to help you improve your health naturally.
Whilst you will need to supplement in some cases, you simply cannot out-supplement a crappy diet. If you’re diet is rubbish and you’re eating McDonalds every day, then no amount of vitamin and mineral supplementation is going to do any wonders for your body. A supplement should be in addition to a relatively healthy diet.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is quite hard to get from the sun, especially if you live north of the equator in places such as the UK, Canada, Scandinavia and so on. Instead you will most definitely find it beneficial to supplement in order to get the required daily amounts. It’s best to take vitamin D3 with K2. Think of the K2 as a signpost, it literally directs calcium that is transported by the vitamin D to ensure it’s absorbed by the bones, where it’s needed. If vitamin D is taken without K2 then it floods the bloodstream and doesn’t quite go to the right places in the body.
You can get vitamin D3 with K2 in many different forms such as tablets and capsules. However, I personally prefer a vitamin D3 with K2 mouth spray, such as the Better You Daily Oral Spray.
Magnesium
Magnesium is a mineral and whilst you can take it in supplement form, it’s best to absorb it through your diet. Foods high in magnesium include pumpkin seeds, almonds, boiled spinach, cashew nuts and dark chocolate with a high per cent of cocoa, ideally over 80%.
Iron
Iron is another mineral which is essential for helping to improve your health naturally, as it’s needed for growth and development. The body uses iron to help make red blood cells, which carry oxygen from the lungs to every part of the body. Iron also makes myoglobin, a protein which provides oxygen to the muscles. Foods high in iron include red meat, sea food and dark green leafy vegetables.
Selenium
Quite simply the wonder mineral. Selenium is so essential to your health and overall wellbeing. For one it’s a really powerful antioxidant that helps to repair and protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
You’re probably thinking to yourself, what on earth are free radicals? Simply put, they are unstable atoms that damage cells in the body. You get free radicals from things such as smoking or passive smoking, environmental stressors such as pollution. As well as hygiene products such as deodorant can sprays and shower gels etc with horrible nasty chemicals in them.
Selenium however helps your body to combat these horrid stressors. Foods that are high in the mineral selenium include oysters, brazil nuts, eggs and sunflower seeds.
Vitamin C
This fantastic vitamin helps to protect cells and is great for maintaining healthy skin, bones, blood vessels and cartilage. It’s also needed for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body.
Foods high in vitamin C include sweet yellow bell peppers, strawberries, Brussel sprouts, kiwis, lemons and papayas.
Vitamin E
The scavenger vitamin, quite simply because it seeks out loose electrons or free radicals as they’re also known, which damage cells in the body. Vitamin E comes in and fights those free radicals by providing ample antioxidants. This mighty vitamin also improves immune function protecting the body against viruses and it also cleverly helps stop clots from forming in the arteries.
You can find vitamin E in foods such as sunflower seeds, olives, red bell peppers, mango and avocado.
Your Full Guide To Improve Your Health Naturally
So if you’ve reached the end of this blog post, well done. You’re now geared up with all of the tools necessary to begin your journey on how to improve your health naturally.
The best bit is that you will start to see or feel the results really quickly. Your energy levels should start to improve. You’re endorphins will create happy hormones meaning you’ll feel happier with life in general. You’ll also start to see improvements to your skin, as you glow more, the bags under your eyes start to disappear and you start sleeping better.