At the Center for New Medicine, our doctors and I are seeing how people in general are making themselves sick. Most people do so unconsciously. When many patients get sick, they don’t know what hit them. It feels like someone has handed them a diagnosis that caught them completely off guard, as though something has befallen them, rather than something they did to influence the diagnosis themselves. Many of our patients don’t start thinking about making healthy lifestyle modifications until they suspect something is going wrong with their body.
This occurs because most people move through life unaware of the cause and effect. For example, people smoke and wonder why they get cancer. People ingest excessive sugar, high fat, hormone laden meats and wonder why they get blocked arteries, diabetes and cancer. People stay angry all their lives and wonder why they get heart attacks. People work excessive hours under incredible stress and wonder why they have strokes, anxiety, insomnia and immunity issues. The not-so obvious truth is that most people live in fear and worry themselves to death.
Worry is just about one of the worst forms of mental activity there is, next to hate, which is deeply self destructive. Worry is pointless. It is wasted mental energy. It also creates bio-chemical reactions which harm the body, producing everything from indigestion, IBS, anxiety, insomnia, depression to coronary arrest, cancer and a multitude of things in between. Although we will always have some sort of stress in our lives, it is our reaction to stress that will make the difference. Here are some healthy lifestyle tips that can prevent the onset of most illness.
10 Lifestyle Tips for Optimal Health and Immune Support
- Decrease Stress: use methods such as breathing exercises, meditation, visualization, prayer, journaling, bio-feedback such Evox, and affirmations such as “I am energized by life” instead of “I am sick of my life”. Health will usually improve once worrying ends. You are a product of how you react to your stressors.
- Food Combining which is a few simple principles of not mixing protein and starchy carbohydrate at the same meal and eating fruits on an empty stomach or 45 minutes before a meal with protein, has helped many of my patients with digestive disorders such as gas and bloating.
- Avoid drinking with your meals. Drink 10-15 minutes before or one hour after as drinking water or juices with meals may inhibit digestion by diluting digestive enzymes or prevent you from thoroughly masticating your food.
- Get 8 hours of sleep for repair and healing. While there is no “magic number” when it comes to the amount of sleep you need, most adults need 7-9 hours per night according to the National Sleep Foundation.
- Exercise 5-6 days a week, moderate exercise such as yoga, walking, Pilates, tai chi, weight training, bike riding, rebounding and other outdoor sports activities will stimulate endorphins (happy hormones) and increase detoxification by stimulating the lymphatic system.
- Grounding: walk barefoot as much as possible to ground yourself back to the earth decreasing the EMF (electric magnetic force). You can also use EMF protectors on your wireless electronics and earthing pads on your bed to help you ground while you sleep which decreases inflammation (www.earthing.com).
- Socialize with friends and family: I recommend 12 hugs a day to improve the immune system. Find something you are grateful for everyday. Laugh and find humor in life, connect with friends and family, find a wonderful pet to love since they will always be happy to see you.
- Plan your meals and snacks to avoid un-stable blood sugar and reaching for junk food.
- Eating for your Blood Type: Eating the appropriate foods for your blood type and avoiding food allergens helps to decrease the lectin response of undigested proteins. These undigested proteins (lectins) cause excessive rouloueing (coining effect of the red blood cells sticking together) in your blood, which causes your red and white blood cells to be less effective, lowering the oxygen and immunity in your body.
- Detox on a regular basis: epsom salt/clay baths, dry skin brushing, juicing, intermittent fasting, parasites cleanse, gallbladder, lymph, liver and kidney cleanses, far infra-red sauna and negative ion foot bath are some examples. Monitor regular healthy bowel function, since most people have sluggish bowels. Coffee enemas and colonics are an inexpensive way to support detoxification. Best to check with your physician before starting any cleanse or detox program.
These suggestions are not intended to treat or cure any health condition but intended to support your natural ability to detox stress and repair.