Health News

Eat, Sleep, Drink and Be Merry
7 Ways to be Happy and Healthy

Eat Well Choose a wide variety of unprocessed, hopefully locally grown, organic foods and make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. The closer the food is to its natural state the more likely it is to be good for you. Remember food is your first line of defense against disease. If you know or suspect you are reacting to foods, there is help for this. Come see me in the office and let’s take a look.

Drink Enough Water Figure on one-eight-ounce glass per day per twenty pounds of body weight. So if you weigh 120 lbs., that’s six glasses a day. A 180 lbs. person needs nine glasses daily. Water keeps your liver, kidneys and skin doing their job of detoxifying your body. Too much water isn't necessarily better. It can drain your electrolytes and throw your kidneys out of balance. But, on hot days or days where you exert yourself more heavily you will need more water than the normal amount. Make sure you listen to your body.

Sleep enough Eight hours a night really is a magic number. Your mother and research support this fact. It’s amazing how much better you will feel with regular sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, see me in the office. Let’s check it out.

Exercise Pick something you love and get hooked on it. 5 times a week, for 30 minutes is wonderful, but 3 times a week is better than nothing. If you don’t like exercising, park your car far from your destination and walk. Climb the stairs at work, walk a message over to a co-worker instead of emailing. Get moving! Every little bit helps. Challenge yourself to find little ways to increase your strength and include cardio-training into your everyday life, you might be surprised at the results.

Listen to your body Your body has amazing wisdom. Following its guidance is one of the most important steps towards health you can ever take. You know how powerful it is to drink when you are thirsty, and sleep when you are tired; imagine expanding this knowledge to a more subtle level so you can catch the little messages your body is sending you all day long. Schedule an appointment if you are interested in learning how to do this. I have special expertise in helping people learn to communicate with their body and discern what their illnesses and symptoms are saying. This is a skill you can use the rest of your life to maintain and increase your health.

Seek out healthy relationships Research has shown an enjoyable sex life increases longevity. Good friends make life worthwhile. It takes time to have relationships. If you are busy, you might need to actually schedule time for relationships. I know this sounds goofy, but it works. And soon, the advantages of friends and loved ones will make it easy to see why you made the effort.

Have fun! Make sure you do something you love regularly. And if you love your work, good for you, but find something else you love to do and do that too!