It's not only the mind/body connection
it"s your brain/gut communication via the vagus nerve
The topics below are recommendations of eating well, exercise and a reduction of stress to create a more comfortable lifestyle allowing you to look and feel years younger by just eating right. Drinking water is the 'silver bullet' for overall better health. It's that simple. Quite often the symbiotic nature of our digestion process is the fine line between our own health and wellness and our relationship with nature. How we expel energy to extract more energy from food can bog down our digestion and create inflammation in the process. Whether to aid in overall body wellness or to achieve better looking skin, this process should be seen as a marathon not a sprint.
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Top 10 things to do to optimize your health regimen:
1.) Drink an adequate amount of water each day at least 4-6 glasses. Begin when you first wake up and then a half hour prior to eating and throughout the day. Avoid sodas or minimize their intake. Opt for tea over coffee. Water is the essential hydration for cellular growth and nourishment allowing for proper cellular rejuvenation.
2.) Exercise and meditate to achieve a low stress, calm lifestyle.
Walk, run, go the gym, yoga - anything that allows to increase your heart rate
and get your blood flowing will push out the toxins in your system.
3.) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables everyday.
Eat a 2:1 ratio of veggies to fruit. Eat more fruits and veggies but overall smaller portions of processed foods and meals in general. Dark green leafy green salads, with antioxidants with red and dark berries.
4.) Avoid meat and dairy products like milk and yogurt, cheese is ok in small portions.
Humans are the only ones who consume milk from other animals past the newborn stage. We are not lactose intolerant we simply don't possess the lactase enzyme to process milk and dairy digestion. Yogurt is advertised as being healthy in aiding digestion, yet over consumption can lead to constipation and can potentially clog up your intestinal tract. Much of what we know and understand about our gut bacteria and it simply inaccurate. The meat you eat on thanksgiving may still digesting on Christmas as it takes 4-6 weeks to process some meats. Consuming smaller portions of these foods allows you to enjoy without overdoing it.
5.) Avoid spicy foods, inflammation is a hidden health hazard. Too much spice can upset and inflame your digestive tract making it difficult for the body to harmoniously do its digestive business. To decrease inflammation the body pulls calcium from the bones that overtime can lead to osteoporosis.
6.) Get sunlight, yes get 10-15 minutes of sun everyday. Your body works best when you get small amounts of sun to literally charge up your internal batteries. The sun help create serotonin which when unused converts into melatonin helping you sleep deeper and more restful. The best time for sun exposure on a walk is before 11am or after 4pm when the sun isn't at it's brightest. Avoid the heat and full spectrum brightness of mid-day sun. Especially if exercising outside.
7.) Get at least 6-8 + hours of sleep per night. Who doesn't like or need sleep? Sleep is something we all need even if it is not long periods of time. Achieve at least 5 hours a night whole 6-8 hours is preferred and best for deep uninterrupted REM sleep.
8.) Avoiding watching excessive television, the news and over exposure to technology devices. Television is great for escaping and relaxing but usually there is more drama surrounded by nightly news that can debilitate and give the viewer an alone isolated feeling. If you intend on getting your dose of nightly news make a mental note of how much 'good' news and how much 'bad' news you are actually consuming. It may be just more of the same, just another day.
9.) Learn new recipes, try new foods, diversify you menu. Whether you cook for yourself or eat out at restaurants, the idea of trying new things is an excellent way to broaden your horizons. It is good to try new dishes, experiment with new foods and learn about new cultures. Diverse eating is also an excellent way to diversify your stomach gut bacteria, where the food will end up being digested. Get curious with new food(s).
10.) Find meaning or purpose intrinsic to you. What is your career goal or life goal? Evaluate a new direction or purpose to focus on while at the same time improving your health. By creating short and long term goals you can measure your success around the positive contributions you are making in your life. Life is about expansion and diversification, setting new goals keeps you moving forward. Learning new things achieves milestones that help us measure progress allowing for the body and mind to stay healthy and sharp.
The stronger connection you make with nature (through food), your environment, friends and family will help strengthen your connections through communication, appreciation and values that improve our quality of life. Connecting with other people or things that are extremely impressionable, important or sentimental for you will help diversify the feeling and strengthen what it is that you really believe in, care about and love.