The 12 Secrets to Healthy Living

1. Avoid taking unneeded drugs
All medications have side effects, but some of the most damaging are those for pain. Up to two million people are hospitalized and 190,000 die each year from side effects or reactions or reactions to prescription drugs. Since metabolism and the conversion of food to energy depend a properly functioning body, it's best to avoid consuming unneeded drugs.

2. Stop dieting! Find the cause of your imbalance
Most people believe that you lose weight by cutting calories or fat, eating only one meal a day, or only certain foods, or by starving yourself. Research tells us that the reason most diets don't work is because the body adjusts its energy requirements by modifying cortisol levels as it loses weight. The secret is in your metabolism, or how your body converts food into energy or fat.
- Eat and drink only those things that are healthy for your body
- Decrease your sugar intake and eat low glycemic foods.

Despite all opinions on diets, there are few basic principles of human physiology that apply to all of us. Any healthy diet must be based around healthy blood sugar control and proper 'glycemic' control. This means maintaining blood sugar levels. Ideally, you should eat many small meals a day made up of foods that are low glycemic foods, that nourish your body and help maintain and control your insulin and glucagon levels.

3. Eat 5 small meals a day (300 to 500 calories)
Eat large meals in the morning and smaller meals at night to improve your hormone and immune system. Combine protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats. Drink enough clean water, equivalent to half your weight in ounces daily. Water increases nerve conduction, improves digestive function, helps eliminate toxins in your body, and reduces your risk of colon cancer by 45% and breast cancer by 79%. A 2% drop in water in your body is enough water loss to create a foggy shot-term memory, give you trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on a computer screen or printed page. Drink a minimum 8 to 16 ounces of water when you get up in the morning and always drink purified, well, or spring water. Avoid drinking tap water.

4. Read food labels
About 90% of all foods eaten in America are processed foods. There are 3,000 additives in our foods and only 300 have been tested for safety. Ironically, people want to know how to get rid of disease and still be able to eat from these four groups:
- White sugars, white flours
- Pasteurized dairy
- Hard fats
- Hydrogenated oils
It simply can't be done! The U.S. Surgeon General states that 70% of all deaths related to stroke, heart disease, and cancer can be avoided by a good diet.

5. Eat your colors
The evidence exists, but only 9% of Americans eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. The recommended consumption of fruits and vegetables has recently been modified from the previous 5 to 7 servings up to 9-13 servings per day! How can you get all of that in one day? (U.S. Department of Agriculture)

6. Breathe
Take deep breaths often. This is excellent for the lymphatic system (circulating immune system) and clears out toxins from your body. Deep breathing will reset your nervous system.

7. Get sunlight
Absorb sunlight at least 20 to 30 minutes daily on as much skin as possible, preferably between the hours of 9 and 11 in the morning. Sun activates Vitamin D, which in turn activates all other nutrients in the body.

8. Get adequate rest and recovery time
Go to sleep by 10 PM to activate your anti-aging hormones and repair your body and mind. According to the American Sleep Disorders Association, 68% of Americans suffer from insomnia. If your hormones are balanced, you burn fat through the night. If cortisol levels are too high, you can't shut down your body and mind. Progesterone helps to turn you body 'off' mentally and physically. Melatonin keeps you asleep so you can rebuild and repair growth hormones (anti-aging) produced during sleep.

9. Get tested, using functional diagnostic medicine
Check your adrenal glands through a simple saliva adrenal function analysis. Check your nutritional status for vitamin and mineral levels and check your gut for parasites, overgrown bacteria and proper immune function.

10. Get moving
Exercise clears your lymphatic system and your cells love the oxygen. Do you want to get old fast? Stop moving. So walk, run, swim, bicycle...do something! Walking 1 hour per day will reduce your risk of colon cancer by 50%. The more active you are, the more energy you will burn and the better your metabolism. A recent study followed 40,000 post-menopausal women for seven years. It found that those who regularly exercised had a 41% lower early death rate than those who did not exercise. Studies at Harvard University, University of Minnesota and many other institutions concluded that brisk walking at least 30 minutes a day could reduce the incidence of breast cancer in women by as much as 40%, reduced body weight by 5% to 7% and can cut the risk of 'pre-diabetes' by as much as 60%.

11. Get out of pain
The primary barrier to getting exercise is experiencing pain. Since pain and stress have a negative affect on one's ability to lose weight and an increased sense of well being, one must address these issues as part of the comprehensive program. Pain can make you feel old. It makes you not want to move and prompts you to take unnecessary drugs seeking relief. The primary cause of pain is usually physical damage to muscles and nerves, which need to be addressed.

12. Love life
Have a good attitude. It smoothes out the bumps in this road we call life. Remember that 10% of life is what happens and 90% is how you chose to deal with it. So dance, smile, sing, and laugh.

(article by: Michael L. Dansinger)