Imperative Choices For Healthy Living — How Many Are You Already Doing?

1. Drink Water — 10 glasses a day and make sure it’s pure, clean water and not tap water that is over-chlorinated and contains fluoride (yes, fluoride isn’t good for you — READ MORE HERE).  Coffee and alcohol actually dehydrate you, so don’t think that you’re drinking water in your beer or caffeine fix.  It’s especially dangerous as the first sign of dehydration is thirst and when you drink other things it quenches the thirst but doesn’t help the initial problem of dehydration.  Dehydration is only solved when you drink WATER!!!!  Don’t kid yourself otherwise (and totally stay away from the flavoured water!  It’s full of sugar).
2. MSG, Preservatives, Artificial Colouring and Sweeteners BEWARE!!!  Rule no.1 — just stay 10 miles away from any of the aforementioned things.  They are found in about 80% of products at the store but you can actually survive without them.  Quick tips:  Instead of buying crisps eat non-GMO popcorn or lightly salted crisps (they usually don’t have the MSG) and make yourself a groovy avo dip to accompany and satisfy those taste buds.  Instead of getting packaged soups and stocks (which are loaded with MSG) you can buy vegetable stock powders (look in the health section of your supermarket).  Look for alternatives!  Your great-grandmother didn’t have all this crap in her diet and neither should you.  READ MORE about the dangers of MSG HERE, 
3. Cut back on the Sugar (then cut it out) — You can do it!  Yes, I know — what about the ice-cream cravings in summer or that one indiscretion after a meal out?  It’s better to ‘treat’ yourself every now and again than to have a larder full of sugary shite and kid yourself it’s okay!  Seriously, sugar is a major carcinogen.  What is a carcinogen?  A substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue.  Be informed!  I sometimes have a nice gooey dessert but it’s seldom and at home I don’t keep the stuff at all.  Stevia is a great supplement and it’s natural.  Honey in moderation is also a great alternative.  I have been making my own chocolate (cause I’m a choc-o-holic) and it’s completely satiating and de-fricking-licious!  Here is a recipe for mouth-watering choccies that you can make from scratch.
4. Meat-Free — As a vegetarian, this is a controversial subject and I’m sure many of you have your heckles aimed at me.  I believe we are healthier not eating meat but many will disagree — that is your choice to make and I certainly refrain from judging anyone on this point.  There is loads of information out there about the dangers of meat consumption   Thing is, if you can’t give it up entirely, try at least to incorporate 3-4 meals a week that are meat-free.  And when you do buy meat, please buy it responsibly by supporting your local organic/free-range farmers — do it for them, yourself and for the animals.  You are what you eat, so make sure the animal was pampered as much as possible and not treated appallingly in some over-crowded factory farm.
5. Exercise and Movement — Most people shudder at the ‘e’ word but come on!  We need to move our bodies and build up a sweat every day.  Find something fun to do — it doesn’t have to be all grind at the gym, you know!?  READ HERE for 25 fun alternatives.
6. Lactose Leery —  The easiest step to give up — not!  I love my dairy, especially milk.  Although I still smuggle a piece of cheese every now and then, I have cut out most dairy.  I supplement rice milk powder in my hot drinks and smoothies — it’s actually quite yummy — so I’m not really missing the cows milk much. 
7. Organic, Fresh, Raw — You guessed it!  Eat as much organic, raw fruit and veg as you can — especially the green leafy kind.  The more alkaline your body (as in at least 51% alkaline) the less your chances of getting cancer.  Why?  Cancer cannot survive in a body that is predominantly alkaline.    Better still, start your own edible patch — after all, the word on the street is that revolution starts one veg garden at a time!
8. GMO Wary — Frankenfoods should be setting off alarm bells in your head.  If you’re still not sure why, then you can  READ MORE HERE.
9. Cut Back on Carbs — Yeah, carbs are delicious but here is some food for thought about these sticky starches:  10 Dangers of Carbohydrates by Dr. Dana Myatt.
10. State of Mind — You simply cannot thrive on stress, anxiety, anger, fear, regret or other negative emotions.  You can experience them but know that it too shall pass.  If you find yourself harbouring ill-feelings, especially the inability to let go or forgive, you need to explore those emotions and release them in any way you can.  You may have the healthiest diet and the fittest body, but if you are holding onto resentment or anger, you could be a breeding ground for dis-ease.  You’ve got to shovel through your muck and turn it into compost for future growth.  Remember to water that compost with copious doses of healthy self-love!
11. State of Heart — Listen to your heart and trust your gut instincts.  We all have the natural ability to gauge situations and using our heart-sense will help steer us in the direction of healthy choices for joyful living.  The best thing we can do for ourselves is engage in complete awareness and to take responsibility for our actions.  The ability to drop into our heart centers for guidance will make for a more switched on humanity.
12. Get Dirty — Right, bear with me here…has she lost her mind, you might ask?  Perhaps, but there is something truly magical to be gained in working with your hands and/or feet in the dirt.  Get into the garden and connect with your planet.  Feel the earth beneath your feet.  Play in the mud.  It’s actually got a name and it’s called ‘earthing’.  For more about this glorious practice and the many ways you will benefit from it — CLICK HERE and HERE.
13. Smoke and Drug-Free Zone — The less chemicals we pump into our body the better.  Enough said! Still not convinced?  Okay, READ MORE HERE and HERE.
14. Medicinal Laughter — l mean, seriously — who doesn’t like a good belly wobble?  But did you know that giggles and guffaws come with some seriously wicked benefits?  Like reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks!  READ MORE HERE.
15. Get Plenty of Sex!  Just when you thought I’d suck all the joy out of life with this list, I go and totally redeem myself! So, if you are of consensual age and understand what a true and loving relationship built on a deep sense of trust, integrity and openness is then this is the kind of intimacy I’m talking about. Sex has a number of proven benefits for your health but I’d like to reiterate that sex is a sacred union and should not be engaged in flippantly.  READ MORE about the benefits of the side-ways tango HERE.
16. Candid Coffee and Caffeine — Interesting that I stuck this one at the end…not really.  I LOVE coffee but I know that it affects me badly.  I still sneak in a cup or two every week (*slap on the hand* ) but I am totally aware of what it does to my body (severe lower back pain due to the toxins affecting the adrenal glands on top of the kidneys).  You can READ MORE about it HERE.  I know, it’s a real bummer and believe you me, I’ve tried so hard to debunk that coffee is bad for you but, alas, to no avail — got to tell it like it is.  When I went through my coffee detox I climbed the walls with my eyelashes for 8 days — the pain was that bad!  Coffee is toxic and make no mistake, it’s a drug.