Health News (Week 1 – 2014)
By Robert Redfern

Fine words, and we all say and hear it at this time of the year. We may even read the magazines/newspapers with the detox programs. I read them all of course with a professional interest and they vary from a 24 hour detox to a 30 day plan.

If this time of year is more likely to inspire you to change and improve your life, then bring it on. But rather than detox, I would think of it as restarting your life.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWLQaz8nhQw?rel=0]First stop is to dramatically lower sugar in your life; Cola, Sprite and all factory produced drinks. This includes fruit juices (other than water) that contain toxic levels of sugar:

Below is my ReStart Your Life plan, whether it’s to get healthier, or to solve a health issue (This plan is also pro anti-ageing).

Following my Really Healthy Foods Plan is the critical thing to do as it:

  • Ensures great health when you stop consuming all sugar drinks, fruit juices, starchy carbohydrates (breads, pastry, cookies, breakfast cereals, rice, potatoes, and pasta), processed foods and milk products.
  • Once you have achieved great health, then you need to decide how to plan your future diet and lifestyle.
  • As healthy alternatives to carbs, consider: Quinoa, Chia Seeds, Amaranth, Buckwheat, and Millet Seeds.
  • Cous Cous can be used, except for those who are allergic to gluten proteins (celiacs, etc.).

The ReStart Plan

Eat some of the following foods every 2-4 hours: Eat 9-14 portions of fresh or frozen veggies daily (in soups, juiced, stir-fried, steamed, etc.); 50% raw juiced (use the pulp in soups) and organic if possible. Blended makes for better digestion.

Eat 5 portions of antioxidant-rich, dark-skinned fruits (blueberries, cherries, red grapes, etc.) daily.

Avocados are the all-time superfood with nearly a full spectrum of nutrients. If they are available where you live, make sure you have at least 2 per day for good health recovery. All health issues are helped by these.

Eat 3 portions of nuts and seeds (soaked in coconut milk for 24hrs to improve absorbability).

If you eat fish, then eat at least 3-4 portions per week of oily fish and vary it by choosing fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, etc. Even canned fish is very nutritious, and wild caught fish is best.

If you want to eat meat, then choose pasture-raised meats or chicken and eat only a small amount weekly. Grass-fed is healthier than grain or corn-fed animals.

Include Hemp, Omega 3, or Krill oil and other healthy oils like Olive oil and Coconut oil. Cut out vegetable oils such as canola/sunflower seed oil.

Drink 6-8 500ml (16fl.oz.) glasses of distilled or filtered water per day with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda in each glass.

Take 3-5 (depending upon your body mass and the heat) teaspoons of Sea or Rock Salt daily in food or a little water. Sea or Rock Salt does not contain the critical mineral iodine, so add Nascent Iodine to your daily dose.

Note: Do not include: Potatoes, Parsnips, Turnips, Rice (a small amount of wild or brown rice is okay).

Exercise every day:

Gentle rebounding for 30 minutes or fast walking for 3-5 miles and low weight training (all to the music of your youth).

  • Do not sit down for more than a total of 3 hours in any one day. Walking, standing or lying down is healthier than sitting.
  • If you have circulation problems or simply cannot exercise, then you can start with lying on your back on your couch and cycling your legs in the air. This will improve circulation to your organs and legs, while taking the pressure off your heart and lungs when exercising.
  • Get someone to hold your feet to help you until you are strong enough to go solo.
  • Do not skip this as your health depends upon oxygen and blood circulation.

Additionally you may want to try other forms of exercise such as:

  • Yoga – A series of gentle postures designed to improve flexibility, mindfulness and sleep
  • Pilates – A series of exercises that can build strength and remedy lower back pain
  • Tai Chi – A form of moving meditation that enhances mental concentration, while reducing blood pressure and stress.

Breathe Properly:

Relearn relaxed healthy breathing, where you clear cortisol and carbon dioxide from the body. Too much carbon dioxide in your bloodstream destroys something called hemoglobin, which is the blood’s method of carrying oxygen around the body.

  • To breathe properly, lie on your back in a firm bed or on the floor on a blanket or mat. Put a bit of weight over your belly button, such as a heavy book.
  • Take a breath into your nose so that the book rises as you fill your diaphragm (tummy) with air.
  • Hold the breath in your tummy for the count of 4 and then breathe out through your nose and feel your tummy deflating.
  • Let go of any tension you may have with the out-breath. Then repeat. Your upper chest should not move at all, which shows you are relaxed and not stress breathing.
  • Practice again while lying down, and once you have really got the long, slow rhythm of relaxed breathing, then try it standing up. You may feel dizzy to begin with getting all this fresh oxygen, but you must practice this every spare minute you have.

Meditate to Reduce Stress

Meditation calms the mind, reduces stress and boosts the health of the whole body. Research also supports meditation as a stress-reduction technique, especially beneficial to the heart.

One study tracked 200 patients over five years and the results showed that those who meditated greatly reduced their risk of heart attack, stroke and death by close to 50% compared to patients who didn’t meditate (Medical College of Wisconsin in collaboration with the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention).

Regular meditation has been shown to offer benefits including:

  • Lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol
  • Calming of inflammatory processes in the body
  • Remaining disease-free for a longer period of time

You can get started by using a guided meditation CD or sitting in silence for just 5 minutes a day. Gradually, you can begin to increase your meditation sessions over time.

Stimulate the Acupressure Points

By stimulating the appropriate acupressure points, the body’s natural healing system can speed recovery for a wide range of health problems.

HealthPoint™ is an easy to use electro-acupressure kit that enables you to precisely locate the acupuncture point and indeed other points, so you can enjoy the benefits of acupuncture at home and without any needles.

HealthPoint™ is painless, effective and comes with an instructional DVD and book covering over 150 pain and non-pain conditions that can be helped, such as headaches, back, neck and joint problems.

Get Out Into The Sun As Much As Possible

We may not get as much of it in the Northern hemisphere at this time of year, but sunlight does play an essential part in health. This is because the sun provides our bodies with Vitamin D3, integral for numerous bodily functions. If it’s a sunny day:

  • Get as much skin exposed to the sun as you can every day, e.g. on your daily walk
  • Build up slowly from the spring to summer time
  • Don’t stay out in the middle of the day without covering up, and cover up rather than use a barrier cream
  • If you do use a sun cream, get an organic one rather than chemical ones with well-known names
  • Remember, the sun is your friend, and as with friends, try not to get too much in one go!

PS. Refine it it even more http://www.goodhealthhelpdesk.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/22/9/how-many-spoonfulls-of-sugar-do-you-eat