Healthy Eating, Healthy Living

The purpose of this article is not to recommend any specific diet, or what combination of foods to eat. On the contrary, what follows is a list of certain basic things we recommend you should do, regardless of any specific diet you may be following.

Switch from using salt to using sea salt. Some people say that sodium is sodium regardless of where it comes from. True but not relevant. Salt by its nature is highly acidic. Salt that comes from the sea has certain elements associated with it, that make it alkaline.

An acidic balance in your body leads to inflammation. Inflammation in turn causes many health issues, such as arthritis, and causing your spinal column to come out of alignment (see article on chiropractic), and a tendency to get cancer in your later years. On the other hand an alkaline balance in your body results in less inflammation and less health issues.

It is very healthy to start your day with a tall glass of warm (but not boiled) filtered water with 1/2 of a lemon squeezed into it. The benefits are many. Here are a few:

• It helps maintain good alkaline levels in your body.
• It contains anti-inflammatory properties.
• It strengthens your immune system.
• It helps your digestive system.
• It improves your liver health.

If you like a glass of orange juice in the morning, switch to the lemon juice. That shouldn’t stop you from enjoying it later in the day. Just don’t drink the juice you buy at the supermarket. It is loaded with sugar.

Large amounts of sugar can cause many health issues. That doesn’t mean you should never have sugar. It means you should never have large amounts of it when there is a simple alternative. In this case the alternative is to have a device or machine that can easily juice one or more chilled oranges or grapefruits.

In general you should avoid processed foods. However, that is not always possible. Here are a few shopping hints.

• Most cheeses can be found with sea salt if you search long enough. Cottage cheese may be more difficult. Don’t give up. There are at least 1 or 2 brands that come with sea salt.
• You may never find mayonnaise that comes with sea salt. However, there are vegan varieties that taste just as good as real mayonnaise, and that come with sea salt.

It is not our intention to tell you what fruits and vegetables to eat and in what proportions. However, we do recommend that you buy a super blender so that you can make your own smoothies. In this way you can determine what works best for you.

When making a smoothie, you can determine not only what combinations of fruits and vegetables work best for you, but how many ice cubes to add to every combination, how much protein powder it is good to add, whether it is good to add organic almond butter, and what liquid to add as a starter.

There are several Blue zones throughout the world where people typically live well beyond their 100th birthday. The one thing that all the Blue zones have in common is that their members have frequent social interaction.

Therefore, an integral part of a healthy life style is to have friends that we like, that we enjoy being with, that we can learn from, that can challenge us, and can make us laugh. We must try to see them as often as possible.

If you still work, identify the people at work you like the most. Try to stay friendly with them after you retire. Many retired people find the hardest thing about retirement is that they lost contact with friends they liked the most.

One final thing. When the sun comes up, go outside and greet the sun. If there are trees that block your view, go to where the sun will shine directly on your head. Obviously, do not stare at the sun. If it is a cloudy or a rainy morning do it at the same spot each morning.

This is important because it tells your brain when the day begins. If your brain knows when the day begins, it can determine when the day should end. Failure to do the exercise in the morning, may confuse your brain about when your day should end, which may cause sleep problems.