In the rapid pace of life in this millennium, it has become more and more difficult to live healthy. With a fast food restaurant on almost every other corner, televisions and computers to entice us to sit for hours without moving, indoor air pollution even worse than outdoor air pollution, the obesity rate rising annually, and new reports of toxins in various foods and/or water, you begin to wonder if there is anything left that is safe in this world. Maybe Monk isn’t so far off, eh?

Suicide and homicide occur at unconscionable rates—increasing alarmingly among teens and young adults. What leads to such extreme measures? Poor coping with stress includes many detrimental activities; some harmful to self—such as tobacco and alcohol use/abuse, risky behaviors, spending sprees; some harmful to others—taking risks on the job, road rage, temper tantrums, domestic violence, etc.

The list seems quite daunting. Fortunately, the solution is not nearly as complicated as the problem seems. Six simple steps for living healthy are (in no particular order):

· Achieve Excellent Nutrition; Stay Adequately Hydrated

· Maintain Flexibility and an Active Lifestyle

· Use Positive Stress Management and Time Management Tools

· Avoid Toxins in your Air and Water; Eliminate Toxins from your Body

· Maintain an Optimistic Outlook

· Get Adequate Rest and Relaxation

Six Steps to Excellent Health

There are six steps to excellent health. Each of these steps encompasses a very broad subject. However, I will introduce each one here and expound on them in future columns.

You are What you Eat

Excellent nutrition is the basis of good health. Interestingly enough, the foundation for excellent health begins in our mother’s womb. Excellent nutrition during pregnancy lays the foundation needed to continue building excellent health into childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and eventually, into old age.

Over the years, recommendations for how much and what to eat have changed somewhat. The most recent changes to the Food Guide Pyramid can be found at www.mypyramid.gov. The My Pyramid website provides personalized guidance for each reader. Simply answer the questions and the website will generate a guide for how many cups of each food group you should have per day. With just a little imagination (or help from a dietitian or diabetes educator), you can develop menus that fit your tastes and will help you achieve the health you desire.

Many of my students claim they “never drink water.” They claim to drink soft drinks, diet drinks, and even milk…but not water. How much is enough water per day? Is it really possible to drink too much water? The controversy lives on.

Flexible People Stay Young

If we want to stay young, we would be wise to observe the habits of the very young. For example, have you ever watched an infant awaken from sleep? I used to watch the baby wake up. Even before those little eyes opened, those chubby little arms would stretch high above and behind her head while her legs pushed away as she arched her back–practically forming a circle with the tips of her fingers and her heels nearly toughing, the back so curved. That soft, warm little body was so flexible—I was amazed every time!

As we grow older, we tend to be less active and lose flexibility, muscle mass and strength. As a result, Americans have become overweight and obese in alarming numbers. The increase in obesity and overweight brings with it an increase in the risk for and incidence of such diseases as diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and stroke…the number one killers of Americans.

The simple answer is to increase activity and flexibility to reduce the incidence of overweight and obesity. Simple, not easy, right?

Is Your Home a Toxic Waste Dump?

One of the most alarming bits of information to me is that indoor air pollution is eight to ten times worse than outdoor air pollution. The blame generally is laid at the wall filled to the brim with air-tight insulation keeping air exchange with the outside to a minimum—to be energy efficient. An equally guilty culprit in some homes would include the fumes from name brand household cleaning products. Other sources include items such as paint, new furniture, new carpet, new wood, new cabinets, and more.

Another source of exposure to toxic substances may be the water that is piped into the house through the faucets, showers, and automatic ice makers. Is there really a need to supplement the amount of fluoride and chlorine to water? If so, how much? How much is in the water at your house?

A lot to think about, eh?

Manage Stress or Stress Will Manage You!

As children we were taught to walk, talk, and go potty.

We learned our colors, our numbers, and our alphabet.

We learned to say, “please,” and “thank you.”

We learned to read and write and to add and subtract.

As time passed, we moved on to learning how to tie our own shoes, dress ourselves, make phone calls, sign online, and write an email to Grandma.

Later, we learned to drive a car and to do algebra, biology, and about the birds and the bees.

Have you ever noticed, though, that nowhere along the way did anyone—not your parents, not your older siblings, not your teachers, not your favorite aunt or uncle, not even the required reading list—ever teach you how to deal constructively with stress? You were expected to “just know” what to do in any given situation. If you responded really badly, you were likely told about it by someone—like the officer in the patrol car or the principal at school or the youth minister at church. However, very seldom—if ever—in your growing up years did you encounter a class called “how to cope with stress.”

Therefore, a significant number of young people begin using chemical substances of one type or another to deal with stress. Tobacco use continues at about 25% among Americans…most start smoking in their teens—long before they are old enough to buy their own cigarettes. Alcohol use often begins about the same time as cigarettes…often provided by the same sources. While all people who drink alcohol do not abuse it, it is prudent to remember that nearly all abusers of highly addictive agents started with cigarettes and alcohol.

Avoiding Toxins—Tougher than it Sounds

Chlorine. Fluoride. Antibiotics. Antihypertensives. Anticonvulsants. Pain killers. Sodium. Chloride. Is this what you want in your drinking water? More importantly, do you want them in the water that your infant and toddler and unborn children take in? What is the effect of each of these on the developing brain of the unborn baby and the rapidly growing brain of the child under the age of two years?

What about the additives, artificial color, artificial flavor, and artificial sweeteners in your food? How does your body use those substances or does your body have to de-toxify the food additives to keep them from doing harm?

Are you aware that approximately 60% of what touches your skin is absorbed into your bloodstream? Think of all the skin lotions, moisturizers, creams, shampoos, soap, deodorant, powder, perfume, cologne, make-up, ointments, etc. that you deliberately place on your skin. What and how much of these substances reach your blood stream? What effect do these substances have on your body?

Maintain an Optimistic Outlook

Research shows that optimistic people are healthier and live happier and longer lives. Married men live longer than unmarried men. People who practice their religious faith on a weekly basis live longer and tend to be healthier than those who are not as faithful. People with a large group of supportive family members and friends are healthier and live longer than people who live in isolation. Feuding among family members can actually lead to illness and shorter lives.

There is no “one size fits all” answer. Think about how you can apply these tidbits of information to improve your health.

Get Adequate Rest and Relaxation (R&R)

Most people need at least seven and a half hours of sleep per night for optimum health.

The average American sleeps five to six hours per night.

Long-term sleep deprivation interferes with many higher level functions such as problem solving, concentration, ability to learn, emotional control, growth and development, regeneration of body organs and muscle cells, control of blood pressure, blood glucose, and many, many others. The consequences of sleep deprivation may include such diagnoses as weight gain, chronic pain, short stature, emotional labiality, grumpiness, depression, daytime drowsiness, loss of concentration, difficulty with reading comprehension and mathematical computations, falling asleep at the wheel, easily losing control of emotions, and road rage.

From the above paragraph, it become obvious that adequate sleep can make a huge difference in one’s health status.

Relaxation is another aspect of R&R. Relaxation is different from rest. Rest is sleep. Relaxation includes such things as days off, vacation time, taking a break, letting down your guard—even if just briefly.

What works for you?

Bottom Line

This article has introduced the six steps to living healthy in today’s world. Some solutions seem obvious; some do not. In future articles, I will address various aspects of each of these topics.

If you have a specific question or comment, please feel free to reply to the article below.

Next Time: Stating the Obvious! You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know. Neither Does Anyone Else.