Your health affects all areas of your life, your ability to do your job, your effectiveness as a parent or partner, your relationships with family and friends, and your ability to enjoy life and make the most of it. You do not have to fully embrace all of these twelve steps to improve your health, but the more you do, the more you will begin to feel the effect perfect health can have on your life.
We all need to have treats occasionally and celebrate special events with all the delicious, sweet, and fatty foods we love so much, but moderation is key. Our daily lives should be used to take care of ourselves and make sure we are here to enjoy these special times
1. Drink clean water and eat whole fresh fruit, instead of fruit juice. The juice is packed with fruit natural sugar and just some of the nutrients while fruit has all the nutrients plus fiber.
2. Eat whole-grain products only. Make your own baking and replace all or part of the white flour in the recipe with whole wheat. Buy whole-wheat pasta and use brown rice. It may take some time to get used to the change in taste, but once you have, the white stuff tastes pretty bland.
3. Eat less red meat and more fish, beans, and nuts. Cut down on portion sizes. If you must have meat, cut each piece of visible fat before frying. Skin chicken before cooking, as most of the fat lies just under the skin.
4. Every day eat a wide variety of colorful vegetables and fruits. The lighter color for more nutrition is available. Every day you should eat at least 5 to 7 different fruits and vegetables. Make sure as many as possible are fresh and untreated.
5. Cut down on processed sugar. Add less when baking. All muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, sauces, etc. will be just as delicious if you reduce sugar. If you make your own jams and jellies, find the newer reduced sugar recipes. Add a little less sugar every day to coffee and tea. There are several acceptable sugar substitutes. Research these before making any decisions.
6. Bake, broil, poach, and grill more and fry less.
7. If you must use oils, use polyunsaturated ones. These actually lower LDL or bad cholesterol and increase HDL or good cholesterol.
8. Reduce salt in all your cooking and baking. You can probably never add it to cookies and muffins and reduce it in everything else, and no one will be wiser.
9. Cut back and then remove smoking from your life.
10. Eat a healthy breakfast every day.