SEVEN STEPS TO MAXIMUM HEALTH By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.
When I was a kid, I used to snicker at my Grandfather's seemingly overprotective statement, "if you've got your health, you've got everything." Back then, I could think of a lot more things I wanted besides my health. So I snickered.
Today, I know my Grandfather was correct. For those of you who are "stressed-out," climbing up your career ladder, addicted to work, chronic caregivers, or are perfectionists, pause now for a moment and ask yourself this question: "If I get sick, what happens to my career, to others who depend on me, or to my perfect performance?" Without your health, everything else in your life seems to deteriorate.
Learning and practicing good health habits often prevents illness, helps you feel more energetic, allows you to live longer and more enjoyably. And it is never too late to begin practicing new habits of health. Here are seven suggestions to help you create wellness in your life. If these steps are new to you, begin with only one and practice that for 21 days. If you start more than one, you will probably become discouraged and revert back to your old "automatic" habits. Remember: you can eat an elephant only one bite at a time.
STEP 1: Sleep about eight hours out of every 24. Go to bed and get up at the same time each night and morning. Allow your body to adjust it's sleep-wakefulness cycle to the same times each 24-hour period.
STEP 2: Eat a good breakfast. Make it the largest meal of the day. If you are not used to eating in the morning, begin this step gradually. Eating whole-grain cereals, fruit and nuts are the best way to break your night-time fast.
STEP 3: Stop eating between meals. If you find yourself coming down with a severe case of the "munchies" at 10:00 a.m. or 4:00 p.m. or about 9:00 at night, eat five rather than three meals per day. Unless you want to blow up like a balloon, make those five meals very small with as many or fewer total calories than the regular three.
STEP 4: Cut way back on eating fat, sugar, meat, processed and already-prepared foods. Increase your intake of fresh fruit and especially vegetables. Increase your whole grains and high-fiber foods. We know that a diet containing at least 30-40 grams of dietary fiber (e.g. guar gum, locust bean gum, acacia etc., not laxative fiber) per day prevents all kinds of illnesses and maintains health. Drink lots of water, at least 8 eight-ounce glasses per day.
STEP 5: Actively participate in reasonably intense physical activity at least 3-5 times per week. Our bodies were meant to move. If we don't move them, they become prone to fatigue and illness. Begin any exercise slowly and gradually increase the duration and intensity.
STEP 6: Stop using drugs. Alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, heroin, tranquilizers, stimulants, hallucinogens, sleeping pills and pain-killers are all drugs. All drugs have side-effects. Unless you are sure you are not trading in one health problem for another caused by drugs, avoid taking them. Always ask your prescribing physician about all the possible side-effects of prescription drugs. If he doesn't know or won't tell you, find another doctor.
STEP 7: Practice placing the most positive construction on all events in your life. Negative and pessimistic thinking generates biochemicals in your body which contribute to stress and lowering your immunity. Altruism and positive, optimistic thinking generates biochemicals which help balance your bodily systems. Stress lies not in the events outside your body, rather it is in response to your perception of (or the meaning you give to) those events.
A final note: way back in 1980, a highly controlled study showed that the mortality rate for men who followed all seven of these steps was decreased by 28 percent. For women, it decreased by 43 percent! Take these seven steps toward health and you will live a longer and happier life. After all, my Grandfather lived to be 90, and I've stopped snickering.
Copyright 1999. All rights reserved.