In recent years the term healthy living has been used erroneously to describe isolated parts of a lifestyle that needs improvement. To most, healthy living is simply defined as just eating well and getting some exercise every now and then. In similar fashion, the topic of Natural Health has received the same treatment.
I view the topic differently than most, in that healthy living and natural health are inseparably linked. A lifestyle should encompass your entire daily routine, every day of the year, with a holistic approach, rather than an isolated one.
A natural health lifestyle can only result from making right choices about what you eat and drink, what activities you choose to perform, and what you surround yourself with everyday. It can also include such things as getting appropriate exposure to the sun, getting proper rest, eating natural and organic foods, using natural cures, and balancing the mind-body-spirit connection. In short, it means continually surrounding yourself with the right environment for optimum health and well being.
Let me give you an example. Have you thought about the types of products you use and how they affect your health? Did you know that even the most common household products can sabotage your efforts in achieving a healthy lifestyle?
Take for example your air freshener. Most likely it is full of synthetic chemicals, with a large warning on the side of the can. Even still, millions of people spray those chemicals into the air for the whole family to breathe.
What about the foods you eat? Even if you are focused on eating the right mix of proteins and carbs, while eliminating excessive fats, you may still be eating unhealthy. How? If you are like many people, you are eating processed foods. In other words, foods that have been grown with loads of chemicals and pesticides and produced using fillers, refined sugars, and other flavor enhancers. Not good…
The better alternatives are perhaps clichéd, but choosing organic and whole foods will provide you with better tasting and more nutritious meals for you and your family.
Let’s take the discussion a step further. If natural health is about total wellness, shouldn’t we also focus on other individuals…and the environment we live in? We’re all in this together to a large degree. Our “footprint” and choices impact others, which nearly always comes full circle. To me, this is a rallying cry to be “Green” or environmentally friendly with our lifestyles. In spite of the political wrangling in Washington about global climate change, our individual focus should be on our homes, our communities and what is right in front of our noses. What is controversial about that?
Believe it or not, your body was created to be naturally healthy, and a healthy lifestyle will continually promote the body’s own ability to regulate its functions, prevent illnesses, and even heal itself when necessary.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that every illness or malady must be dealt with by using expensive drugs and surgery. It’s just not true. There are literally thousands of alternative therapies and natural remedies that promote your health and ultimately help you avoid the doctor’s office!