Posted by Roger Murray, M.D. on 3/10/2015 to
13 Tips for a Healthier Life
This subject could be approached from either a spiritual or strictly health oriented basis. I believe it must contain both because we are spiritual beings encased in a human physical form.
1. Get Rid of the Bad Stuff
If we are going to talk about attaining a higher level of existence, we must first get rid of the bad stuff. In the physical sense that means that we must do the obvious – stop smoking, stop excessive drinking, stop excessive eating, stop compulsive snacking, stop harmful drug use and abuse and stop any bad habit you know is harmful to you.On the spiritual side, you must also stop all of those behaviors that while they may not appear to be harmful in the short run, will ultimately shorten your life. The first of these would be hate and resentment. And the antidote is forgiveness – no matter how hard that may appear to be – you must.
2.
Put in the Good Stuff
If the first rule is to get rid of the
bad stuff, then the second rule should be to put in the good stuff. The fuel we use will depend on how well our
engines run both in the short term and the long term. Obviously, if we put fast food, greasy food
or diets high in saturated fatty acids into our arteries, then the plumbing
that carries the nutrition to the various parts of our bodies is going to get
clogged. You can call that a stroke or
a heart attack, but it really is a lifelong abuse of the wrong kind of
“gasoline”. The Mediterranean diet,
which is rich in fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fresh fish, poultry
and game meats, and yes wine, is probably the best diet.
Putting the right spiritual fuel into
your body is a very personal issue, but what is not personal is that it must be
universal. By that I mean whatever your
belief systems are, you should not ignore them but spend the time to develop
them, nourish them, grow in them and reap peace and happiness while in them.
3.
Exercise
So, if you have stopped the bad stuff
and put in the good stuff, now your emphasis should be on development. By that I mean the “e” word – exercise. But not necessarily the way you are currently
thinking. Physical exercise has a
definition: 200 minus your age, minus a safety fudge factor of another 20
pulses, and then sustain that pulse rate for 20 to 30 minutes three times a
week. Boring!! My definition is to do something, anything that you like to do
about three times a week. If it’s on a machine indoors, make sure there is a TV
in front of you because all of the studies say you won’t stick with it
otherwise. Personally, I think it is
better to exercise outside doing something that you enjoy. Walking, running, baseball, surfing, rowing
or whatever.
4.
Supplement Your Diet
The soil in the United States is for
the most part depleted from enough top soil to give us the right amount of
nutrition. The average thickness is now
at three inches and the agronomists say that we need six inches to give us the
proper amount of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants
naturally. Therefore, I believe that we
need to supplement our diets with these nutrients. Vitamins are enzyme “co-factors” – they
merely accelerate the metabolic processes that should be normally going on in
our bodies. These should come from
organic farms whenever possible, and if they are from animal source, organic is
even more important. The best sources of amino acids are from organically
raised farm animals. The antioxidants come from all three sources: fruits,
vegetables and organically-raised farm animals.
5.
Build Balance
Balance in life could be defined as
allocating the right amount of time to the right things to achieve the desired
results. Most of this will be dependent
on your station in life, your age, your health, your commitments, your beliefs,
the amount of children you either have or don’t have, whether you’re married or
not and, yes, even your given genetic material. People are always telling me
that they just cannot find the time to do this or that.
Personally, I’ve never seen time, the
only thing I know is that you have to build it into your schedule and balance
is the same. You have to build balance into your schedule.
6.
Do Things That Make You Feel Good
Do the things that make you feel good!
That could be reading a book, doing a random act of kindness (I always like
paying for the guy behind me at a toll booth), going to or watching a comedic
movie, volunteering, picking up a hobby that you haven’t done in years, calling
an old school mate, planting a garden, cleaning out your closet just so you can
call your favorite charity to pick them up, the list is endless.
7.
Drink Lots of Water
Drink a lot of water. Eight glasses a
day for women and ten for men. Your skin will look better, and you’ll feel
lighter in just three days. Your vision
will probably bet a little better and you’ll even begin to think better. The brain requires the most water.
8.
Stretch Often
Stretching every morning will allow you
to have less of those aches and pains we get as we age. You’ll stand taller and
have a lot less back aches. I usually do
mine right in bed every morning, it takes about three minutes, and I seem to
have less aches at the end of the day.
9.
Set Goals
Set a new goal in various aspects of
your life. The triangle of life is
usually love, money and work. Therein
lies most of the stress (and happiness) we have, so by setting a small but
realistic goal in each of these arenas, you will have less stress and operate
at a higher level. I believe it was Mark Twain who said he’d never seen a
depressed man with a goal, and he had never seen a man with a goal who was
depressed.
10.
Cut Down of Caffeine and Sodium
Read your labels and cut down on
caffeine and sodium. If it comes in a
can, then it has on average 900 times as much sodium as the fresh component. If
it is frozen, then it usually has 300 times as much sodium as the fresh component.
Innumerable studies have shown that one or two cups of coffee is not
detrimental to your health. What is detrimental is the 6-10 cups-a-day
habit. So, if you drink a lot of coffee,
then consume several caffeine sodas and then an occasional “energy drink”,
you’re in caffeine overload.
11.
Have More Sex
If you are in a relationship, have more
sex. Studies have shown that the more sex you have, the longer you live. In
addition to that, it releases endorphins in the brain that make you feel
better. Regular sex with orgasms has been shown to decrease the cramps during
menstrual cycles. Episodic sex has also been shown to be a contributor to
prostate problems.
12.
Positive Affirmations
Recite a positive affirmation to
yourself every morning. Make sure they are what you really want because you will
in some way, at some time, really get what you ask for. I once asked an old man who is now extremely
rich and had been broke several times in his life how he kept bouncing back,
and he told me that every morning and throughout the day he would recite the
following words to himself, “I want massive wealth, perfect health, abundant
happiness and a long and free life to enjoy it all.” It worked for him, and I
can attest that it has worked for me in life.
13.
Live for Today
James Dean said, “Dream as though you’ll
live forever, and live as though you’ll die today.” My mother said, “Work as
though it depended only on you, but pray as though it depended only on God.”
Live in the now. Yesterday is old news, tomorrow may not come and life can turn
on a dime today. My father used to say that living for tomorrow was like
throwing money in the ocean thinking one day it would be there for you –
probably tomorrow. The most successful
people are the ones that are the busiest, and more of those are the ones who
make their daily lists and get them done – today.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.