5 Easy Tips to Get Healthy - Today!

January is coming to a close - how are your New Year's Solutions doing? Has your momentum dropped off? We have good news: you can still start fresh today. Just because the motivation of the new year may have worn off, that doesn't mean it's too late. Often, starting fresh is not about making big resolutions, but it's more about looking at smaller solutions: what can you do, each day, to improve your health, your happiness, your energy, your life? Try incorporating small things every day--they will add up to BIG changes without you realizing it.  

And you don't need a new year to start--you just need a new day, or a new meal. Even if you had a less-than-healthy breakfast this morning (or maybe you skipped breakfast all together), you can still make a fresh start with lunch, or with supper. Every day, every hour, is a time to start--and it's never too early, or too late.   Check out some of Janet Jacks' tried and true tips to revitalize your life, little by little. Have questions? Come visit the Goodness Me! nearest you, give us a call, or leave us a comment. We're eager to help you!  

REMOVE
What is standing in the way of you achieving your health goals? Remove it!

• Reject the 'whites': refined, processed food that does more harm than good.
• Subclinical malnutrition is real in Canada today: stop the over-consumptive under-nutrition (i.e. too much of too little) that causes it
• Eliminate pesticides, food additives, and unnatural chemicals
• Lower your toxic load. Start the new year with a detoxification protocol
• Get serious about constipation… it is a serious problem. Ask for our free constipation handout… and get moving!

REVERSE
It's not a secret anymore! Scientists know the two main causes of disease: oxidation and inflammation. Stop the damage! Healthy cells = healthy body.

• Free radicals are a normal part of our body's chemistry, but in excess they damage tissues -- just as oxygen rusts metal and causes apples to turn brown. First, limit oxidative stress: avoid overeating, pass on the sugar, steer clear of rancid fats, avoid tobacco smoke, shun pesticides and chemical cleaners…all cause oxidative damage. Secondly, boost your intake of antioxidants, from food especially, and also supplements such as greens, selenium, vitamin c and more.
• Inflammation is a smoldering fire with multiple causes: allergies, insulin resistance, poor digestion, infections such as gum disease and most commonly by the standard North American diet. Cool the heat with lots of omega-3s, spices such as turmeric and rosemary, lots of vegetables, greens, onions, garlic, lemon, lime and an anti-inflammatory diet. (You can learn how to do this at Goodness Me!'s Lifewatcher program.)

REPLENISH
Stop dieting, binging and fooling yourself. Learn the truth, then eat your way healthy!

• Understand what the right foods are and stock them in your cupboard. My personal rule: set high standards, eat nothing refined or artificial, and don't fall for claims.
• Eat breakfast…and make it a balance of protein, fibre, EFA's, and slow release carbs. Pick up our protein smoothie recipe in store.
• Eat foods with a high nutrient to calorie ratio (NCR). These include vegetables, greens, sea vegetables, lean proteins and more. The more of these, the better.
• Bump up your essential fats. Increasing beneficial fats will increase your energy, boost your metabolism, curb your appetite, and help you lose fat.

REPAIR
The damage is done - now undo it! It's time to give your body a little TLC.

• Go on an elimination diet. Avoid for a time dairy, wheat, and corn, the three big allergens.
• Follow the Lifewatcher way: clean protein, veggies, fish oil, plentiful EFA's, and a variety of fibres will nourish, restore and heal.
• Tune up your digestion: GI inflammation is real and common and a source of disease and inflammation throughout the body. Fibre, probiotics, enzymes, bitters and chewing well will repair digestion, eliminate bloating, heartburn, indigestion, and more.
• We are mineral starved! Mineral matrix, sea vegetables, Rejuvenate, spirulina, whole mineral salt, nettle plant juice, =tissue salts all contribute important minerals. And don't forget your magnesium: it performs over 325 enzyme functions in your body.

REGENERATE
Stop dieting, binging and fooling yourself. Learn the truth, then eat your way healthy!

• Enjoy deep refreshing sleep. Sleep in total darkness, go to bed at a regular reasonable hour, and work to solve your sleep problems. Epsom salts, baking soda and aromatherapy in your bath at night can help you sleep. Magnesium can provide a more restful, deep sleep which heals, repairs, balances hormones and promotes healthy aging
• Exercise, yes… but don't over exercise. Combine aerobic, resistance and flexibility exercises for balance and wellbeing.
• Breathe well. Slow, abdominal, diaphragm breathing with emphasis on the exhale relaxes and restores you. It also enhances your digestion, lowers your anxiety, and promotes restful sleep.
• De-stress…really. Make time for yourself. Set your limits. Work to invoke your relaxation response and the dominance of the parasympathetic nervous system with breathing, yoga, meditation and prayer.
• Be empowered! Start fresh by taking the Goodness Me! Lifewatcher program, attending our Cooking Classes, reading Discover the Power of Food, and speaking to our knowledgeable staff.

By: Janet Jacks, Goodness Me! Founder, radio host, & author of Discover the Power of Food