How to Improve Your Total Health In Twelve Easy Steps

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 need to totally embrace all 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 well, but moderation is the key. Our daily lives should be devoted to taking care of ourselves and making sure that we are here to enjoy those special times.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Drink pure water and eat whole fresh fruit, instead of fruit juices. Juices are packed with the fruits natural sugars and only some of the nutrients while the fruit has all the nutrients plus the fiber. It is wisest to drink water when your are thirsty and eat food when your are hungry.

2. 

   Eat only whole grain products. Do your own baking and substitute all or part of the white flour in the recipe with whole wheat. Angel Cake is the only item I have found that really insists on being made with white flour. It is my decadent treat. Buy whole wheat pastas and use brown rice. It may take some time to get used to the change in flavor but once you have, the white stuff tastes pretty bland.

3. 

   Eat less red meat and more fish, beans, and nuts. Cut down on your portions sizes. If you must have meat, cut every bit of visible fat off before cooking. Skin chicken before cooking, as most of the fat lies just under the skin.

4. 

   Every day eat a wide variety of brightly colored vegetables and fruits. The brighter the color the more nutrition is contained. Every day you should eat at least 5 to 7 different fruits and vegetables. Make sure that as many as possible are fresh and not processed.

5. 

   Cut down on processed sugar. Add less when baking. All muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, custards, etc. can be just as delicious if you reduce the sugar. If you make your own jams and jellies, find the newer reduced-sugar recipes. Avoid cereals with added sugar. Remove the sugar bowl from the table. Add slightly less sugar every day to your coffee and tea. There are several acceptable sugar substitutes. Research these before making any decision.

6. Bake, broil, poach, and grill more and fry less.

7. If you must use oils, use the polyunsaturated ones. These actually lower your LDL or bad cholesterol and raise your HDL or good cholesterol. I really don't want to mention specific names here, but just key in 'healthiest and worst cooking oils' in your search engine, and you'll get the picture.

8. 

   Reduce the 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 the wiser. Remove the shaker from the table if you haven't already. Use herbs for flavor.

9. Drink alcohol in moderation.

10. 

    Cut down and then eliminate smoking from your life.

11. 

    Drink at least eight, 8 ounces glasses of water every day, and more if your are exercising or if the weather is unusually warm.

12. 

    Eat a healthy breakfast every day.

13. 

    The food you eat can protect you from miseries such as cancers, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many others. Change your eating habits and you will change your life.

[jgallaherdesign]

on 11/17/2009 As you can see by looking through my few articles, health is a big deal to me. Great article with some golden guidelines! thanks for the eHow!

[3bigdogs]

on 11/1/2009 Great article, well written and good advice.5*

[mymind]

on 10/27/2009 Excellent article on improving your health! I do a lot of these things. Love brown rice and whole grain foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, high fiber foods and lots of water.

[e-Rambler]

on 10/26/2009 Good health is important for quality life. Thanks for writing this article with easy to follow steps.

[jswana]

on 10/15/2009 You're so right and smart for sharing this very relevent article. Thanks you. jswana *