Three simple steps to better health

Woman working out. (Photo:Courtesy)

By JAMES GITAU

I hope you had a healthier week, and that you have eliminated some dangerous eating habits.

Last week, I explained some practices that will almost guarantee poor health, for instance over-eating, and consumption of sugar, highly refined foods and cooking oils.

As our income increases, we tend to create dangerous eating habits, even when our bodies do not need the food. We look for any excuse to eat, excessively. This habit alone is causing more problems and deaths than drunken driving is causing on our roads.

The reasons for the increase in cases of diabetes, cancer and high blood pressure can be attributed directly to what and how much we eat. As a nation, we need to pay serious attention to this devastating challenge, otherwise we will continue to spend our meagre resources on importing drugs and creating jobs for the countries that manufacture those medicines.

So how do we take back control?

STEP 1: MAKE THE DECISION NOW

To create change, you must first make a conscious decision to be a better custodian of this beautiful and amazing body your Creator gave you. By making the decision to change, you are accepting that your current situation is not your best, and you can do something to improve it. Many people get stuck here: They don’t make that call, or if they do, there is not enough conviction to sustain the drive.

STEP 2: DETOXIFY

There are two levels of detoxification.

a) The kitchen

Get rid of all the unhealthy foods in your house. These include sugar, highly processed foods such as white rice and white wheat flour, and hydrogenated fats. If you find it too hard to throw away these poisonous products, give them away.

b) Your body

Your body is probably loaded with toxins that have accumulated over time, due to your past unhealthy lifestyle and environmental pollution. Before putting a healthy lifestyle in place, it is important to offload the toxins. You don’t want to put clean food into a messed up system.

There are three main organs involved in the processing, assimilation and elimination of the foods we put in our bodies; the stomach, liver and colon. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how our taste buds and brains have been hijacked by big food companies. This is done through manipulation of the Nucleus accumbens; the brain’s reward centre. This is the part of the brain that controls our basics needs such as food and sex. It keeps demanding more of the things you know you should not be doing — such as that extra teaspoon of sugar — but you simply cannot help yourself.

Detoxifying will reduce these cravings. In addition, it will help your body release the toxins, and set it on a path to self-healing.

If search the Internet on how to detox, you will be overwhelmed by the number of approaches. In my last 16 years of almost perfect health — no doctors and no drugs, for which I’m truly thankful — I have tried several detox methods. The most simple and effective for me has been a vegetable juice detox for five to ten days. To get something that works for you, I suggest you speak to someone who specialises in detox.

Step 3: REVITALIZE AND REJUVENATE

The best way to rebuild your body involves the following

a) Super hydrate

Acidic build up in our bodies as a result of unhealthy lifestyles and environmental toxins causes a breakdown that is basically the process of aging. By super hydrating with three litres of distilled water a day, you will help reduce the acidic build up in your body.

b) Go green

Increase the amount of greens in your diet. Green is magical. First, green foods are low in calories, low in sugar, and among the most nutrient-filled foods on the planet.

Secondly, the green pigment in plants is chlorophyll, whose molecular structure is similar to the haemoglobin of human blood, in which oxygen is transported.

Thirdly, greens provide your body with crucial vitamins and minerals for operating at optimal level. Fourthly, they are loaded with fibre and enzymes.

c) Exercise

Develop an exercise regime that includes some form of aerobic workout and strength training. Aerobic training in form of swimming, jogging or brisk walking will strengthen your cardiovascular system. Weight training using your body weight or gym equipment will help increase your metabolic rate as well as prevent muscle loss.