Wellness Life Style Habits, Diet & Detox Suggestions
by Linda Greenfield, BS MS AP
This list of suggestions is meant to be an easy summary for you.
By slowly incorporating them into your life, they will become habits and easier to maintain.
Once these new habits are part of your lifestyle, the old unhealthy habits will begin to just fade away.
Since there are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of scientific articles & books that support each of these suggestions that I have reviewed over nearly 40 years, I am gifting you this list of what I have learned and feel are the most beneficial.
If you doubt any suggestion’s benefits, I will not try to convince you.
You can easily go online and research any topic yourself.
HEALTHY ADDITIONS
Drink Lemon/ Lime Water
Drink 8 oz of room temperature or warm water with lemon juice (1 teaspoon to 1/2 of a lemon, fresh or reconstituted juice without any preservatives) on an empty stomach, wait 5-10 minutes before consuming any food.
(Yes, you may add 1-2 drops of Stevia, but it would be preferable to learn to like it without any sweetener.)
- Drink every morning before consuming other beverages or feed. Thing is one of the easiest and healthiest things you can do for your body.
- Drink again before going to bed at night.
If you have a history of any digestive issues, drink the water with lemon juice or instead with Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar (1-3 teaspoons) about 10 minutes BEFORE you eat your meal.
Most people are pleasantly surprised that it tastes good!
I prefer to add one (1) drop of liquid stevia.
Drink a minimum of eight (8) glasses with 8 oz of filtered water throughout each day.
Move!
The lymph fluids throughout your body only move when you move.
Most of the water in your body is in your lymph system and inside your cells.
This water forms your internal ocean that carries nutrients to every cell as well as flushes waste and toxins away.
You need to purposely walk around or do isotonic leg exercises for 5 minutes for every hour of sitting.
Set a timer and MOVE IT!
Exercise for a minimum 20 to 30 minutes every day.
Dance, walk, stretch, swim, bicycle, tai chi, run, yoga, water exercise, treadmills, calisthenics, row.
Do ANY kind of exercise, either continuously, or, in 10-15 minute segments, in addition to the general movement of your legs needed throughout the day.
Eat Three Meals Daily
It is very important to eat morning, afternoon and evening.
Frequent, small meals keep your blood sugar levels constant.
Obviously if you have any dietary restrictions because of health issues you should continue to follow those restrictions.
Eat only a Whole Food Diet
preferably organic and GMO free.
I strongly suggest everyone eat humanely raised and pasture raised meat (not just for my personal, ethetical reasons) but because happy animals, raised in real pastures, produce meat that is much healthier for you;
high in omega fats,
lower in saturated fats,
with meat lower in stress hormones and
the animals are usually raised with as few antibiotics and other chemicals as possible.
Consume 4 - 7 cups for vegetables and fruits, raw or lightly cooked, every day.
You can eat an unlimited portion of salad vegetables and non-starch vegetables cooked anyway you like.
If you are not on a fat loss diet or have digestive issues, you may eat one 1/2 cup portion of any starch vegetables (such as sweet potato and white potato, this does not include grains, rice, breads).
You can eat 4-8 oz any type of meat, eggs or dairy products (cheese, yogurt).
This is NOT intended to be a vegetarian or vegan diet, but can be modified to be by adding 1/2 to 1 cup of whole grain of your choose.
You can eat 1/4 - 1 cup of any fruit before, during or after a meal.
If you have digestive issues such as bloating or reflux,
only eat fruit at the beginning of your meal or in your salad eaten at the beginning of the meal.
If your digestive problem continues, you need to supplement with digestive enzymes or at the beginning of your meal.
Many individuals with digestive issues benefit greatly by eating meals that are:
- only non-starch vegetables with meat OR
- non-starch vegetables with starch vegetable or with whole grains.
Snacks are Required!
It is important to have snack between meals to maintain even blood sugar levels & to curb appetite.
Healthy snack choices that contain fiber & some protein can easily be found on the internet.
A few quick suggestions:
1/2 cup of any fresh fruit (preferably organic) with 10-20 of any type of nut.
1-3 oz of organic diary products such as cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt of kefir.
Celery sticks with nut butter or cream cheese.
Coconut milk products.
“Kind” Brand Bars with lower sugar.
Eat healthy fats.
This is one of the hardest suggestions for most people to accept because the pharmaceutical and weight loss industry has done such a good media mind washing on this issue for over 30 years.
Many long term research studies contacted by major universities as well as state and federal government agencies, show that no-fat and low-fat diets actually keep you from losing body fat and cause many biochemical & hormonal imbalances in your body that lead to many serious diseases.
Use:
- Cold pressed olive oil for dressings, to add flavor and for low temperature cooking.
- Organic butter to add flavor & low temperature cooking.
- Coconut oil, avocado oil or grape seed oil for higher temperature cooking.
Salad dressings are preferably made by yourself or store bought organic ones.
Do not eat no-fat dressings or any dressing that are high in any sugars or corn syrups, sugar substitutes or preservatives. They should be banned.
Don’t worry about how much you are using to make your salads and other vegetables taste good to you.
What is most important is to enjoy eating your vegetables.
Down the path you may need to modify the amount you are using.
Right now just make your vegetables taste good.
Breathing meditation
For a minimum of 5 minutes.
You may meditate longer for as long as you like with any style you fancy.
Sleep
Make it a firm routine to go to sleep at the same time every night.
Allow for 6-8 hours of sleep.
Relax
Every day make the time to relax for at least 30 minutes doing something you enjoy like:
reading,
listening to music,
gardening,
walking or playing with your dog or kids,
practicing the guitar,
sitting outside enjoying nature,
having pleasant conversation with friends or family.
This time does not include doing chores, exercising, your meditation time or hosting a social engagement.
Nutritional Supplementation
Everyone needs to take a good quality multi-vitamin daily with their food.
I feel whole food supplements are usually a better choice, as they are usually produced so that the natural enzymes and other nutrients not polluted, contorted or destroyed by chemical extractions and higher heat processing.
Take a variety of probiotic supplements several time a week or even every day.
Most people need additional supplementation with:
1000 to 5000 mg of Buffered Vitamin C with bioflavonoids
300 to 1000 mg of Magnesium (almost any form except magnesium oxide)
Co-Q 10
Other vitamins may be suggested for your particular health needs.
Detox herbs & food supplements
Activated Charcoal capsules
Cilantro
Algae
Green leafy vegetables
Chlorophyll
Detox Baths
Soak in a warm to hot tub at least once or twice a week, even daily if possible.
1 to 2 cups of Epsom Salts plus
1/2 cup baking soda
and/ or 1/4 cup sea salt
Your preference of essential oils.
Grounding
Make effort every day to sit or stand barefooted for 15 - 30 minutes on the ground, grass or unfinished patio cement or patio tiles, or unfinished interior house tiles or terrazzo flooring.
You can purchase grounding mats to put under your desk at work or in front of your TV easy chair at home.
You can purchase a grounding sheet for your bed.
Eat with gluttony mindfulness!
It is important to eat WITHOUT STRESS!
EAT slowly and with great attention to your enjoyment of your food.
Taste and savor every mouthful.
Tell yourself how much you enjoy eating each and every mouthful.
Tell yourself how grateful you are to be eating food that nourishes your body and wellness.
Cheat Day
If you really want to eat a food for meal that contains food from The Avoidance List, do so!
Create a day for your Cheat Day.
Try to wait until the day you designate for such foods.
You can move your Cheat Day around to fit you life event schedule, but try to have only one or two Cheat Days during each week.
If you just can’t wait, then just enjoy!
Tell yourself only positive comments about what you are eating.
Make it non-gulit, only safe and nurturing.
Go back to your new habits as soon as possible.
Dental Work
If you still have mercury based amalgams in your mouth go to a holistic dentist that has been trained in mercury removal and has the proper ventilation and equipment for their removal.
(Most dentists do NOT. Ask!)
Those "silver" mercury based amalgams are about 50% mercury!
Mercury vaporizes at body temperature and is slowly and constantly being released in your mouth. You are constantly breathing the mercury vapor into your lungs.
Be sure to follow a herbal detox program before, during and after the removal.
More info at: http://www.mercuryfreedentists.com/information-and-education.
If you have a root canal in your mouth and you have any chronic health problems, you should have that tooth removed.
Sounds radical but almost all root canals become receptacles for growing bacteria that are often major contribution to serious chronic health issues, like chronic inflammation, arthritis and heart disease.
I know, I was one. When I had the tooth with a 15 year old root canal removed, I no longer needed to fight off chronic inflammation in my body with herbs and supplements.
What to Limit and Avoid
This list will help you to stop polluting your body with environmental and food toxins.
In small single doses, your body can safely deal and eliminate most of these.
But we now live in a country and culture that bombards our systems with 100's to 1000's of toxic chemicals and other environmental stresses EVERY DAY.
Most people (especially the children I see) bodies are in toxic overload.
Stop poisoning your family and yourself!
Stop drinking water distributed and shipped in plastic bottles.
The plastic chemicals leech into the water, the leeching increased by storage and transportation in heat over time.
These plastic chemicals are proven hormone disruptors that than make you feel sickly as well as cause fat gain and are known carcinogens (cancer triggers).
All bottled water is the most expensive way to drink water, so you will save a lot of money by using your water from home.
The quality of the water used in bottled water is usually no better, often worse, than the quality out of your home taps.
If you are worried about the quality of your tap water, or don't like it's taste, buy and use almost any type of filter system on your home water supply.
You are saving so much money NOT buying bottled water you will able to afford a descend filter system.
Look for thermoses and other water containers lined with steel, glass or ceramics, NOT more plastic or aluminum.
Limit refined sugar intake to a total of 25 grams per day.
That equals about 4 rounded teaspoons of refined sugar per day.
Avoid eating any prepared food that contain preservatives.
Avoid eating all trans-fats and large qualities of saturated fats.
Avoid all GMO foods.
Almost all non-organic corn, soy and wheat products are GMO.
Avoid eating breads, pastries and snacks made from wheat and corn.
This was the hardest health suggestion for myself to follow because I was so addicted to refined carbohydrates. It took me years to totally break the habit.
Start by only buying organic.
Then buy only organic whole grains.
Then, cut back to only once a day.
Then every other day.
Then once a week.
This is truly one of the worse American addictions to break.
If I can do it, so will you!
Avoid wearing clothing made mostly of synthetic materials as much as possible.
Avoid all sugar substitutes except PURE stevia (use liquid stevia, not the powdered).
Yeah, I don't like stevia either.
But if you could get use to commercial sugar substitutes, you can also acquire a taste for stevia.
I personally prefer to just use real, organic natural or brown sugar and limit myself to 4 teaspoons daily.
Avoid using and breathing most commercial grocery store house cleaning products.
They are filled with toxic chemicals that evaporate into the air you breath and most leave toxic residos on counters and floor surfaces.
You will be surprised at how well water mixed with vinegar, a drop of dish soap, of orange oil, or lemon oil works to clean dirt and grease while disinfecting.
Smells good too.
Use a little baking soda if you need an more abrasive cleaner.
Do not use grocery store air fresheners or smell neutralizers.
Use an ionic air freshener and/ or use a defuser with pure essential oils.
Avoid using antibacterial soaps and hand products.
All have alcohol that absorbs into your body through your skin.
95% of them contain chemicals that disrupt hormonal balances.
Rubbing your hands while washing with any gentle soap kills surface bacteria and viruses.
Start to replace all commercial cosmetics, lotions and personal care products with natural and organic ones.
Almost all commercial products contain petroleum oil and low levels of toxic chemicals.
To prevent tooth decay, simply stop eating so much sugar and starches.
Sugar and starches on teeth are the major contribution to tooth decay.
Brush your teeth several times a day and floss your teeth a minimum of once a day.
Stop using any toothpaste or other products that contains fluoride.
Simply, fluoride is a poison and contrary to popular industry propaganda, fluoride is not what is needed to build strong healthy teeth.
Eating enough healthy vegetables and quality meat in your diet (not from calcium supplements) will provide you with the right kind of calcium to build and maintain healthy teeth and bones.
Most calcium issues reflect sensitivity issues to calcium, vitamins (D, E, K) and other enzymes. NAET treatments can be very effective in helping.
The body will use fluoride as a poor replacement if there is not enough bio-available calcium.
Fluoride creates brittle bones, teeth with weak tooth enamel, brain and nervous system issues and disorders, and collects as crystals in many organs.
Stop using all antiperspirants that contain aluminum.
The aluminum gets absorbed into your body through your skin.
It is a toxic mineral to the body that eventually is stored in your organs and tissues, especially the brain and nervous system.
Remove all electronic devices from your bedrooms if you, or especially your children, are chronically ill.
EMF's (electromagnetic fields) are produced by every plugged in device (even if it is not turned on), included alarm clocks, TV s, radios, phone chargers, computers, including all the electric wiring in your walls and ceilings.
An overload of overlapping EMF's confuse our bodies, effecting sleep, impairing our immune systems and limiting the self-healing mechanisms of our body's cells and systems that occurs primarily while we sleep.
Some people are so sensitive they must unplug their WiFi internet in their home at night as well as all electric devices in their bedrooms at night.
I believe that the bodies of healthy individuals, not under severe stress, learn to adapt to living around multiple strong electromagnetic fields.
Yes, I really do follow and live ALL of my own suggestions!!
I live as clean a lifestyle as I can.
My good health is a result of becoming responsible for my own health.
I feel great as a result.
