In the following text you will learn simple steps to improve the general state of health. But before we begin to list the promised techniques, we must first learn to accept something that is very important. And that is: Do not hide the symptoms of the disease if you want to maintain your health!
Many people neglect health until the body starts sending worrying signals. Sometimes as a headache or other symptoms such as dizziness, insomnia, loss of appetite or something similar. No matter what the symptoms are, most of us will reach for a fast-acting synthetic drug first.
But what is the problem here? The answer is simple: synthetic drugs generally help against unpleasant symptoms, but do not always eliminate the cause of the discomfort.
If the tap at your house is dripping and there is a flood, you would certainly call a professional to solve the problem. But if the expert would only collect water instead of fixing the problem, that would simply be illogical. Wouldn't it?
Yet, when it comes to our health, many people do just that: instead of "fixing the damage", they stubbornly "pick up the leaked water". More precisely, instead of fixing the cause of the problems, they constantly just cover up the symptoms. Do you understand how crazy all this is?
When symptoms are removed in this way, they are in fact only masked, so that the symptoms often reappear and then more intensely than before.
Therefore, NOW is exactly the right moment to make 10 changes with the aim of maintaining health:
1. healthy, varied and simple diet
Eat so-called "superfoods" in the form of grains, seeds, fruits, vegetables and nuts every day, which reduce the risk of various diseases. These are valuable foods because they are rich in plant proteins, healthy fats, essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants.
Avoid complicated recipes that require unnecessary, long storage in the kitchen. Instead, prepare simple and healthy recipes that minimise the heat treatment of food. This way you save time and absorb the original power of the food.
2. eat raw food at least once a day
One of the benefits of raw foods is the maximum use of the enzymes derived from them. Enzymes help in the digestion of food. Although our body produces its own enzymes, their quantity is not sufficient and the body uses a lot of energy to produce them. Therefore, fatigue and drowsiness can often occur after ingesting large amounts of heat-treated foods.
What is it really about? The body takes all its energy to cope with the food it ingests and neglects normal function. What remains in the stomach rots and is a potential for the occurrence of various diseases.
Therefore, it is ideal to plan at least one raw meal during the day, ideally more. And at the same time you save more energy for other activities.
3. avoid "empty" calories
The empty calorie group includes foods that provide energy because they are rich in fats and carbohydrates. However, they do not contain nutritional values such as Vitaminsminerals, antioxidants, amino acids or fibre.
To make it easier for you, we have compiled a list of the foods that contain the most empty calories:
- Fried foods like French fries and other fast foods are high in fat and have no other nutritional value.
- White bread has a high caloric value. Therefore, it should be avoided or eaten in smaller quantities.
- Alcoholic drinks literally contain empty calories, which is why they are called anti-nutrients. Avoid them or keep them to a minimum.
- Various coffee-based drinks and other drinks that contain a lot of sugar. You may not have realised it, but in many drinks it's not the caffeine that keeps you awake, but the sugar. Sweets, juices and carbonated drinks are full of sugar. Consuming them has a lot in common with taking drugs, because the longer we consume them, the more the body craves them. Here's an explanation: when refined sugar is consumed in processed foods, the body's energy level rises sharply, but drops sharply afterwards. The tired body craves sugar again and headaches or concentration problems may occur. These sudden discomforts keep occurring as the body struggles to get into a balanced state. And that is why most people cannot resist these foods.
- Avoid all industrially processed products that contain artificial colours, sweeteners, flavours, emulsifiers, thickeners, preservatives and other additives. Numerous studies show that many of them are harmful and even carcinogenic.
4. never skip breakfast!
Scientists also confirm that blood glucose levels drop sharply when one skip the morning meal. This leads to fatigue and dizziness and your metabolism slows down, stopping the process of burning calories.
If you do eat food at some point during the day, it is harder to get full. By avoiding breakfast, you slow down your metabolism and contribute to the constant instability of blood sugar levels. You are also much more likely to overeat during the day.
5. stay away from snacks between meals!
If there is no break between meals for about 4-5 hours, the stomach stops working. It does not utilise the old food as it should until new food lands in the stomach and is digested. So "old food" waits in the stomach, rots and thus burdens the blood and the organism.
It takes 2-3 hours for the food to break down in the body. The stomach needs another 2 hours to rest afterwards. Therefore, it is ideal to take a break of about 4-5 hours between meals. With shorter breaks, the stomach becomes weaker and no longer works ideally.
If you eat late at night, bedtime must be at least 3 hours after dinner. Otherwise you will not sleep well and wake up tired and puffy.
Drink enough water!
The human body is 70% made up of water. Adequate fluid intake is essential for its normal functioning, especially in summer when temperatures are high. A person can survive a few weeks without food, but only a few days without water. The ideal water intake for an adult is about 2 litres and for children about 1 litre.
Water is necessary for all Metabolic processes in the body. It is important for kidney function, participates in the transport and elimination of harmful substances, regulates the absorption of substances and ensures the maintenance of constant body temperature and thermoregulation of the organism.
When the body is not used to consuming water, fat is deposited around the ankles, eyes, thighs and waist. As soon as you consume the recommended amount of water, you will notice that these deposits slowly disappear and you lose weight.
When it comes to water, you should also consider the following important things:
- Do not drink water during meals as it dilutes and weakens the stomach acid. Then digestion is not good and the nutrients cannot be absorbed from the food.
- You should not drink water immediately before eating, but at least 15 to 30 minutes before. And you should wait until 1-2 hours after the meal until the food is digested, as water interferes with digestion.
7. make sure you get a good night's sleep!
Some people need six hours of sleep, others up to ten hours. This also depends on our age, the time of year and our physical activity. The important thing is to sleep well, because sleep strengthens the body.
Good sleep is associated with the secretion of hormones that are necessary for the functioning of our body. Because of melatonin, which is only secreted at night, you should go to bed earlier. Melatonin is secreted at its maximum between 2 and 3 hours after midnight. While the highest concentrations are between midnight and 8 o'clock and are then 5-10 times higher than during the day.
Turn off all possible light sources when going to bed, as artificial light can disrupt melatonin synthesis and thus sleep quality. Scientists believe that melatonin can prevent the growth of cancer cells, which is another important reason to go to bed on time.
8. be physically active and spend as much time as possible in the fresh air
Fresh air is good for our mood and immunity, and moderate exercise is good for our body. Choose the ones you like best. And don't forget the morning stretch. Although very simple, many physiotherapists recommend it as a daily must.
Exercise is recommended at least three times a week because during exercise the BMR (basal metabolic rate) increases and stays that way for about 48 hours. If you take a longer break, the BMR starts to decrease.
If you cannot determine the schedule for the exercises yourself or if you do not have a lot of Time for sport turn to the simplest physical activity: walking!
- Regular walks improve fitness and, with the right diet, also lead to weight loss, as walking speeds up the metabolism.
- Walking shapes muscles, gets them in top shape and keeps them that way.
- Improves blood circulation and thus overall health, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Walking is accompanied by proper breathing, which improves the proper functioning of the lungs.
- This simple activity easily relieves stress and clears thoughts, leading to better mental health
If you don't like walking alone, adopt a dog! They are the most loyal allies in maintaining psycho-physical health!
9. avoid stress and stressful situations as far as possible
"What our thoughts are, so is our life" and that is really true. Your mood reflects the quality of your life. Many psychologists recommend a simple exercise that releases positive endorphins in the brain, which will make you feel good.
This is achieved by saying "please", "thank you" and "I love you". Your brain can also secrete negative endorphins when you shout or swear. It then prevents the immune system from functioning properly and leads to illness.
Try as much as possible to be friendly towards others. It doesn't cost much, almost nothing, and for another person it can mean a lot, sometimes even everything. In this way you will always get a double benefit: doing good to others and strengthening yourself.
10. pay attention to mental health
Each of us consists of two components:
1) the physical, our body
2) the Spiritual, that which makes up our spirit.
In order to live a healthy and quality life in general, it is necessary to achieve an ideal balance between these two areas. You achieve this by "feeding" your mind daily, just as we feed the body daily. If each person devotes at least 10% of their time to the mind as they devote to their body each day, they would see significant changes in their lives.
Pay attention to what you see, hear, the environment you live in, the people you meet, how you spend your free time. All this affects the quality of your life and represents your life.
These 10 rules are a sure formula for maintaining good health!
If you follow these simple guidelines every day, your body will thank you. Remember: health is invaluable! Don't sacrifice it for "irresistible" flavours or unhealthy habits.
- He who has health has hope ; he who has hope has everything - (Tomas Karlajl)
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