Simple Steps to Better Health

As we welcome the new year, many of us consider ways to become a better version of ourselves. One way to live your best life is by prioritizing your health. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Improve your physical and mental health by making fruits and vegetables a bigger part of your diet, and cutting down on other types of foods.

Fruits and vegetables contain a huge array of plant compounds that nurture the body and support healthy function, energy, and mood. They have healing properties not found in other foods that can even help your body heal from health symptoms.

Fruits and vegetables also promote natural detoxification, which is so important to rid our bodies of pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceuticals heavy metals, and other toxins that we take in from various sources such as the air we breathe and water and food that we consume.

Decreasing other foods so you can make room for more fruits and veggies on a day-to-day basis can make a big difference in your overall health!

Here are some ideas for how to include more fruit in your diet:

• Eat a large serving of fruit for breakfast, dessert, or as a mid-meal snack.

• Put sliced bananas, berries or other fruit on oatmeal, preferably using more fruit than oatmeal.

• Blend fruit and coconut water or 100% juice to make fruit smoothies for a meal or a snack; frozen fruit is convenient option.

• Add fruit to salads- slice apples, kiwi, citrus fruits or add berries

• Squeeze the juice of a lemon, orange or grapefruit for use as a salad dressing- add herbs if desired.

There are many ways to add more veggies to your diet:

• Add spinach or other greens to a smoothie for a meal or snack.

• Cut up veggies for mid-meal snacks and eat them alone or with hummus or guacamole.

• Slice zucchini or squash into planks to use in place of pasta for lasagna, or cut into noodles, steam and toss with tomato sauce, lemon juice or herbs.

• Eat a large leafy green salad every day for lunch or dinner.

• Steam root vegetables like potato or sweet potato- cut them in cubes and add to salads.

• Steam veggies for a side dish- add a squeeze of lemon and season with herbs such as parsley,oregano, or basil.

• Slice sweet potatoes, bake in the oven until browned and sprinkle with cinnamon or chili powder.

Improve your energy and focus by increasing your intake of healthy fluids.

Most of us do not take in enough healthy fluids to support our body’s needs. This can impact our energy level and ability to think clearly. Although drinking more water is helpful, here are some additional ways to get the fluids you need.

• Eat more water-rich foods, such as cucumbers, celery and spinach; melons like watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew are especially high in water.

• Start the morning with lemon or lime water. Squeeze half a lemon or one lime into a 16 ounce glass of purified water. Drinking 16-32 ounces of lemon or lime water in the morning will help flush toxins out of the body removed from your cells and organs by your liver during the night. It also provides vitamin C, calcium and other nutrients needed by the body.

• Juicing fruits and/or vegetables transforms them into potent healing tonics. Juicing removes the fiber which helps the body more easily digest and use the concentrated healing compounds found in the juice.

• Try drinking coconut water or juice celery instead of sports drinks or energy drinks. These provide high levels of vitamins and minerals needed to replace electrolytes lost from sweating. And coconut water provides a healthy form of glucose for energy, as well.

• It is also helpful to reduce coffee and other caffeine intake, since caffeine causes increased loss of fluids via the kidneys and can also harm your adrenal glands over time leading to low energy levels.

Knowledge is power, my friends.

For more health and healing tips and for individual consultation regarding how to use nutrition, herbs and key supplements to help improve your health and wellness, please go to www.empoweringholistichealth.com.