No matter our age, it is never too late to add years to our lives and life to our years Photo / Getty Images
No matter our age, it is never too late to add years to our lives and life to our years Photo / Getty Images
OPINION
Health is something that most of us take for granted.
We move through our days focused on everything external, stressing about some things, laughing about others, meeting deadlines and chasing dreams.
Attaining personal wealth and material possessions often becomes our obsession, sabotaging our mind, thoughts, energy and attention. Givingour energy away to help others, when we should be helping ourselves, is often a culprit as well.
If we continue along this path, the body has no choice but to sound the alarm. Illness and disease get hold and we can't function properly. Finally, the body has the attention it has been seeking.
It may seem as though illness and disease have suddenly taken hold. But the truth is, illness and disease don't come out of "nowhere."
They come on because of an imbalance and weak immune system. We've been ignoring our bodies' many cries and pleas for a change in lifestyle and the body had no choice but to sound the alarm, allowing disease in the body and or despair in the mind take hold.
Although the body is an amazing healer, this is not how it was meant to be used, nor the reason it was created.
When illness and disease strike, it is because our bodies' many needs have been ignored. It is asking to be loved. It is asking us to make changes.
Waiting until we get sick to change our habits and lifestyles to healthier ones is like playing "Russian roulette" with our health. When our energy is spent continually attempting to fill external desires, we have separated ourselves from our body. We are playing the "game of life" backwards.
The result of living this way is not pretty. Now, rather than enjoying the moment and living life to the fullest, our energy is needed to heal and, in some cases, even fight for our lives. We are living life in reverse.
Think green. Greens are low in calories, but packed with goodness. Photo / File
The great news is it does not have to be this way. Even if we've spent an entire lifetime taking our health for granted and living carelessly, nature is kind. We are empowered at any point to reverse all bad habits, to reset our health and reward ourselves with extended years.
Stellar health demands that we honour the wisdom of our body, provide for its needs, and listen to what it communicates daily.
Replacing dead foods with nutrient-dense choices and getting proper exercise are obvious habits that most look to when health fails, and for good reason.
Nutrient-dense foods provide our bodies the vitamins, minerals, proteins, fibre and healthy fats required to build, regenerate and repair cells.
We begin this journey by eliminating calorie-laden, processed foods (chemicals and toxins destroy our health), and replacing them with nature's bounty.
Think green. Greens are low in calories, but packed with goodness, providing an abundance of antioxidants that fight destructive free radicals, and a wide range of health-building nutrients and fibre.
Even a sweet tooth can be satisfied without white sugar. There are many recipes readily available online that use dates and other dried fruits, agave nectar and honey as great sugar replacements.
Extend this list to include vegetables! Yep, pumpkin and sweet potatoes have been used for decades to create awesome desserts and treats.
When it comes to health, proper exercise is a no-brainer as well. It increases energy, combats disease, lifts depression and improves mood, increases self-confidence (we no longer avoid looking in the mirror), helps us to sleep better, manages high blood pressure, controls weight (preventing type 2 diabetes), helps still an anxious mind, and sparks our sex life. This list goes on and on.
Addressing our minds is also part of our health regimen. As mentioned, nutrient-dense foods and exercise both contribute, but there are other valuable actions we can take that contribute to a healthy body via a healthy mindset.
All types of meditation and yoga are great choices. Mindful meditation has gained tremendous popularity because it works. Sitting quietly, without distraction, emptying our minds of busy, anxious thoughts, gifting ourselves with a quiet walk in the woods, listening to relaxing music and getting acquainted with our "monkey mind", so we more easily control it, are all aids that help our body focus energy where it is needed most - creating and sustaining healthy cells. Health begins and ends in our cells, the fundamental structures of life.
Changing our habits and lifestyles to healthier ones before our body sounds the alarm - not after - is key to using the body the way nature intended. No matter our age, it is never too late to add "years to our lives and life to our years".
According to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers, when healthy habits are adopted and maintained, life expectancy in men increases by 12 years while women gain 14 years! That's a lot of extra, joy-filled, living!
