Holistic Health Part 3 – Nourish Yourself
In Conversations with God, Book 1, we learn that “…all illness is self-created. Even conventional medical doctors are now seeing how people make themselves sick.”
Let’s look at what you need to do in order to get healthy, stay healthy, and stop making yourself sick.
There are three basic steps you have to take for stellar holistic health. If you are vigilant and careful, you can improve your own health, reduce occurrence of illness, heal yourself, and start feeling great! First you must cleanse and detoxify your body, inside and outside. Get rid of the toxins that are hanging around in your intestines, clogging your arteries, wearing out your organs, and causing symptoms. You must also detoxify your mind, thoughts and relationships. Second, you must learn to avoid toxins in everything possible from food, beauty products, air, water, household cleaners, emotions, and thoughts. Finally, you must nourish your body with good, clean, whole food and subject your body to nutrient-dense foods, exercise, positive thoughts, actions, and activities.
Today in Part 3, we will look at nourishing your body with everything it needs to run perfectly.
Your Food
In order to nourish your body in every way, you need to avoid toxic foods and indulge in nutrient-dense cleansing foods. Foods that don’t build your cells are dry or dead. They are animal-based or processed foods. These foods are high in sugar and laden with chemicals used to flavor, color, sweeten, or enhance. These are the foods in boxes and bags that are advertised most on television. Marketers love to target children for these foods too.
Nourishing foods build your body up and make you feel good. Nourishing foods are alive or as close to alive as possible. Nourishing foods are hydrating and pure, they are free of chemicals and are in a natural state or close to it. Nourishing oils are cold-pressed, non-chemically expelled oils such as olive, coconut, nut oils.
In order to nourish your body and systems, you need to decide that you will seek pure, whole foods whenever you can. You will not find these foods at fast food joints or at most restaurants. If you do eat at restaurants talk to the staff and find out what kinds of ingredients are used and how they are prepared.
Keep vegan snacks in your refrigerator such as homemade hummus, salsa, guacamole, fruit and vegetables salads. You will be tempted to eat whatever is most available, so keep healthy whole, pure foods available at all times and already prepared.
When you fix a plate of food, make sure that you build it by selecting the vegetables (all colors), beans and legumes, and fruits first. Add some whole grains if you want. Then add a small amount of animal product if you choose. Eating this way will guarantee that you will stay healthier and avoid chronic disease. If you are already sick or healing, consider eliminating all animal and processed foods completely.
Your Skin
Anything that touches your skin can be absorbed directly into your blood. This is why prescription drugs are administered often using patches. Make sure that anything that touches your skin is made from clean, pure, non-toxic, natural ingredients. This includes household cleaners, fragrances, makeup, soap, and hair products.
Your Mind
In order to nourish your mind and emotions, there are hundreds of things you can do. I’ll make some suggestions and you pick a few you want to try first.
Slow down, meditate or do some yoga. Detach from the everyday pressure you normally put on yourself and think about your priorities. Engage in the positivity that comes into your thoughts and ignore the negativity. Do what you need to do to improve your self-esteem. Get help for your addictions. Learn some humility. Stop getting involved in everyone else’s drama and let the world happen on its own. Stop judging other people and look at yourself. Love yourself and give your time and resources freely.
Enjoy your pets. Walk your dog. Take a nap. Call your mother and ask her how she is doing. Have lunch with a friend. Hold hands with your partner and take a walk together. Think about fun times you had when you were a child. Stop thinking and talking about politics and religion. Participate in your own community. Do some volunteer work. Make a list of nice things you can do for other people that you would enjoy. Whenever you have negative thoughts, do one of your items.
Work to fix old relationships that are strained. Make amends with people you have hurt. Is it really a big deal to admit you might have done something wrong or hurtful? Identify your own character defects and give them up too. Be who you want to be. It all starts in you. Let go of all of your expectations and your attachments to material things and outcomes.
Eating, touching, and thinking clean, natural, and pure things will make you healthier in every way. You can make a big difference by doing one thing at a time, one day at a time, and building your life from the inside out!
(Beth Anderson is a certified Holistic Health Coach and founder of the Holistic Health Hotspot in Evansville, Indiana. She is also the author of “The Holistic Diet: Achieve Your Ideal Weight, Be Happy and Healthy for Life.” Beth received her training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Beth is helping people improve their lives through nutrition and lifestyle education, health coaching, and by helping others to learn to make informed choices. Beth continues to spread understanding of the connection between body, mind, and spirit and encourages all to discern the truth about food, consumer products, environment, and life choices. You can find Beth on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HolisticHealthHotspot or email her at beth@holistichealthhotspot.com)