4 Tips For Better Health

In the fast paced world that we live in today it can be very easy to neglect our health and wellbeing without really noticing. We’re so busy racing through our daily lives fulfilling responsibilities to family, friends, work and attending social engagements that we often don’t have the energy left to look after ourselves properly. It’s hardly surprising that so many of us are tired and run down, and don’t really enjoy life to the full.

Given our shared passion for aromatherapy, it seems a crime that we literally don’t have the time to ‘stop and smell the roses’, as the saying goes. If we did, we would see that cramming more and more into our daily lives doesn’t necessarily guarantee a more fulfilled existence and is actually more likely to lead to illness. Sometimes just a few basic changes in life can bring about the greatest rewards and results.

Fountain of youth

You’ve heard it a thousand times before and you’ll probably hear it a thousand times again – to enjoy good health you should drink more water! Water makes up 55% to 75% of the human body depending on a person’s build and size. It is absolutely essential for all of our metabolic processes, and helps transport nutrients, eliminates toxins and is vital for healthy kidneys, liver, colon, brain and just about everything else in your body.

A 5% drop in body fluids can create a 25% to 30% loss in energy, and a 15% drop in fluids can cause death! According to statistics, over half of us aren’t drinking enough water, which means that over half the population isn’t running on all six cylinders to begin with, and that’s before things like poor nutrition, lack of exercise and stress are taken into consideration.

There is also research to show that drinking plenty of water can help to prevent many of the diseases that we associate with aging. Not drinking enough can contribute to high blood pressure and high cholesterol which in turn are factors in heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Staying well hydrated is particularly beneficial to the skin, so it helps you look younger too.

The raw truth

A little known fact is that heating food above 116°F (47° C) destroys much of its nutrient content, and considering that most of us already aren’t eating enough veggies that hardly helps us maintain a healthy diet. Nutritionists recommend five portions of fresh vegetables per day, but how many of us are able to put this into daily practice? Not always easy, is it?

A great way to get the important nutrients found in fresh veggies without spending hours preparing and cooking them – or resorting to eating raw celery sticks – is to juice your veggies. Make sure that you own a good juicer (some juicers expose vegetables to heat created by friction during juicing, which breaks down important enzymes), grab some fresh vegetables and simply drink your way to good health. It takes a fraction of the time because there’s no cooking involved, and is so much more convenient because you can take your juice to work with you.

Wheatgrass in particular is an excellent source of nutrition. It’s high in chlorophyll which is sometimes described as ‘plant blood’ because it closely resembles human red blood cell molecules, and has over 100 elements that the body needs. Fresh grains are another excellent source for vitamins and minerals.

Increase your energy

Although for many of us exercise is a dirty word, it doesn’t actually have to be particularly time consuming or mind-numbingly boring either, because there are plenty of options. Years ago, all that was on offer at gyms was usually a weight room and perhaps an aerobics class, whereas today you can choose from yoga, pilates, dance-exercise, step classes and a whole range of new workout options.

If you don’t really have the time or money for the gym, or prefer to spend your mornings or nights at home, then invest in an exercise bike or treadmill and you’ll soon reap the rewards of your investment. You can set it up in front of the television and enjoy your favourite shows whilst getting fit. Perhaps you might like to join the hi-tech crowd of Wii Fit Plus enthusiasts and choose from a wide range of workouts such as yoga, aerobics, muscle toning etc to suit your personal prefereneces.

Either way, if you are not physically fit and also unwell, it can be a mammoth battle to just do the most minimal amount of exercise in a day. The danger here is that inactivity will lead to further loss of energy, which becomes a self-perpetuating cycle until you can barely raise the energy to get off the couch.

The best way to get back into a physical routine is to start very slowly. For the first couple of weeks, walk or ride for just 5 minutes per day and no more, even if you think you could continue. When the 2 weeks are up, increase to 7 minutes, and then 10 minutes, 12 minutes… continue to gradually increase your activity until you’re at a level that you’re comfortable with. This way you trick your body into producing more energy because you’re building your exercise time up so slowly that it doesn’t really notice what’s happening.

Art of relaxation

Now it’s time to pamper yourself and when it comes to relaxation, aromatherapy is the perfect solution – whether it is in the form of a massage or just simply enjoying the vaporized aroma of essential oils. Because of the unique way in which aromatherapy works, there are other far reaching benefits to be gained too. It has been known for a long time that preventative measures go a very long way towards protecting the body against many types of illness. For example, relaxation gives the immune system time to recover, and in doing so it enables it to function much more efficiently.

Therefore, the relaxing and de-stressing influence of massage and essential oils together with their effect on the immune system makes aromatherapy the finest form of preventative medicine. The list of essential oils in the side-panel will help you to really relax and combat stress. The very best way that you can enjoy them is in a massage, so offer to swap massages with your partner or a friend if you can’t get an appointment with a qualified aromatherapist.

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