As I've stated before, nutrients and exercise have many specific effects against diseases. But the most important effect is to strengthen immunity against ALL disease. Your first step in a personal health program is to bulid your immunity.
Think always "host resistance is the key". To strengthen yours, avoid unnecessary use of medications, especially antibiotics, and unnecessary contact with hospitals and medical facilities. For the same reason avoid all but organically grown meats.
Antibiotics are massively misused in meat and poultry production. Eating them you get a double-whammy blow to your health, from the antibiotic resuides in the meat, and from the antibiotic resistance bacteria it carries.
EAT A LOW FAT DIET: Low-fat intake is not only directly protective against cardiovascular disease and cancers, even skin cancer, and by keeping down body fat, it also boosts immunity.
Keep your fat intake to 15% of daily calories, perferably as organic olive oil or flax oil. Avoid all saturated and trans fats. Read the new nutrition panel on food labels:)
EAT A LOW SALT DIET: Sodium excess causes hypertension in sensitive individuals, increases the risk of stomach cancer, and increases the risk of osteopopsis.
Use a pottassium based salt substitute on the dinner table and in cooking. Keep your sodium below one gram a day.
AVOID RED MEATS: Rates of colon cancer in America are ten times those of many Eastern nations. For the 21st century new cases exceed 200,000.
In a massive clinical trial of 88,751 women, Dr. Walter Willett and colleagues at Harvard have shown that women who eat beef, pork, or lamb daily have a 250% increased risk of colon cancer.
Red meat consumption is now also linked to prostate cancer in a new study of 14,916 physicians. Ditch the steak and chops. Your health will benefit.
EAT A HIGH FIBER DIET: Fiber protects the colon from cancer, lowers cholesterol, and stabalizes blood sugar.
Eat 40-50 grams of mixed fibers daily, as whole-grain breads and cereals, especially those containing oat bran, vegetables and fruits.
EAT A LOW SUGAR DIET: Refined sugars cause obesity, toothe decay, metabolic and cardiac abnormalities, and also increase the risk of adult on-set diabetes.
Use a little fructose in place of table sugar. Its is much sweeter than surcose, so you use a lot less. Looked for carbohydrate drinks sweetened with zylitol (if possible).
EAT ORGANIC, UNPROCESSED FOODS: I discussed in "Nature for profit" the degraded and contaminated nature of foods grown in NPK fertilizers, and foods processed for mass production. They do more harm than simply failing to provide nutrients. In order to use them, your body has to rob its own tissues of essential nutrients, to use in absorption and metabolism of any refined food.
AVOID PROCESSED MEATS: Pickled, salt-cured, smoked, nitrated, and charcoal-cooked meats contain potent carcinogens. Dont eat them. At the bbq dont allow the meats to char, and cut off any mistakenly charred bits.
DRINK CLEAN WATER: As I spoke about this topic in "Water Water..Everywhere" most American drinking water is now contaminated with any number of the 60,000 man-made chemicals that now pollute our gound water.
Drink bottled distilled or home-distilled water. Drink 8-10 glasses per day. Clean water is the best dilluter of toxins there is.
LIMIT ALCOHOL: Evidence shows clearly that a little alcohol is cardio-protective and also reduces effects of stress. Drink no more than two glasses of wine, or two beers, or two single spirits per day.
EAT A VARIETY: Each day new science uncovers new healthful compunds in foods. There are certainly many more I do not know of. Eating a wide variety of foods gives you the best chance of obtaining these nutrients. It also prevents the development of food sensitivities.
TAKE DAILY SUPPLEMENTS: I hope my prior posts have convinced you that nutrient supplements are essential for optimum health in these dog days of degraded and contaminated food and polluted water and air. It will get a lot worst before it gets better.
Protect yourself everyday with a complete muti-vitamin, a complete muti-mineral, a potent multi-antioxidant and some essential fatty acids taken as organic flax oil.
DO WEIGHT BEARING EXERCISE: Develop a lifelong program of weight-bearing exercise. And do it at least three times a week. Your heart, your lungs, your organs, your muscles, your bones, and your immunity cannot help but benefit!
Last but certainly not least...
ELIMINATE TOXIC METALS: Until 1986 lead pipes were allowed for our water. Many of them still exsist. It took 50 years to get the lead out of water and gasoline, and to convince the government lead was damaging our children's brains. It will take another 20 years to convince then about aluminum.
Aluminum cause multiple forms of brain damage and is now strongly linked with Alzheimers. Eliminate it from your life in water, cooking, utensils, antacids, and personal care items such as; anti-perspirants and shampoos.