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You are here: Home Health & Fitness Well-Being Ten no/low cost tips for health wealth

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25/05/2009Ten no/low cost tips for health wealth

Ten no/low cost tips for health wealth Experiencing a "health debit"? Nutritionist Janet Gomez offers 10 affordable tips to feed your well-being account.

No matter how much money we may or may not have, we can't buy good health. Some costly treatments will make us feel good for a short while, but what if we can’t or don't want to pay? How can we ensure we have “health wealth” anyway?

The director of my nutrition course used to compare the state of your well-being to the state of your bank account. If your well-being account is in credit you're in good health. How quickly your "credit" is used up depends on factors such as your environment, lifestyle and diet.

Your environment includes everything around you and everything you are involved in personally and professionally. Interaction with your environment is important in determining your level of health wealth. For example, if you eat nutritious food but consume too much, or feel angry or tense while eating, your health wealth could be depleted. If this becomes a regular habit your health wealth will move into the debit zone.

With my clients I witness evidence of "health debit" as they draw on their well-being bank account but don't replace what they withdraw. So I'm going to share 10 no- or low-cost nutritional and well-being strategies to help you stock up on your health wealth for the coming months.

1. Limit the refined sugar you and your family eat. For example, make your own sweets with less added sugar. You'll save money and feed your well-being account.

2. Buy more organic local fruits and vegetables to increase your intake to seven servings daily.

3. Limit your alcohol intake (more thoughts in this blog post)

4. Give your digestive tract a regular rest. This may  involve not eating between meals, eating a mono-diet for a day or two, or doing a simple cleanse. Click here for more ideas.

5. Drink plenty of water, filtered if possible (take my test to see if you're drinking enough water).

6. Add essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to your meals every day. Get them from organic nuts and seeds or oily fish (if you're not vegetarian) to help build strong immunity against illnesses and disease.

7. Resolve personal issues as they arise within yourself and with those close to you and release your stress on a daily basis. Deep breathing exercises and simple stretches are helpful tools. Just a few minutes can make all the difference.

8. Have a positive outlook and practical approach. Remember that you can choose how long you feel a certain way. If you're feeling sad, anxious or depressed, acknowledge the feeling and do something to change it. Your health wealth starts with your attitude to life.

9. Strive to attain peace within by stilling your mind. Breathing exercises and meditation can help. Even when busy you can find a few minutes a day for yourself. (If you find it difficult, try this no-cost tool a friend shared with me). This peace is a source of happiness that will always be yours.

10. Get a good night's rest, going to sleep ideally by 23h00 so the body can have time to rest and recuperate.

Pick at least five of these strategies to start feeding your well-being account today!

Text credits: Janet Gomez / Expatica 2009

Nutritionist Janet Gomez produces the Nutri-Jyoti News, a free bi-monthly e-newsletter for busy professionals, and offers a free e-course, "5 Nutritional Keys to Vitality in your Life”.


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