10 Ways to Live a Healthier Life

Heart disease and cardiovascular disease do not have to be part of the aging process and can be successfully avoided through the use of natural medicine and preventative measures. It is very important to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet to properly feed your active heart. A well-balanced diet includes the following:

· Plenty of raw fruits and vegetables.
· Proteins that are low in fat, such as skinless chicken, skinless turkey, and broiled fish.
· Food high in essential fatty acids, including tuna, salmon, herring, mackerel, and trout.
· A reduction in the consumption of alcohol, chocolate, butter, red meats, refined sugars, soft drinks, fried foods, and refined grain products.
· At least 8 glasses of water each day.
· A reduction in the consumption of sodium, including baking soda, preservatives, MSG, tenderizers, and table salt.

Many of us experience the occasional night of not sleeping without any severe consequences. It is when the occasional night here and there becomes a pattern of several nights in a row that you know you have a sleeping problem. Repeated loss of sleep affects all areas of your life: The physical, the mental, and the emotional. Sleep loss can affect your overall daily performance and can have a profound affect on your health. If your sleeplessness continues for a long period of time it can cause problems to your health, your relationships, and your professional life. It can become an endless cycle of worry and anxieties as you continue to lose sleep every night.

You should consult with your doctor if you are not sleeping so that you can determine the exact cause of your sleep problems. He/she may order you to take part in a sleep study, give you a depression screen, check your stress level, order a blood panel to check for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, suggest you stop drinking and/or smoking, give an anxiety scale or any number of other methods to identify a cause and get you started on the path to sleeping again.

Three important elements for a healthier life are (1) the attitude that you have toward your life, (2) the beliefs that you model your personal life, and (3) the behavior that you have towards yourself and others. These three elements are tightly connected and connected and can either make or break the way your outlook towards life affects your health. Let’s break these three elements down even further:

What Holds You Back? You need to find out what it is that is holding you back from flourishing in your personal life. This means that you have to work with your belief system:

One of the most important and beneficial concepts that you can adopt is “believing in yourself and who you are.” When you have the inner confidence that tells you that what you’re doing is the right thing you can reach any goals that you set for yourself. The concepts and ideas for health that you’ve learned in this book will give you the belief in yourself that you need to succeed. When you have this belief you’ll see your health improving.

Anger, of all human emotions, perhaps no other is more puzzling or troublesome. None of us likes to be angry and yet we can’t seem to prevent ourselves from feeling this way at times. We are often told, “it’s nothing to get angry about,” and still an angry response often seems to be amongst our first. We are taught from a young age that we must learn to ‘control our anger’ and yet we all ‘lose it’ from time to time.

· Interrupt the anger response: Most of us have heard the advice, “If you are angry, count to ten before you say or do anything.” This is good advice. By focusing your attention on a mundane task like counting, you give yourself a chance to calm down. Once you are calm, you can think more clearly about what you are feeling and why. More importantly, you can plan a course of action to resolve the situation more effectively.
· Re-evaluate the situation: Unfortunately, when we are angry, our thinking often become irrational. We make assumptions about what others are thinking (e.g. “he thinks he’s better than me”) or what their motives are (e.g. “she is doing this because she knows it will bother me”). We also tend to male rash judgments about others (e.g. “he’s an idiot”) and overgeneralizations (e.g. she always acts this way”). Problems arise when we act as if these assumptions, judgments, and overgeneralizations are true. The next time you become angry, evaluate your thinking. Are you making irrational assumptions, rash judgments, or overgeneralizations? Review the situation and see if you can come up with another interpretation. Consider alternative explanations for why somebody did what they did. Evaluate whether your judgments and generalizations are true. By re-evaluating the situation, you broaden your interpretation of events that you initially perceived as threatening. As a result, they may not seem so offensive.
· Be assertive, not aggressive: As mentioned earlier, anger serves a very important function. It prepares us to defend ourselves against threats to our physical safety or psychological well-being. Although it is often appropriate to feel angry, it is never appropriate to use that anger to do harm. Instead, use your anger to cue an assertive response. An assertive response is one in which you exert your rights as an individual without subsequent offense. Effective assertion does not provoke unwanted feelings of aggression on the part of the listener. Also: being assertive in the face of anger involves first calming yourself, re-evaluating the situation to make sure you are not acting on irrational interpretations, and reminding yourself that you own your anger. If, after taking these steps, you still feel that a response is warranted, think of a way you can communicate to the other person how you feel without attacking them. Try saying in a calm and controlled tone, “I feel angry when I think… (describe how you see the event).” This will inform the other person of your interpretation of their actions and of your emotional reaction to that interpretation. It will allow the other person to clarify their intent and will provide an opportunity for both of you to resolve the issue in a calm and collaborative manner.
· Venting may not help: Research shows that “venting” or repeatedly reviewing and discussing the offending event, may not lead to a reduction in feelings of anger. In fact, excessive venting can actually prolong your anger response. While it can be helpful to discuss your feelings with others, it is not helpful to rehash the offending event over-and-over once the situation has been resolved. If you find yourself repeatedly replaying an anger-provoking situation, try thought stopping. This technique involves saying the word “STOP” to yourself anytime you catch yourself rehashing the event. Then, say to yourself, “I’ve already dealt with this and it is time I move on.” This may be difficult at first, and you may find that you quickly return to talking or thinking about the offending event. Stick with it, and eventually your anger will fade.
· Take constructive action: If you find that you are frequently unhappy or angry, it may be time that you take action to correct the situation. After all, the responsibility for your happiness (and your anger) is yours. If, after evaluating the situation you feel a change is needed, formulate a plan to bring about that change. First, clearly identify what the problem is and how it can be solved. Next, identify the specific steps you need to take and the order in which you need to take them. Then, set a specific date by which you will initiate each step and follow through. As you progress through your plan, you can feel good about the fact that you are actively taking steps to correct the situation.

Perhaps you’re someone whose mind is always busy. Do you think about the events of your day as you wind down for the evening? Do you worry about your family, your job, your finances, and what tomorrow will bring? Sometimes it’s difficult to empty your mind of all these details long enough to get the mental rest that you need every day.

There are several ways that you can reduce the worry about situations and events in your life. The key is finding a process that works for you. The goal is to clear your mind and consciously realize that tomorrow is the time to tackle problems and tonight is the time to sleep.

Finding your own personal balance in life is important if you’re going to achieve the health goals that you’ve set for yourself. If you don’t find this balance your life can feel out of control and overwhelming. You need to be clear about what it is that you need for yourself and to satisfy those personal needs.