"Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food" – Hippocrates
What is the greatest investment you ever made? If real estate, stocks and bonds come to mind, you are not alone. Most people think in terms of “financial” wealth when they think investing.
But what about your health? Let's face it, you can have all of the money in the world, but without your health, what do you really have?
So why doesn't everyone invest in the best health ever with the same gusto that they invest in their 401 K's? Part of it is a lack of information. Many people don't realize the power that they have over their health. Another reason is people assume that it is too expensive to live and eat healthily.
No doubt buying fresh organic fruits, veggies and other REAL non-processed, whole foods will cost more than the processed stuff. It will also take more time to prepare than fast food. But those are just the short terms costs. Like any good investment, you pay a little more upfront, but look at the long-term picture. You will save boat loads of money by minimizing, possibly even eliminating, your drug, surgery and hospital costs in the future!
Let's look at six simple ways to start investing in your health right now!
1. Make optimum health your top priority. The goal here isn’t just to prevent illness. It’s to actively promote the best, most radiant health that you and your family have EVER experienced. To do this, you may need to make some tough choices. Shift some priorities around. For starters, do you spend money on the latest, greatest new cell phone and cable TV package? Or do you invest that money in the most healthy, nutrient dense foods on the planet?
2. Read the ingredients. Less is more when it comes to ingredients. If you don't know what it is and how to pronounce it, you probably shouldn't be ingesting it into your body. Most of these hard to pronounce ingredients are preservatives only there to increase shelf life. Look for products with no (or at least minimal) preservatives. You may have to eat it sooner, but your body will thank you for it!
3. Load up on fruits and veggies! Buy a wide variety of colors. The more colors, the more nutrients, the more powerful health promoting antioxidants! I'm thinking green spinach, orange carrots, red tomatoes, blue blueberries and yellow squash - just to name a few. To get the biggest bang for your health buck, buy local organic produce. To save some money, buy in bulk and shop at Farmer’s Markets. Or best case scenario, grow your own organic garden!
4. Fill your plate with whole grains. It doesn’t cost any more to choose brown rice and whole grain pasta over the white processed varieties. The difference is that the whole grains are loaded with essential nutrients and fiber that get largely removed when processed. Again, buy in bulk to reduce costs.
5. Know your super-foods. To get the maximum amount of life enhancing vitamins and minerals, you want to be eating super-foods. Dr. Linus Pauling, the world's only 2 time unshared Nobel Prize winner, said that "You can trace every sickness, every disease and every ailment to a mineral deficiency." Very simplicity, Deficiency of nutrients = Disease. Super-foods are jam packed with nutrients. You can eat them straight up or spoon them into a juice or smoothie. Some great examples of super-foods are goji berries, spirulina and raw organic cacao powder. Sweet potatoes, garlic and blueberries are some other readily available super-food staples in my diet!
6. Start a mind ~ body fitness practice. Most of us spend our days hunched over a computer. It’s so important to have some activity that moves the body on a daily basis. Some great examples are yoga, martial arts, running, tai chi, even gardening. The list goes on and on. Experiment until you find a practice that you really enjoy.
If you think about it, when you invest in your heath, not only do you save money, but you also get to enjoy the benefits of vibrant, amazing health for the rest of your long life! What could be a better investment than that!
