Ten Tips For Living A Long And Happy Life

We each have our own unique qualities and these are our gift to this old world that we live in. You don't have to be perfect, no one else is, you just have to be you. Be proud of all those special qualities that make you......you.

Remember that sometimes changes in your life can alter who you are and require you to set new attributes and goals for yourself. Always push yourself to be the best that you can be, but don't push yourself too hard, be confidant in the person that you are.

Rest when it is needed. There are times in life when the stress levels get just too high and you need to pull back and recuperate. So give yourself that break.

Be proud of yourself, and your capabilities, no matter what level they are at. Be proud of you.

Rest is a form of therapy and it is essential for your body to have when you are under physical or emotional stress. If at times you need a little extra of it, then don't fight it, take that extra nap.

Try to lay down each day for a 20 minute total rest period. Total rest meaning that you do absolutely nothing during this brief lay down. Although you do not need to sleep to receive the benefits of this rest period it is amazing the amount of energy that it will replenish you with.

Participating in a daily exercise program doesn't have to be a chore. Exercise comes in many forms and choosing fitness methods that you enjoy increases your odds of succeeding in a healthier lifestyle plan.

You can dance or walk your way to health. You can dance around your livingroom with an old broom as your partner or take a daily jog from room to room within your home. You can walk the dog a little more often, and take the car a little less, or buy a push lawnmower. You can join a gym, go swimming, or participate in a yoga or aquafit program. Go fishing, or simply window shopping, it really isn't hard to come up with fun ways of getting a little healthier.

Remember to pace your exercise program to your health. When you are healthy exercise will help build muscle or aid in lung and heart health. In times of illness, simple range of motion exercises will insure that you maintain as much movement as possible. Listen to your body and pace your exercise program by what it dictates. Then get out there and have fun!

Exercise is vital to human health and exercising today can be the key to your later quality of life.

Why is allowing our body to sweat so important?

Just as the kidneys are important for excreting waste from the body so is the process of sweating important in excreting waste from the body. In today's world of deodorants and air conditioners we don't allow ourselves to sweat as often as we should.

Sweating allows the body to rid itself of harmful wastes. Sweating helps reduce the accumulation of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and nickle within the body ,and also serves to secrete toxins such as alcohol, and nicotine from the body.

Sweating reduces bacteria in the body and can actually strengthen the immune system. Allow your body to heal itself!

So throw away the antiperspirant, and get out there, and work up a sweat. Just remember to add a little additional water to your diet so that dehydration does not occur.

Be aware of the pollutants that you are exposed to and take a few simple measures to reduce that exposure.

If you smoke; quit.

If your water system is an older one than it will most likely contain lead and other contaminants. A water filter system can substantially reduce the amount of these contaminates that you are exposed to. Most water purifiers are very reasonably priced and can be purchased at a local department or hardware store. With the amount of water we ingest daily it is very important to insure that it is as pure as it can be.

Many airborne particulates cause health related difficulties. If you live in a very polluted community consider a move to a cleaner environment.

Eliminate as many plastics as possible and instead switch to glass, wood, cast iron or steel surfaces. Do not use non-stick baking utensils as this coating currently contains a toxin which leaches at high temperatures.

Reduce the amount of electricity that you are exposed to. Evening and night is when you are most likely to be home and exposed so simple things like throwing out the electric blanket, reducing the amount of lighting you use, removing the electric clock from the bedside ( or better yet replacing it with a wind up one), sitting back from the T.V. or computer and reducing the amount of time you spend doing those activities can help. Instead pop on a sweater and spend a little more time outdoors.

Eat foods rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants slow the human aging processes down!

Antioxidants combine with the free radicals within our body to make them stable.

Free radicals are those molecules within our body that for one reason or another are incomplete.

These free radicals are desperately trying to become complete by stealing electrons from complete molecules. Unfortunately when they succeed, they then cause the donating molecule to become unstable, or to in effect become another free radical. This new incomplete molecule then goes off trying to make itself complete. This creates a chain reaction of damage among human cells which eventually results in the death of those cells. The resulting death of human cells is how our aging process occurs. The more cells that die then the more our bodies show the effects of age and the more susceptible we become to age related illnesses like cancer, heart disease, arthritis and stroke.

When a free radical becomes stable by picking up an extra electron from an antioxidant, the chain of cell damage stops because the antioxidant molecule remains complete even after it has donated one of it's electrons. The aging process that would otherwise have occurred grinds to an halt. This is the manner in which antioxidants slow down our aging processes. Eat foods rich in antioxidants! Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

Reduce sugars and starches, chemicals and preservatives, also fatty foods such as french fries and red meats from within your diet. Switch from fatty red meats to leaner white meats such as chicken, turkey or fish.

There are many foods will help your body cleanse itself, apples and rubarb are two common foods that will aide your body in removing toxins from within it, the old saying that an apple a day keeps the doctor away is actually quite true! Eating foods that are sulfur rich also helps the body to eliminate impurities and metals. Some helpful foods are: garlic, cabbage, beans, egg yolks and onions.

Minimize alcohol consumption. If necessary add vitamins to supplement your diet.

We all know by now that a lot of stress is not good for us. Stress can cause irreparable damage to the immune system which can leave a person open to all kinds of future illnesses and none of us wants that!

So how do you learn to relax? When a person has gotten used to living a stressful lifestyle it can actually be very difficult to really truly allow their body to relax. Well this is one arena of living that needs to be found, practiced, and incorporated into your lifestyle.

Don't say that you are just too busy, don't say that there isn't time, or that there are just too many other obligations at the moment, and that you'll take time for yourself later. YOU NEED TO DO THIS NOW! Reducing your stress levels and relaxing must be a part of your everyday life. A vacation to Mexico once a year doesn't work to remove the harmful affects of stresses that you have subjected your body to for the remainder of the year. You need to de-stress on a regular basis.

During a trying day take time to get away and just sit by yourself for a few moments. Go to that relaxing restaurant for a leisurely cup of coffee or tea, take an afternoon lunch break at a local park, or just a short few minute walk.

In the evening have that relaxing bubble bath or candle lit supper. Lie in bed with a good book, meditate, participate in a relaxing form of exercise, or go soak in a hot tub. Take that much needed time for yourself that will allow your body to recuperate from the everyday stresses of life and living. It isn't difficult. Just steal a few minutes here and a few minutes there.

This is important. Stress kills!

When you put that sweet little grin on your face your brain does an amazing thing and it releases a little chemical known as "endorphins". These endorphins are the body's natural pain killer and will reduce feelings of emotional or physical pain.

The more that you smile, the more often that you will find yourself smiling, without your even thinking about it.

Then without knowing when it happened, you will discover that you have actually become a much happier person, and all that it took was a simple smile.

Note: Did you know that smiling, like yawning, is contagious. Pass one along today.

You may have heard the saying that, "Laughter is the best medicine". Well this is a fact, laughter is one of those things like smiling, that makes you feel good. Feeling good releases those wonderful endorphins, and that makes us happy, and happy makes us healthy!

Laughter is also a great form of exercise with all the same great variety of health benefits for your body that exercise will give it. A good belly laugh will increase your breathing capacity, heart rate, and health.

So search for any reason that you can to laugh, the more often that you laugh, the more naturally that laughter will become for you. Sometimes people who have not laughed very often may find that they need to practice laughing. Even a fake laugh in the beginning works, the more often that you laugh, the more natural that it becomes.

Take a step into the past and learn how to be a kid again. Watch cartoons, read comics, and tell a few jokes. Be fascinated by the little things in life, and allow them to amuse, and entertain you. Get laughing!

Love with all your heart and soul. Giving and receiving love will give you a contentment in this lifetime that you cannot acquire through any other means. Many people envision love as a relationship between two individuals but there are just so many more ways to give and receive love. Love can exist between any and all living creatures.

It begins with kindness and it develops from there. A simple thoughtful gesture or a kind touch, and it does not take much, love has an amazing ability to grow.

Never be afraid to give freely of yourself and your emotions to as many living creatures as you are able to. The kindness that you give will not only make you more content with your life, but it will also create a wave of kindness, that stretches out far beyond what your eyes are capable of seeing.

Love is food for the heart. Kindness is the seasoning that flavors it.

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