Every New Year people make different resolutions to better themselves in some way, top on the list is usually health-related from losing weight, to getting fitter, to quitting smoking, cutting back on alcohol etc. Today I am gonna dwell on the 4 basic things we need to take care of to ensure a healthy 2013…you ready? Lets go.

1.Mind your Health: It’s no more news that our minds and mental state have a profound effect on our physical bodies. The book of proverbs puts it perfectly “A merry heart doeth good like medicine but a broken spirit drieth the bones” Prov. 17:22. Every part of our being including our cells are sympathetic or respond to the positive and negative states of our minds. Your mind can make you sick. Thinking positive and expecting positive things to happen, laughing and being happy, forgiving wrongs can keep you healthy and strengthen your body against any external onslaught.

2.Eating right: The right foods eaten in the right proportion at the right time will ensure good health. So what is right? That depends on you. Do you want to maintain, lose or gain weight? Answering this question will help you determine quantity of food that you should consume.
The right food should include the following food classes- carbohydrate, protein, fats and oils, vitamins and minerals consumed in their right quantities to help you maintain your daily energy needs. What about the right time to eat, how many meals to eat per day and how frequently you should eat? Some say eat 3 times large quantities others say 6 times in small quantities. Others say eat every 2 hours still some say every 3 hours: This doesn’t matter. It’s all about what you eat not how you eat.
Determine first how what your energy needs are and then eat food to give you just what you need. How many times and what times they are eaten does not really matter. Find out what works for you, your schedule and your lifestyle. What you would most likely consistently stick to. For me it’s 3 or 4 times a day. What can I say? The Oracle has to be fed right? #laughs
Proper diet can help in the prevention and management of disease. Diet is what you eat but nutrition is what your cells receive through assimilation.

3.Sleep: Sleep is a natural state of rest characterized by reduced body movement and decreased awareness of surroundings.
During sleep your body gets to rest, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems. It makes you feel better, live longer, helps your memory, mood, mind and more.
Sleep needs can vary by age and among individuals. Sleep is considered adequate when there is no daytime sleepiness or dysfunction. A psychiatry study of more than one million adults found that people who live the longest self-report sleeping for 6-7 hours each night.
Sleep deprivation is a condition of not having enough sleep and it has its effects which include aching muscles, confusion, memory lapses/loss, depression, malaise, headaches, increased stress levels, Attention deficit disorder etc

4.Exercise: This is physical activity and movement intended to keep a person fit and healthy. There are over 600 muscles in the body and these muscles need to be exercised regularly. Regular exercise can help protect you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, obesity and can improve your mood and help you manage stress better. Exercising 30 minutes daily is great for general overall health benefits.

Making the above a part of your lifestyle will ensure you feel better, live longer and have a fantastic 2013, I promise… see you next week where we will most likely go into these areas in more detail…