Health, nutrition and fitness are the three interrelated areas that determine an individual’s sense of happiness and well being.

Health

Health involves the physical, mental and spiritual levels of the individual. A physically healthy person is one who can carry out normal daily physical activities and respond to emergencies with out undo fatigue or pain. The health part of health, nutrition and fitness is achieved through a balanced program of good nutrition, healthy physical activity, continuous education and mental activities, and social and spiritual activities. Your choices of the food you eat and your physical activities affect both your short term and long term health (how you feel now and in the future). You may be getting plenty to eat, but if it is not a proper balance of choices from all five of the basic food groups you may be adding fat to your body without generating the energy to burn the calories and energy to the cells to carry out their functions. Healthy physical activity helps burn off any excess calories you consume, and keeps muscles and joints flexible and strong. Your efforts of continued education (reading, attending seminars, as well as attending formal education classes), and spiritual activities (social activities, attending devotional services, meditation, etc) provides you with a sense of accomplishment and well being. An important part of good health is being physically fit and maintaining proper body weight. Maintaining good health requires following a nutritional diet, and exercising to build and maintain muscles, and to burn of any excess calories.

Nutrition

The nutritional health part of health, nutrition and fitness deals with the food we consume to maintain our health and provide energy to carry on our daily lives. Nutrition is the process of nurturing or being nourished; the total of all the processes that a plant or animal uses to take in and process food substances to maintain a healthy life. A healthy nutrition life style requires a balanced diet of food selected from the five basic food groups, fruits, vegetables, naturally calcium rich dairy products or calcium enriched products, whole grains, and protein (lean meat fish, peas and beans). Other nutritional factors should also be considered. Most fruits and vegetables are better if they are consumed raw because heating destroys some of the healthy nutrients. Steaming and broiling food is better than boiling or frying foods. Preparing fresh fruits and vegetables is better than processed or prepared foods.

The prepared foods generally contain more salt (sodium) than necessary and other flavor enhancing substances. Some of these additives do not add any nutritional value to the food and may even be harmful to your health. More nutritional factors to consider are the variety of the fruits and vegetables in our diet. Nutritional data shows that dark green vegetables (romaine lettuce, kale, broccoli, etc.), and orange vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and summer squash) provides more nutritional value than some of the less colorful vegetables. Here are even more nutrition facts. Some foods contribute to burning fat. Green tea contributes to fat burning by increasing the body’s metabolism and increasing energy level. Foods high in protein are more difficult to digest so they require more calories in the digestive process. Good nutrition practices may not be sufficient for some people they may require unique supplements such as CoEnzimeQ10 or others.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness part of fitness, health and nutrition is the ability to carry out daily activities, enjoy leisure activities and have a healthy immune system to resist disease and infection. Developing and maintaining good physical fitness requires a balance of good nutrition and varied physical exercise. There are there elements to physical fitness: specific fitness the ability to perform daily functions related to work or recreation, general fitness the ability to enjoy leisure time and a sense of peace with the environment, preparedness the ability to over come or avoid emergencies.

There also three factors in achieving good physical fitness good nutrition, physical exercise and restful (sleep). The nutrition maintains the health of the cells and provides the energy to perform the exercises. Physical exercise may be used to accomplish work to earn a living, participate in athletic events, develop and maintain healthy cardiovascular system, or control body weight. Physical fitness and how physical fitness is achieved varies depending on individual. If a person is involved in an occupation that requires vigorous activity and has good nutrition possibly no other exercise is needed to maintain a fit body.

However, even people who are who work hard at their occupation may need additional cardiovascular exercise to keep their heart and blood vessels in optimum condition. People whose profession does not require vigorous physical exercise special effort is required to achieve and maintain physical fitness. A good nutritional diet is the obvious starting point. Some easy things are use stairs rather than elevators, park a little farther from the office or store entrance, throw away the television remote, change channels the old fashion way, and walk to near by offices or neighbors rather than using the telephone. These efforts will help, but more vigorous physical exercise is needed for good physical fitness.

For cardiovascular health a routine of physical exercise over a period a minimum of 20 minutes three times per week is required. The best and generally most convenient cardiovascular exercise is walking. Another good cardiovascular exercise is swimming. Swimming will also help in building and toning muscles. The other factor in developing and maintaining physical fitness is strength exercise to build and tone muscle and to burn fat. Strength exercises are good for weight management because they stimulate muscle growth even after the exercise has been completed. This means that the body continues to burn fat for an extended period of time.

Mental Health

Mental health, as it applies to health nutrition and fitness, is the way we think, how we feel and how we act as we interact with our surroundings. Our mental health contributes to our relations with other people, how we make decision, make choices and how we cope with stress. People with good mental health are able to control their emotions, feelings and behavior. Keeping the mind active through reading, playing games, and an active social life contributes to good mental health.

Spiritual Health Spirituality can be defined as sensitivity or attachment to religion, or as a state condition of being spiritual. Some people ignore or overlook the importance of spirituality in relation to health nutrition and fitness, because they relate spirituality only to religion. Through out history man has struggled with the concept of spirituality. Basically spirituality is the struggle to become the most perfect person or individual. The path to achieve this goal may be through seeking external help through religion of some form, or internal through meditation and study of both present and past human interactions. The above is based on personal study, experiences and observations through out my life.

How can we know what foods or herbs are beneficial for us?

Nature does not come with its own manual, or does it? Native American Indians and Oriental cultures believe it does.

Nature is economical and it likes to reuse its designs as much as possible.

One way that Nature directs us to the foods and herbs that will help us is by the Doctrine of Signatures.

The Doctrine of Signatures states that by observing where a plant grows, or by the color or shape of its flowers, leaves or roots, or by its growth location, we are given the guide to its medicinal use. Some herbalists see it as God’s signature.

The Shape-

Beans are the kidney shaped and are considered especially nourishing for the kidneys by practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Pumpkins are large, round and hollow, just like stomachs. Many traditional cultures recommend pumpkin as a cure for stomach problems.

Walnuts resemble the brain in appearance. The omega 3 fatty acid in walnuts improves brain function and boosts memory.

The herb, Hepatica Acutiloba is a perennial wildflower which grows in the eastern United States. It has a three-lobed leaf resembling a liver. Herbalists use this herb to treat liver conditions.

A classic example of the Doctrine of Signatures is ginseng. This root is shaped like a human body, and in fact, ginseng is reputed to boost overall health and the immune system.

The carraway seed is similar in appearance to the secretory gland in the digestive tract. It is often added to German cooking to help with digestion.

The appearance of nettle is similar to hair. It is used in herbal potions to assist with hair problems.

The herb boneset has a stem that appears to be growing through the leaves. Herbalists believed that this was a clue to the use of boneset as a herb to set bones.

Aniseed has a very similar appearance to the terminal alveoli of the lung, and in fact it is used for coughs.

The Location –

The herb arnica, which is used for blows, strains and bruises, grows on rocky slopes of hills and mountains where these injuries are common.

Elder and skunk cabbage grow naturally in wet lowlands or swamps and are used for diseases of wetness such as colds and respiratory disorders.

In general it is assumed that a plant that grows in wetlands or marshy land would be good for wet disorders in the body. One such plant is watercress, which is recommended for coughs, head colds, bronchial ailments, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema and kidney stones, among other things.

The Color – Red and purple flowers and fruits are often blood cleansers or blood builders. Red berries are recommended by medical practitioners as blood builders.

Burdock, echinacea and sweet violet are used to treat disorders of the blood and skin. However beware, because nature has another use for red and that is for danger or for heat – so be careful when you nibble chillis!

Yellow is a color associated with the liver and gallbladder. Dandelion is one of the best remedies for the liver and it has a yellow flower. Yellow Dock is another important liver herb, although in this case the color is in the root.

Blue is said to be soothing to the digestive system. Lavender and motherwort which have pale lilac-blue flowers, are used in cooking as digestive herbs.

In TCM it is said that the color black is associated with the kidneys – hence a black bean would be extremely good for the kidneys. Black sesame seeds are also considered to be good for the kidneys, and even black spruce essential oil is indicated for adrenal burn-out.

The Texture-

Touch signatures are also considered to be significant. Certain plants that are rough or prickly are used therapeutically for skin conditions.

Aloe vera is a very spiky plant and is used for healing wounds.

Nettle is used both herbally and homeopathically for itching, rashes, or other irritated skin conditions.

The above are just a few examples of how nature stamps its signature on plants.

Eating is one of the most important things we do in our everyday life. We need food in order to live and survive. It is always a necessity and we always love to enjoy eating. It’s part of who we are and part of our culture and actually we depend on it so we can live and be healthy. The foods we eat are the source of our energy and nutrition. Ever since before our birth, we already started eating inside our mother’s womb and when we were born, we desire to eat because it is our need.

We need to eat to survive, basically that is just as simple as that but most of us know so little about eating, about how the food we eat everyday affect our health. That’s why we need to know the importance of eating healthy foods to achieve good health and live life to the fullest.

Not all people know how to choose the right and healthy foods. The reality is that as long as the food tastes good, they don’t really care but to eat it because it’s good. I myself is even guilty to that. Tasteful foods are very hard to resist and I know that you agree to that. But in reality, the more tasteful the food is it all consists of so much bad ingredients that can cause different kinds of illnesses to your body.

There are times that it’s very hard to resist delicious food but you also have to think that not all delicious foods are very healthy. So it is of utmost importance to be able to understand what foods to choose and stay healthy as you can. Staying healthy is not just about doing exercises and loses all excess weight; it is also all about eating a well balanced diet that consists of healthy foods. There is no use if you’re doing exercises while eating junk foods instead of healthy foods.

Here are some healthy foods to achieve good health:

Fruits and vegetables, this is the most important foods that we need to eat. Basically, they are water-rich for great cleansing; they provide many essential vitamins and minerals. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can help reducing risk of heart disease, stroke, blood pressure, cancer etc. So believe in the saying “Eat your fruits and vegetables”.

Low fat dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, milk and dairy dessert. The calcium in dairy has long been known to promote strong bones and recently scientists discovered that low fat dairy also helps reducing cholesterol level, hypertension and migraine headaches. Remember to choose low fat dairy products and be sure to read the nutritional facts on the food label.

There is a greater dimension to health than just feeling good.

Many people answer this question: “good health is feeling good”, however there is so much more to being healthy than how you feel.

WHAT IS HEALTH?

The World Health Organization defines health as: a state of optimal physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Webster’s defines health as: a state of wholeness in which all organs are functioning 100%, 100% of the time. Therefore, health is not just how you feel, it is how you are functioning.

Symptoms are a poor indicator of health and usually show up late in the disease process. For example, thousands of Americans die of heart attacks each and every year and the heart attack is the first sign of disease. You can’t wait until symptoms show up before you decide to act. Would you rather choose a lifestyle of wellness in which your body always functions at an optimal level or unknowingly allow various diseases to progress to a level of crisis before you seek action?

WHERE DOES HEALTH COME FROM?

Health comes from within. Your body has the inborn ability to heal itself naturally without drugs or surgery. You were born to be healthy. For instance, if you cut your arm, the body can heal the cut without band aids or antibiotics. If your body has the ability to heal itself, why doesn’t it? The answer: sometimes we don’t give our body enough time to heal on its own or the actual cause of the problem is still present and interfering with the healing process. Most patients search for a pill or a potion to relieve their discomfort instead of locating the cause of the problem and removing it. By removing the actual cause it allows our body an opportunity to heal naturally.

Remember, healthy people don’t get sick, only unhealthy people get sick.

YOUR MASTER CONTROLLER

Your nervous system controls the function of every cell, tissue, organ and system in your body and coordinates them together so that our body works in perfect harmony. Therefore, our nervous system plays a vital role in healing our body. In order for you to have true health, your nervous system must be able to function without interference. Your central nervous system is so important that nature built armor around it: your skull, and spinal column. However, even with this “inborn protection” our nervous system can experience interference, injury or disturbance. We call this interference to our nervous system: Subluxation.

The month is about love and there is no better way to say I love you than to share heart healthy insight with friends, family and loved ones. For so many years when the topic was heart health most of the info was based on what the medical profession knew about men and their heart health. Fortunately health professionals have revised their outlook and there is now research and data available on women. We’ve learned that it is important for women to know the risk factors.

Now I wish I could say it was all about the medical info, but as you know you can often get the attention of women when you pair the subject with fashion. We’ve all heard about Go Red for Women, ® the designated day each February when folks are encouraged to wear red to spotlight the importance of women having healthy hearts. This month I’m encouraging you to go red, add some sizzle and put that hot color on your menu year ’round.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. One in four women in this country dies of heart disease. Risk factors contributing to heart disease include high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity. Though these factors affect both sexes, several factors can affect the heart health of women more than that of men. Factors which can play a role in the development of heart disease in women are:

• The combination of fat around your abdomen, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high triglycerides.

• Mental stress and depression. Depression makes it tough to maintain a healthy lifestyle and stick to the treatment. So talk to your doctor if you’re having symptoms of depression.

• Smoking is a greater risk factor for heart disease in women than in men.

• Low levels of estrogen after menopause may increase a woman’s risk for developing cardiovascular disease in the smaller blood vessels.

Women most often are the caregivers, but in reality we often overlook giving ourselves the care we need. Each of the above risk factors can be decreased by making changes in lifestyle. By adding and increasing the priority of regular exercise to the daily or weekly routine, women can help reduce fat around the abdomen, blood pressure, depression and stress. The addition of one healthy lifestyle activity can pay off by reducing at least four risk factors. Now that’s a high-heeled step in the right direction.

Smoking cessation is a must-and the benefits start immediately. After 20 minutes blood pressure decreases, after eight hours, oxygen levels in the blood rise and after 24 hours the chance of a heart attack decreases. Within 48 hours, the ability to taste and smell increases, which adds up to more enjoyment in the flavor and texture of good-for-you foods.

Stock up on colorful red fruits and vegetables. By increasing the amount of produce in the daily diet, you can maximize the nutrients, increase anti-oxidants, and fiber-all recognized picks for a healthy lifestyle. Choices include red beets, pomegranates, red cabbage, red grapefruit, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, red apples, red grapes, tomatoes, red currants, dried cranberries and cherries. Add red to the menu and look for the eye-catching color in the freezer, produce section and on supermarket shelves.

Now changing your lifestyle is not limited to women, this is a change that is good for the entire family.

If you are looking for something sweet that is also good for your body, try panela. It is the original unrefined product of sugar cane, in the same form first made centuries ago. This rich, brown sweetener with a caramel flavor has a long cultural heritage in Central and South America as a heath-giving food. In India, where it is called jaggery, it is also considered a health food, and was even recommended by Gandhi as a traditional alternative to industrialized white sugar.

Long before industrialization, sugar cane was cultivated and its juice extracted by hand as a medicine. The sugar cane is extremely hard and tough. That the effort was made to extract the juice without the modern machinery used today indicates its value to traditional peoples.

To obtain panela, organic sugar canes are carefully washed, gently squeezed, and evaporated in the open air on small farms in Central and South America. The resulting gel is then poured into molds and cooled, and sold in hard bricks of various shapes. It is a traditional artisan product with all its original vitamins and minerals.

What sets panela apart from other sugar cane sweeteners is that it is completely unrefined. The first step of making any sugar is to press the juice and cook it down into a thick syrup. Panela stops there. The refining process takes panela and continues to boil it until crystals form, which separates the sucrose from the remaining liquid and all the nutrients. Refining continues until the cane juice is completely separated into refined white sugar, and black molasses. Any time you see a crystallized (or “granulated”) sugar, it’s been refined to some degree. Panela is not. There is no industrial process involved in making panela at all.

A nutritional analysis of panela shows why it has traditionally been considered a health-giving food. Panela contains significant amounts of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron–more than most commonly eaten foods.

Traditional cultures know that panela has some unique medicinal properties. It prevents tooth decay, nutritious anemia (due to iron deficiency) and rickets (due to vitamin C deficiency). It also provides energy without the “sugar rush” and blood sugar spikes that are the result of refined sugars.

In South America, the main use of panela is to make health drinks, known as Aguapanela or Papelon con Limon. These are extremely popular. They are given to infants and even cyclists drink them as a natural sport drink due to their high vitamin and mineral content. It is also used as a flu remedy.

In the United States, panela is sold in it’s original block form in Hispanic stores and is the key ingredient in a drink sold under the Pannela brand (www.mypannela.com).

Do you value good health? If so then good health is, in many respects, in your hands.

Whilst many people assume that poor health and disease are a matter of bad luck, that is often not the case. Of course there are some elements of bad luck involved in ill health, like genetics, but even then taking care of your health can go some way towards overcoming your bad luck.

And whilst there’s many things you can do to help improve your prospects of good health throughout life the formula for good health is really relatively simple.

Whilst it’s simple, it’s not necessarily easy. Simple and easy are 2 different things.

The basic formula for good health, ignoring bad luck for a moment, is to take active control over the most important parts of your life that affect your health.

Whilst that sounds simple so many people don’t make the effort to control the most important things in their life that may negatively impact their health.

For instance it is now clearly established, even to the satisfaction of the cigarette companies, that smoking is extremely bad for you and can cause you to die prematurely.

And yet so many people begin take up smoking or continue to smoke. Virtually no one now in the developed world can realistically maintain that they didn’t know smoking was bad for you. And yet so many people smoke.

See what I mean? Simple, but not easy. The simple fact is stopping smoking, or not smoking, will improve your health. But it’s not necessarily easy to follow that is.

The same applies to exercise. It is now well understood that maintaining a good exercise regime throughout life reduces your risk factors for a whole range of unpleasant, and often fatal, diseases and conditions. The range of conditions which, according to the research, can or may be prevented, or at least the risk of thereof can be reduced, is enormous.

Again, simple. Keep exercising throughout life. Not necessarily as easy to do.

Another simple rule to improving your health or reducing your risks is to eat well. Again it’s unlikely that anyone in the developed world could realistically maintain that they didn’t know that eating large quantities of junk food, high-fat food, high sugar food and processed foods throughout their life increases the risks of various diseases.

Eating well is simple, though not easy. Eating well to maintain health simply involves eating high quality natural meals, preferably cooked yourself, rich in fruit and vegetables, and avoiding junk food, high fat, salt and sugar food.

There’s more of course. We could look at specifics. For instance I write often about the health benefits of the Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and other seafoods. The Omega 3 fats, according to research, can benefit your health in a number of different areas, including reducing your risk of dying.

Increasing your intake of the Omega 3 fats, according to the research, can reduce your risks of a wide range of health conditions, from a baby right through until later life. Eat more fish, or take the best fish oil supplements you can find.

But the basic principles are what I’ve outlined above. Exercise, good diet and avoiding smoking will, if all 3 are followed throughout life, reduce your risk of any one of many unpleasant and painful health conditions, some of which will kill you.

It’s a simple formula. It’s not easy but it’s not all that hard if you consider the alternatives. So remember.

Eat good food, get plenty of exercise and don’t smoke and you’re well in front of so many of the rest of the population.

Oh, and make sure you take the best fish oil supplements you can buy, more Omega 3 is good for you to.

This week the media claimed, “A calorie is a calorie”. They were citing a new study, which found that burning a calorie through exercise or removing it from your diet is equal for losing fat. The study was somewhat controversial because it has long been accepted that combining exercise with dieting makes it easier to lose weight.

Exercise increases your body’s sensitivity to its own insulin and that makes it easier to lose fat, especially around the mid-section. However, the new study said it didn’t make any difference. They concluded that it is not possible to lose weight from ‘target’ areas and that your genes dictate where your weight loss comes from. I see several problems with their arguments.

Is a calorie a calorie?

First, the new study only looked at a small number of people and that makes it difficult to make general assumptions. Second, the study only used a very strict diet, making it difficult to generalize for many types of foods. Third, the study only employed cardiovascular exercise and not weight training, which has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity. So, although the experiment told us something about how exercise burns calories, the conclusions went a little too far.

Finally, the media’s interpretation of the study was misleading as well. In stating that ‘a calorie is a calorie’ the media suggests that it doesn’t matter what kinds of food you eat, but that it is really the total calorie content that matters. This is not what the study concluded at all. The researchers were simply comparing reducing calories in the diet to burning them through exercise. They made no conclusions about which sources of calories were better than others.

This is just another example of the media exaggerating the results. No wonder people are so confused about health advice. The media’s constant misinterpretation of the data makes people think that researchers are always changing their minds on health issues.

It’s all about Balance

Maintaining health is really not that hard. Many of us over-think the problem. Using a common sense, maintaining a diet balanced in fats, carbohydrates and proteins, taking a quality multivitamin and getting some exercise goes a long way.

Balance is a critical issue in any dietary change. Fad diets that tout low-carb or low-fat are very short sited. Most people are surprised to hear that the brain is 60% fat! And several types of fat needed for brain function must come from the diet – meaning the body can’t make them. What this means is that trying to remove too much fat, especially polyunsaturated fat, from the diet can actually starve the brain.

When is fat good?

In fact, a report that came out of Sweden this week showed that some kids were overweight because they didn’t get enough of the right kind of fat. The Swedish researchers found that kids who didn’t eat enough poly-unsaturated fat, mostly omega-3 fats, actually had a higher chance of being overweight.

The brain is also an energy hog. It uses about 10% of the energy you eat even though it only accounts for about 2% of total body mass. Where does most of our energy come from? – carbohydrates and fat. A balanced diet is about 15% fat, 60% carbohydrate and 25% protein. Athletes may need a little more carbohydrate for endurance or protein for strength.

So please don’t subscribe to fad diets that tell you to cut out all the fat or carbohydrates from your diet. They’re not good for your body and they’re not good for your brain.

Copyright (c) 2007 The Brain Code LLC

Powerful indoor plants that are known to bring you good health, love and good luck

It’s well-known that having plants in your home is as good for your health as your happiness.

Here we compiled a list of 10 plants and 2 herbs that are known to bring you good health, love and good luck.

1. The Feng Shui Money Tree

One of the most popular of plants in feng shui practices, The Money Tree is known for increasing and locking in, or securing, luck and prosperity for those who possess it. This ‘locking in’ is aptly symbolized by the braided trunk of the tree. What’s more is that this tree, under the right humid conditions, will both flower and produce edible nuts.

So even though it will never actually grow money, it certainly is a tree that keeps on giving.

2. Draecena, or, Lucky Bamboo

Now this is a plant with some history! Lucky bamboo has been used for over 5, 000 years in traditional feng shui practices. It is said to “bring a very peaceful and wise energy into your home.

It also teaches the ultimate wisdom: how to be flexible and hollow (open) on the inside, so that the spirit can freely flow and heal your being.

For all of those reasons and more, lucky bamboo is extremely popular in Western culture now, too. Offices and homes alike are adorned with the plant said to bring us health, love, and of course, luck. Aside from the promise of prosperity, this plant offers a vibrant green accent to any space.

3. Spathiphyllum, or, The Peace Lily

This deep green plant with gorgeous bright white blooms helps humans prosper by significantly improving their indoor air quality, helping to prevent asthma, headaches, chronic illness, cancers and more.

The Peace Lily does all that simply by being there in your home.

They remind us to let go of the stress that can build up in our day when the pressures of jobs and family mount. Peace lilies are great for offices to create a sense of calm during a hectic day or in bedrooms to provide a sense of tranquility and restful sleep. As a gift, peace lilies are a sign of good will.

4. Morning glory

Morning glories in the garden are said to bring peace and happiness and its seeds under your pillow encourage restful sleep free of nightmares.

These pretty summer flowers open their prolific bell-shaped blooms in the early morning before the summer’s midday heat, so it’s not surprisingly they have earned their reputation for helping to brighten your day.

5. Jade plant

The jade plant (crassula ovata) is another popular good luck charm in Asia thought to activate financial energies. This beautiful succulent has vibrant green leaves symbolic of growth and renewal, closely resembling jade coins, symbolic of wealth and prosperity.

Jade is a traditional gift for businesses and many business owners place a jade plant near the entrance, or in a southeast location to bring prosperity and success.

6. Lotus

Lilies paired with lotus flowers bring luck and purity to a garden. Just be mindful that to maintain positive energy, you must remove wilted or spent flowers and trim any dead or dying parts from the plant.

7. Jasmine

Jasmine attracts love and money into your home, and encourages prophetic dreams! Jasmine oil is known for being one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs, so this is a fantastic plant for single babes or anyone wanting to keep the romance alive!

Jasmine flowers are often worn by high priestesses. Incredibly, jasmine flowers open at night, which, to my mind, makes them even cooler.

8. Lemon tree

As well as being bright and happy, lemons are a fantastic thing to have around the house!

They symbolise purification and friendship, and it’s said that if you wear diluted lemon oil during the full moon, it will help you attune with its energies.

9. Miniature roses

Roses are said to have the highest vibration of all living things.

They attract love, healing and luck, offer protection and healing, and help with divination of all kinds.

The colour of your rose has a meaning, too. White: Purifying and healing, positive energy. White with red details: Devotion and passion. Peach: Peace, spirituality and friendship. Pink: Romantic love, sweetness, fun and play.

10. Orchids

They represent love: they attract love, soothe the soul, and deepen friendships. The ancient Greeks associated orchids with fertility and virility, which makes them a great gift for new parents!

In this list I would love to add two herbs as well.

11. Rosemary

Rosemary increases your brain power, can help you get a good night’s rest, and keep you youthful (well, so they say)!

This herb attracts love and encourages lust, has properties of protection and purification, helps with healing, and can even be used in exorcisms.

12. Sage

Sage is well-known for its qualities of protection. It also represents immortality, longevity, wisdom and the granting of wishes.

As a busy homeopath and mother, my time is valuable. After detours, mistakes and years of searching for the healthiest ways of living, I’ve boiled down my research and time tested tips to a simple seventeen. Here are my top all-time favorites:

1. Stay calm. The world is not as scary a place as the media and other self serving concerns might lead us to believe. When I’m anxious or worried I repeat “Be still and know that I am God”. This gives me inner peace to know that God is protecting all of us. No matter who you believe God to be, pray or study daily. If you’re Catholic, say your rosary. If you’re protestant, read your bible. If you’re Jewish study your teachings. Don’t miss out on the importance of faith.

2. Don’t watch TV, or spend unproductive time on the Internet. After working in the field of media, I learned that it is not in our best interest to be subjected to most forms of media as a steady diet. Protect your children from it as well.

3. Eat like your great grandparents did. Eat whole, real and “untampered-with” foods. Make your meals yourself. It takes longer, but the rewards are worth the effort. There is something therapeutic about chopping fresh vegetables and creating soup from homemade stock. And you’ll earn a reputation as a good cook!

4. Learn enough homeopathy to be able to treat yourself and family for life’s little unknowns. The more you know, the more you’ll want to know. Homeopathy is timeless and enduring. At the very least, find yourself a credentialed, experienced homeopath and use his/her services liberally.

5. Stay away from conventional medications as much as possible. Most meds are dangerous and at best superfluous. Every drug has a healthy counterpart either homeopathically, as a kitchen cure or an herb. (My CD “Homeopathy First Aid; Perform in the Storm” is available my homeopathy website.) Learn the safe alternatives and use them with confidence. Save the use of modern drugs for life threatening situations only.

6. Get fresh air and direct sunshine at least 30 minutes daily. Throw out the sun screen. Have you read the ingredients? It inhibits vitamin D and is loaded with chemicals not meant to be slathered on skin. Instead, if needed, protect your skin the old fashioned way: a hat, cover-up and common sense when in the sun.

7. Get daily exercise. I realize how trite this statement sounds, but after years of resisting exercise myself because of time constraints, I’ve come to learn that I’m more productive and happier when I work out. Even a short walk is good enough.

8. If possible, keep a garden and animals. A flower or vegetable garden can be a sight for emotionally sore eyes. They keep us closer to what is important in life; simple pleasures.

9. Protect your family and the integrity of the family in our society. That means your marriage and the marriages of those around you. A unified family is the basis of a healthy, prosperous and creative society.

10. Keep your exposure to electromagnetic fields to a minimum. Use a cell phone directly at the ear only when absolutely necessary.

11. Expose yourself and family to the intelligent, creative and lofty of our society by listening to classical music, reading fine literature, viewing fine art, we are inspired to greatness ourselves. Then emulate and study those who have had successful and creative lives: Mother Teresa, Benjamin Franklin, Gandhi, Churchill, Beethoven.

12. Drink fresh, raw milk. If it’s available in your part of the world, take advantage of it. If not, find a farmer who will sell this to you on a regular basis. Most people who believe they are lactose intolerant are actually intolerant of pasteurized, homogenized, ultra-pasteurized milk. These products are a paltry resemblance of real milk. The changes you’ll see in imbibing this elixir may amaze you.

13. Eat raw dairy products from animals that are pasture fed and preferably organic. Raw sheep’s milk cheese from Italy, raw goat and cow’s milk from France, Denmark, Ireland and sometimes the US.

14. Eat organic. At least as much as possible, buy or grow your own vegetables and eat meat from pasture fed animals. In other words, support local, organic, family farms.

15. Include some fermented food or drink with every meal. Old fashioned sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, fermented carrots, etc. They provide live enzymes that allow us to break down the cooked foods we eat. They are excellent for intestinal disorders and are utilized by the healthiest people on the earth.

16. Try to eat as close to 80% raw foods daily. This is not as difficult as one would imagine when drinking raw milk, eating fermented and fresh vegetables, and incorporating raw yogurt, cheeses and butter.

17. Do good work. Prepare your food and nurse your family with love. Whatever it is you choose to do, do it with aplomb, commitment and joy.