10 Easy Ways to Live a Longer Life
Living a longer life is a commitment to a specific lifestyle which promotes good health. Your first step to living a longer life is making this commitment to long-term good health and longevity.
You begin this path to live a longer life and have long term good health when you realize and understand you can’t just blame your genes for your health. Your continued good health depends on developing habits and practicing useful things regularly that support your commitment.
Develop your plan for a longer life now. Plan how your life will be when you are in your 80’s, 90’s, or even 100. Will you be alert and active with friends? Will you be living alone? Will you be mentally alert?
Imagine yourself as a healthy person living a longer life. Focus on this goal. Be ready to make changes in your lifestyle to achieve the results you want.
Make regular reflexology sessions a part of your life.
For starters, review your diet. Are you consuming generous servings of vegetables and fruits? Do you eat lean protein every day? Do you eat whole grain foods, brown rice, nuts, and legumes? (I’ll cover the diet portion of a longevity lifestyle in future posts.)
Meanwhile…
Take care to prevent overeating. If you eat a proper diet in the proper amounts, you should have energy, you will slow the aging process, and you will postpone or prevent chronic diseases.
If you can prevent overeating, your body will be able to handle more types of stress, something that’s important if you are concerned about living a long life.
Develop a daily walking routine. Walking 10,000 steps each day will increase blood flow to the brain resulting in an improved memory. How can you do this? Walk more. Walk during your lunch hour. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Make it a goal to get off your seat and on your feet. Choose volunteer activities which require walking.
Take your vitamins! But, not just any vitamins. You don’t want to waste your money on nutrients you don’t need. Do some research. Make your knowledge current before you decide which vitamins to take. I’ll share more information about minerals and vitamins in future blog posts. For now, I suggest you look into vitamin D3. Find out for yourself if that’s a vitamin you need. When you take your vitamins, take them with food to promote absorption.
Take an aspirin a day…if your healthcare provider says it’s okay. I believe aspirin in moderation on a daily basis can help prevent diseases such as heart attack and some form of cancer. But, again, don’t take my word on this.
Hope you are enjoying this new series of posts on longevity! If so, please share them with your preferred social media network.
Thanks for reading!
Thurman Greco
10 Easy Wellness Tips to Improve Your Nutrition
A good way to lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes is to eat a steady diet of vegetables, grains, legumes, fruit, and dairy products with occasional servings of beef, poultry, and fish. This is good nutrition.
Butter is better. Margarine often has hydrogenated fats which you don’t need. Margarine also has artificial flavors, colors, etc. It’s better to eat moderate to small amounts of butter than margarine.
Want to add iron to your diet? Prune juice is high in iron. As a bonus, it’s also high in potassium. Think of prune juice as good nutrition!
Want to eat nutritious foods? Check out broccoli! Broccoli is low in calories and high in nutrition.
Beans, lentils, and dried peas are good sources of edible fiber. This translates to foods that are good for you if you want to lower your cholesterol level. This translates to better nutrition.
Having a burger? Skip the cheese and the bacon. These two foods add about 250 calories to your burger and add a good deal more saturated fat and cholesterol.
Thinking about your heart health? Eat fish once or twice a week. as good nutrition.
On a diet? You can cut your calories by about half if you’ll eat your chicken without the skin. This will also cut your fat content by about two thirds.
Skip the fruit containing dry cereals. Most of them don’t have much fruit in the cereal. If you want to eat cereal with fruit, add fresh fruit yourself. Your cereal will taste better, look better, and be more nutritious.
Go for the popcorn. Popcorn has fewer calories and fat than potato chips which makes it more nutritious!
Thanks for reading this article! Hopefully you’ll find tips you can use for more nutritious eating.
Please refer this article to your favorite social media network.
Thanks Again
Thurman Greco
10 Wellness Tips to Improve your Fitness
Fitness is a journey. It is a way of thinking, moving, believing, acting. Fitness is forever.
The most important, bottom line, rule about fitness is to Be Active!. There are many, many different kinds of exercise and diet. But, whatever lifestyle you choose, the most important thing is to Move!.
Regular exercise fights physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual decline. Whatever you do, include several brisk walks each week. Over time, this regular brisk walk can improve your fitness and “add years to your life and life to your years”.
Concerned about your risk of stroke? Add a daily walk to your life.
Are you getting too many colds? Exercise regularly and moderately to boost your immunity and improve your fitness.
Whenever possible, take the stairs. You’ll use more calories and build muscles at the same time.
Drink water even if you don’t feel thirsty. When exercising, drink 4 to 6 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes.
Do you have osteoarthritis? The best thing you can do is exercise. Check with your physician or physical therapist. Contact the Arthritis Foundation. Then, exercise, exercise, exercise.
Worried about falling? Protect yourself by developing the strongest thigh muscles you can. Strong thigh muscles will reduce the injury you might experience from a fall.
Don’t have time for exercise? Turn your coffee break into 10-minute workouts. These short breaks can offer a lot of fitness for not a lot of work. You can climb stairs for 10 minutes. Or, you can jump rope or have a quick run. Park your car 10 minutes from the office and walk those 10 minutes.
Drink as much water in the cold as in the heat.
Replace worn exercise shoes. Your fitness shoes are worn out long before you see wear on the outer sole or upper shoe.
Thank you for reading this article. Please refer this to your preferred social media network.
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
10 More Wellness Tips for Better Health
One of the most important wellness tips a person can use is the suggestion to take a few minutes out of every day to relax. A break every day for a few minutes will lower blood pressure, encourage good health and healing, and promote balance. Go Breaks!
Parsley is a popular garnish. Well, I eat the garnish! Parsley is both delicious and nutritious. So, I just can’t bear to throw it out. Join me in this habit.
Cut down on the salt. Add a few drops of lemon juice or substitute other herbs and spices. This can be one of your most important wellness tips!
Add avocado to your sandwiches and salads. Avocado is both delicious and nutritious. It’s high in nutrition and low in calories so that makes it a real bonus in your meal, and a practical wellness tip.
Read the Yogurt label because not all yogurts are created equal. If you want flavored yogurt, add your own. You’ll be eating fewer additives when you include fruits instead of purchasing the yogurt already filled with high sugary jams. Choose a yogurt with no artificial colors, artificial flavors, or no artificial anything.
Steam your veggies instead of boiling them. You’ll end up serving food which tastes better and has more vitamins and minerals.
Want to serve fruit with your cereal? Add your own! Many fruit containing cereals have little or no fruit in them. (This wellness tip is almost too easy!)
Avoid commercial dips. Your homemade dips will taste better and will have fewer additives. They will have fewer calories and fat, too.
Plain popcorn has fewer calories and fat than potato chips.
Drink water before, during, and after exercise.
Thank you for reading these wellness tips! Hopefully you’ll be able to use some or all of them. Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Thanks again for reading this article!
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
10 Wellness Tips for Better Health
Wellness is something we should all be interested in. We can all increase our health awareness through wellness..
Following are ten easy things you can do to promote your wellness.
Not all muffins are created equal. Read the labels so you choose a muffin which is more nutrition and less junk. Look for a muffin which has less than 500 calories and at least contains whole wheat flour in addition to eggs, butter, and other healthy ingredients.
Like baked potatoes? To get the most nutrients from your favorite food, eat the skin too. Ounce for ounce, the skin is where you’ll get more fiber, iron, potassium and B vitamins. This is wellness in action!
Eat foods rich in vitamin C every day. Besides oranges, the best sources of vitamin C are asparagus, blackberries, broccoli, cabbage, cantaloupe, cauliflower, grapefruit, kale, mustard greens, peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes. These foods help protect against cancer and other diseases.
While you’re at it, eat at least five other fruits and vegetables daily. Make sure these five servings are high in antioxidants.
If you’re concerned about urinary tract infections, drink ten ounces of cranberry juice cocktail daily. While this won’t substitute for medication, cranberry juice cocktail taken daily will help reduce infection rates over time.
Looking for low-fat cookies? Try fig bars. They’re both low in fat and high in fiber.
Like to bake cakes and brownies? You can reduce the fat in the recipe when you substitute applesauce or fruit puree for the oil, margarine, or butter in the recipe.
Low-fat milks are not created equal. If your concern is fat content, go for nonfat or 1 %.
Frozen fruits and vegetables are tasty, nutritious snacks. Frozen bananas, strawberries, strawberries are delicious!
Try a new fruit or vegetable every month. At the end of a year, you’ll know a lot more about food than you do now. And, the chances are that you’ll have new favorite foods!
Read labels on frozen breakfasts. Some are very high in fat. Others are also very high in calories. Go for the less fatty products.
So! Here you have ten suggestions with a bonus thrown in for good measure. I’ll be sending along other easy wellness tips along in coming blog posts. Hope you enjoy them all!
Thanks for reading this blog and thank you for reading this article. Please forward it to your friends. through your favorite social media network.
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
Healthy Sleep-
SLEEP WELL
Some of us sleep well. Some of us wish we could sleep well. And, some of us battle sleep and try to improve it. And, for some, this is a lifelong endeavor. Sleep simply eludes us .
Even though I sleep well, I fall in the category of those who try to improve my sleep. Through the years, I’ve developed some techniques that give me a successful night’s sleep not just once in awhile…but most nights.
Sleep is a priority with me. And not just a decent sleep, either. I want and need a good night’s sleep every night.
An important step I take each evening before I get into bed is establish a sleep intention. I do this every evening because I want my sleep to be restful and serene. I want to sleep throughout the night because my goal is to wake up rested and ready for the coming day. This is the intention I set each evening before I get in my bed.
CAFFEINE…OR NOT
I begin preparing for sleep each evening in the morning before I leave home. My caffeinated drinks are exclusively early day beverages and I taper off the caffeine as the day goes on.
One way I do this is limit my coffee to no more than five cups a day. Even though five cups is my limit, often I never even get to five cups. I enjoy unsweetened iced tea so I may drink more tea than coffee.
As midday rolls around, I switch to a latte. I may occasionally have a decaffeinated coffee in the afternoon. But, not often.
Most of the time, my afternoon drink is a large unsweetened iced tea.
TV TIME
When I’m home relaxing, I resist the temptation to watch “just one more program”. And, I limit my email time after dinner. And, neither my TV nor my computer can be found in my bedroom because they can interfere with my sleep.
A SLEEP SCHEDULE
I try to maintain a sleep schedule so that I go to bed pretty much the same time every evening and I get up about the same time on weekdays.
A PERFECT BEDROOM
My bedroom is the most serene room in the house. The walls are a pale cream color. The carpet is a quiet brown. I have several pieces of art on the walls which make me feel calm and positive. Sleep comes easy in this room.
And, my bed is perfect! I love it. The mattress is sooo comforting.
Are your sheets comfortable? Some people love cotton sheets. Others prefer flannel sheets. I’m on the flannel sheet side of the argument. I love the feel of the flannel sheets every night of the year.
When you buy sheets, carefully check the labels to be sure that you get what you pay for. Be sure your sheets are good enough quality that you can wash them in hot water and put them in the dryer.
Is the sheet fabric tightly woven enough to keep away dust mites, pet dander, and other allergens.
Whatever you choose, make sure you have sheets and blankets that you like. You need to like the color. You need to like how the fabric feels when you touch it.
And finally, you need to feel your bedding is inviting.
THE TEMPERATURE
Is your bedroom too hot or is it too cool? The last thing you want is to sweat or shiver throughout the night because when you’re shivering or sweating, you are not sleeping.
YOUR APPLIANCES
Your sleep doesn’t need to be disturbed with computer, smartphone, TV, and other appliances beep. So, they don’t belong in your bedroom.
CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER
Clearing out the clutter in your bedroom really helps. An uncluttered space is calming, inviting, serene. Go for it! Try clearing out the clutter about fifteen minutes a day until the room is all cleaned out. You’ll feel better and sleep better for it.
When I started clearing out the clutter, I felt things would look better in my bedroom but I was unprepared for the wonderful difference an uncluttered space made in my sleep.
MOVE YOUR HOME OFFICE TO SOMEWHERE ELSE
Ban your office from your bedroom. When you bring your work to your bedroom, you make it harder to unwind as you think about tomorrow’s problems before you try to go to sleep.
There are a kazillion other things you can do to improve your sleep. I’ll be discussing them over time. Some of the suggestions I’ll bring up may not interest you. Try what seems good to you. As you discover what improves your better sleep, you’ll benefit from the changes.
You may find you look better, feel better, and think better. It’s worth the effort to change your habits and environment.
Thanks for reading this article! Please refer it to your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Healthy Kitchen
Our lives are often over full with too much going on. We’re all busy. Working. Caring for children. Running errands. Studying. Volunteering.
Where is the time to shop for and prepare a leisurely, healthy meal?
Food can often be therapeutic. But, sometimes it’s hard to serve a healthy, healing meal to someone. when everyone is overworked, underpaid, short of time, and out of space.
BUT…
there are things that can be done to make your kitchen healthy and the meals easier.
Begin by making your kitchen a place where you want to be. Are the walls a color that you like? Is music that you like available in your kitchen? Do your utensils work?
If the answers to your questions were “no”, it’s time to try to make your kitchen a place where you want to be. Tackle one thing at a time and the room will soon be your favorite place.
Review your recipes. Do you have a few recipes for meals that are nutritious, delicious, easy to prepare, and fun to eat? If not, be on the lookout.
What you need is an arsenal of easy-to-prepare meals which you can rely on. Start with a few slow-cooker recipes which you can use during the week. This way, you can load the slow-cooker with ingredients before you leave for work, turn on the cooker, and return home at the end of the day to a delicious meal.
Do you have a favorite casserole recipe? Prepare this dish on your day off and then have it ready to eat the next evening.
Eat together as a family at least three times a week…more if you can. Make eating together non-negotiable.
Get your family members to help with the meal. Setting the table, washing the dishes, taking out the trash can all be done by family members.
I’m living proof that it is possible, even easy, to cook and serve healthy, nutritious, delicious, clean food that is easy to prepare and doesn’t cost a fortune.
When you work at this, you’ll soon have a kitchen that everyone enjoys. Your food will be delicious, easy to prepare, inexpensive, and fun.
Thanks for reading this post!
Please share this article with your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Healthy Lunch
Do you sometimes have trouble getting through the afternoon? Maybe it’s time to invest in a healthy lunch.
A healthy lunch doesn’t have to be just an extension of an already over packed morning. A healthy lunch should be a respite from the confusion and stress of the morning leading up to the lunch hour.
TAKE A WALK – Whether you work in an office, factory, retail outlet, or home, walking is a good way to make your lunch a bit more enjoyable and healthy. Your lhealthy lunch walk doesn’t have to be long. Nor is it a substitute for food. It is a chance to change your environment and move your muscles for a few minutes.
TAKE A POWER NAP – Five or ten minutes devoted to putting one’s feet up and closing one’s eyes can change your life. No kidding. A few minutes sleeping in the middle of the day makes a lot of difference in the remainder of my day. And, it can make the same difference in yours.
MAKE YOUR LUNCH HEALTHY. Healthy, clean food can make a world of difference in how you function in the afternoon. Basically, that means you eat foods that are food. Boycott chemical laden lunches which are low in nutrition and high in calories and toxic additives.
GET AWAY FROM YOUR DESK. No matter how stressful things are, physically remove yourself from your desk for at least fifteen minutes. Take a walk. Chat with a couple of working colleagues. Make a personal call or two. Your goal is to take yourself away from the desk physically, mentally, emotionally for a few moments.
DO YOU RUN ERRANDS? Walk them if you can. The exercise you get on your lunch break will refresh you physically, mentally, and emotionally.
ARE YOU ON A DIET? Start a lunch group where you eat with other colleagues who are also interested in weight management, health, and nutrition. You can enjoy the group socially as well as support each other as you lose weight.
YOUR HEALTHY LUNCH BEGINS WITH A HEALTHY BREAKFAST. It’s much harder to eat a healthy lunch if you’ve skipped breakfast and are hungry and craving high-fat, high calorie, high carb foods. A good breakfast which includes whole grains and lean proteins will serve you well throughout the morning.
INCLUDE A HEALTHY SOUP. A healthy soup will include the protein and fiber you’ll need to get through the afternoon. The ideal soup will be broth based and will make you feel full while not wasting calories.
LEAVE YOUR BUILDING. GET OUTSIDE. Whether you are running errands, power walking, or visiting with friends, make sure you walk outside your building for a few minutes. Take a few deep breaths. Be outside. Is it raining? Snowing? Broiling hot? Whatever is happening outside your building, spend a couple of minutes experiencing this day. Enjoy a couple of minutes of this escape to recharge!
No matter how stressful your day, consider how best to use your lunch time.
Go for it!
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Healthy Investments
Every day offers new opportunities to make healthy investments in ourselves. And, for me, the best investment I can make is the investment I make in my good health.
Below, I’ve listed some new things you can choose from to invest in your own good health. Enjoy!
MOVE FOR 30 MINUTES! This can be a quick walk during the day, or a trip to the fitness center to hop on a treadmill for thirty minutes. Or it can mean a bike ride or a dance class or a yoga session. But, whatever you choose, the important thing is you choose to move for at least thirty minutes every day. This healthy investment will pay for itself in dividends many times over.
BRUSH YOUR TONGUE for one minute every day. Your breath will smell better and your mouth will thank you.
KEEP A CALENDAR. Make a healthy investment in a smoother running day. The best way I know to get your day organized and your life simplified is to keep an appointment calendar. It doesn’t have to be large or elaborate. But, to keep track of where you’re expected to be each day can reduce stress because you’ll be less likely to forget an important appointment.
BREAKFAST IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY. Don’t skip it.
TAKE A VITAMIN. Just choosing which vitamin to take each day can be stress inducing. But, there are a few guidelines which can simplify the job. For starters, skip the time-release formulations. They may not be good for you and sometimes they elevate the price. Select a vitamin which doesn’t have a lot of additives such as sugars, artificial colors, preservatives. Skip chelated minerals. Vitamins are healthy investments.
GET ALL YOUR PRESCRIPTIONS AT ONE PHARMACY. Pharmacists offer good advice on many illnesses and diseases. Developing a relationship with your pharmacist is a good healthy investment. A pharmacist can be a good source of information for you. But, only if you get all your medicines from the same place. Otherwise, the pharmacist may not be completely aware of your situation.
TRY TO HAVE THE LEAST STRESSFUL DAY POSSIBLE. This means that you begin by promoting a calm attitude. Can you have a stress free commute? Begin each day by completing a to-do list for your day. Be as specific as possible. Print this list out on brightly colored paper (so you won’t lose it).
SCHEDULE SOME READING TIME. Spend at least fifteen minutes each day keeping up with activities in your areas of interest and work.
SLEEP IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN EXPERIENCE. Make sure you schedule enough sleep in every night. I know I keep writing about sleep but, honestly, it’s one of the most important things you do. When you sleep, your brain, your organs, your skin perform functions that are not done when you are awake. Sleep is essential and enough sleep is important. Sleep is a healthy investment.
KEEP HYDRATED. When we’re stressed, we forget to drink enough liquids. Liquids keep you awake, alert, refreshed, as well as prevent disease. So, drink up! Drink water, teas, juices. But, mainly, drink water throughout the day.
So, here you have the health lineup for the week. Hopefully you’ll find things that you can use to be healthier in your daily life.
Thanks for reading this blog post! Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
I’ll be suggesting more options for healthy living soon. Thanks for reading .
FINALLY, the second edition of “A Healer’s Handbook” is out. Hope you enjoy it!
Hope to hear from you soon! You can order “A Healer’s Handbook” at http://www.thurmangreco.com.
Healthy Results
In this blog post, I deliberately chose lifestyle changes which will offer you multiple health benefits. This is part of a series of healthy lifestyle tips to improve your life. Here are some new ones for you to choose from. Try them out. Some will work for you for a while. Others will be habits you’ll adopt and live with. These are all positive changes to improve your life.
GROCERY SHOPPING? – Choose whole, natural foods rather packaged or processed foods.
TAKE YOUR VITAMINS AND MINERALS daily. Choose ones that you need to supplement your diet. A nutritionist helps me choose the best supplements for my lifestyle situation, body type, age, and health. Think of your daily vitamins as a sort of wellness insurance policy. It’s hard to get all the nutrients we need each day. Vitamins make the job a bit easier.
SET YOUR ALARM to go off 15 minutes earlier each day. That way, you can slowly wake up . You’ll have a few minutes to stretch your arms, legs, hands, toes, feet, ankles, legs, neck and back. This will bring extra oxygen to your entire body and get your day off to a good start.
MAKE YOUR MORNING DECISIONS THE NIGHT BEFORE. That means you choose what clothes you’re going to wear the night before. Choose what you’re going to eat for breakfast. The more decisions you make the night before, the easier your morning will be.
KEEP A TO-GO CORNER where you put all the things everyone is going to need as they run out the door. This will include keys, wallet, book bags, gloves, hats, and whatever else will be needed.
CHOOSE A SHOWER. It’s healthier than a bath.
DRINK A LARGE GLASS OF WATER. You wake up each day dehydrated and you’ve been fasting all night so the water is good for you.
LISTEN TO FIVE OR TEN MINUTES OF QUIET MUSIC EACH MORNING. You’re probably going to hear people talking all day long. A few minutes of quiet music is helpful preparation.
KEEP YOUR BREAKFAST ROUTINE EASY. Healthy breakfasts can include granola, whole grain cereals, cottage cheese, yogurt, hard boiled eggs. Try spreading apple slices with peanut butter. Don’t forget the blueberries! Substitute peanut butter for butter.
TREAT YOURSELF TO DARK CHOCOLATE AS A TOPPING FOR YOUR CEREAL.
Dark chocolate has lots of antioxidants to keep your arteries healthy.
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UPDATE: The second edition of the Healer’s Handbook is officially published and available. You can purchase it online at thurmangreco.com.
Thanks for your support. Without your continued support, there would be no second edition of this book! Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
