How You Feed Yourself
It’s a yearly highlight to attend the Director of Hippocrates Institute in the UK each summer, to see Brian Clements give a series of lectures: I learn and confirm with him and reference Hippocrates Health Institute quite often during retreats.
As I wrote to you last week about sharing the love, and the weeks before about the importance of hydration, I’ve been contemplating a list on ‘How To Feed Yourself’ that Brian gave last year which was so potent. I wrote it down and have never forgotten it.
How You Feed Yourself
- Consciousness
- Oxygen
- Water
CONSCIOUSNESS
What Brian pointed out is that our health is dependent upon the ample supply of these three things, and in priority from top to bottom. So having a calm mind, a sense of purpose in life, a positive psychology and a sense of spiritual connectedness is essential to experiencing and maintaining optimum health.
We all know we cannot live without oxygen and water. But how often do we think about what we are feeding our minds?
Have you ever considered the reality that we are the content we consume? And content isn’t just food and drink – it’s everything from the air we breathe, the news we listen to and the social atmospheres we enter and dwell in. I know that for myself, even being the do-er that I am, if I do not feed my mind well and have hearty input to chew on, I get bored inside and that’s when I notice negativity creeping in. So here’s how and what I’m mentally eating at the moment:
I got the audible app on my smartphone and I listen to books as I drive. Since Jonathan was diagnosed with his eye condition in 2013, I’ve been the only driver in the house and as a result, it cuts down on my reading time. At the moment, I’m mentally eating a very interesting book by a gorgeous young German author named Giulia Enders – her book is simply called, “Gut”. Watch this video to meet her (click here). If you have struggled with IBS, skin issues or health issues that you haven’t been able to get to the bottom of, you might find the video interesting. It’s very entertaining AND educational!
OXYGEN
People who live in very polluted places, do not get sufficient exercise and/or are eating diets which diminish and limit the amount of oxygen in the system do not feel well. Oxygenation is the key factor for wellness and longevity. In January, I read about a company recently launched in the UK called Boost Oxygen that is now selling potted oxygen. Click here to check out their products, and read this article excerpt about the company:
“Boost Oxygen offers 95 and 98 percent pure oxygen in portable cans… The company launched in the UK last March, and supplies cans with up to 50 inhalations for £10.50. Sound crazy? ‘Think of it like bottled water,’ says Deborah Hewitt, the managing director. ‘When you can’t trust what’s on tap, you have to turn to a more secure source.’ Oxygen cans, she says, supplement energy levels, alleviate stress, and improve the mood: the less oxygen in your blood, the more tired and stressed you are. ‘It’s draining on the body to have the oxygen levels go down.’ A large number of UK customers, she says, are commuters who use the cans when stuck in traffic to avoid inhaling fumes from the cars in front.”
WATER
How much water are you drinking now? Have you figured it out yet? Drink half your body weight in ounces daily. So if you weigh 200lbs, your body needs a minimum of 100oz each day to maintain a healthy status quo. 100oz divided by a 16oz glass is 6.25 and a 16oz glass is the same as a pint so divide 6.25 by 2 and you’ll have the amount of litres required each day to maintain a 200lb body, which is 3.1L
HYDRATION FORMULA: Your body weight ______ divided by 2 = ______ .
Divide that by 16 ______ and then divide that by 2 = ______ L of water you need to drink per day. Ask if you need help.
When our naturopath/nutritionist Ade was here a couple of weeks ago, he spoke of the importance of consuming or eating our water. Our body loves it when we eat our water because the electrolytes in the food help the cells to absorb the water that food is giving us – so foods like celery, cucumber, watermelon, lemons, limes, grapefruits, sunflower shoots or pea shoots (available here) alfalfa sprouts, salads and other alkaline foods get absorbed very happily and convert into sustaining energy.
Drinking filtered, energised water, non-caffeinated teas and infusions and freshly made produce juices keeps us all hydrated, alert, healthy and detoxified because the body wants to heal itself and water is one of the top three ingredients that the body needs in order to do so.
I’m going to just say it now: drinking tap water is bad.
I’m sorry. If you’re a client, you know I avoid preaching as much as possible. But there are a few no-no’s and drinking unfiltered tap water is one of them. So please, if you are drinking unfiltered tap water, do something, and do it now. Stop it. The water we drink from the tap has recycled drugs and hormones in it that is seriously affecting our health. It’s one thing to buy organic food but what about drinking “organic” water? Whilst Brita water filters dominate the market and are most easily available there are others out there, so do your research.
We use a plumbed in Grander water system at Milestone and are planning to install one in our home up the road this Spring, where at the moment, we use a Brita filter jug and put all the water in glass carafes onto a large Grander board to revitalise. We sell Grander products and you can learn more by talking to us. To read the beautiful story about the man behind Grander, click here.