The 5 Do's and Don'ts of Health

Many people wanted to improve their health but are overwhelmed with information. Here’s a short list to get you started:

The Do’s -- which should represent 80% or more of your diet and lifestyle.

* Water: Drink half of your body weight in ounces per day. A 160 pound person should drink at least 80 ounces of fresh pure water every day. If you drink any caffeine, alcohol, or sugary drinks add an extra ounce of water per ounce of these drinks.

* Organic Fruits and Vegetables: Eat as many organic fruits and vegetables as possible. Clean eating, free of pesticides and other chemicals, is the best way to avoid substances that could initiate serious diseases.

* Lean Protein: Consume lean protein in the form of chicken, turkey, fish, nuts, seeds, Greek yogurt and lentils.

* Healthy Fats: Choose healthy fats to maintain good brain activity. Those include avocado, cheese, dark chocolate, eggs, fatty fish, nuts, olive oil, chia seeds, and coconut oil.

* Activity: Maintain activity/exercise to promote good weight control, blood sugar, blood pressure, and better sleep. One weight loss secret is to keep a heartbeat of 180 beats per minute minus your age for 30 minutes, 3-4 times per week.

The Don’ts -- which should be 20% or less of your diet and lifestyle.

* Processed Food: Consume little to no processed food including boxed, canned, injected, altered or genetically modified foods.

* Sugar: Keep your sugar consumption under 23 grams of added sugar per day. Reading labels should become a habit.

* Starches: These include pasta, bread, potatoes, corn, cereal, flour and crackers. Remember that starch turns to sugar and raises your blood sugar and A1C.

* Caffeine: Minimize or avoid caffeine altogether. •See the first do on the list.

* Alcohol: Alcohol consumption leads to issues with weight gain, blood pressure and blood sugar spikes.

If you follow these rules you will avoid the pitfalls of disease brought on through diet and lifestyle.

~Dr. Gregory Pursley, DC is the owner of PC Wellness Centers.