Small Steps to Better Health ~ Step One

I don't know about you, but I am the kind of person that can get overwhelmed when I am bombarded with a list of 100 things to do to make yourself and your family healthy!  I have found that when people start talking about getting healthier, they defeat those they are trying to win over just by the shear impossibility of it all.  We are constantly shown how this cleaning agent, that food, these cosmetics, this medicine, this drink...are no longer healthy for us.  And study after study does seem to show that most of these findings are correct.  I find it as no surprise that this is the case.  We have chosen fast food, over God's food.  We have gone for quick and easy over healthy and nourishing.  We have become so much a part of the unhealthy culture that finding a way out seems like climbing Mount Everest!  And we copy what we know...well...my Mom cooked like this, or my grandma ate this...etc. that we don't question and say, "But is this the best choice for my family?"  Does food even matter to God?  After all, we have Christian liberty right?  Yes, we do have Christian liberty...liberty to follow the commands of God which are freeing for us, for our good and for His glory.  Food is no different.  If our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, then is it not our Christian service to keep that temple as healthy as possible?  If we know that eating and drinking a certain way will make us more effective for the Kingdom's work, why would we not do it?  I have asked that to myself many times...and my answer...because I like those yummy Aussie Cheese fries from Outback...or the MSG laden Chinese food down the street...or the Coffee frappuchino from Starbucks!  They taste great...and they give me an emotional lift.  But, I quickly found that the down they produced afterwards, the wear and tear on my body, the headaches I got from not having my caffeine, the emotional swings that came because I needed that lift and didn't have my comfort food...those I could live without.  And so, I began systematically changing the way I eat and drink and have begun to creep back to the land of the living.  Well, I should say limp back.  I will tell you that I was born with an auto-immune deficiency.  Things that affect me greatly may only slightly seem to bother another.  And the issues that I am now facing health wise stem from mercury poisoning in my body.  If you know anything about mercury, it never leaves the body, but it can be lessened and the effects diminished greatly.  I am therefore on my own quest (which may take years if God does not sovereignly heal) to a healthier body.  The fact that I have good days now is a testament to God's healing foods.  I do not claim to be a doctor or an expert on any of these matters.  I am only sharing what I have learned in my own life...with my own health.  You must pray and seek God concerning these issues for your own life. 

I have chosen Fridays for these posts because my hope is that if you do desire to make a change and you need to purchase something, or prepare in some way, that you will have the weekend to do that and implement your changes for the next week.  My steps are small ones...incremental baby steps so that hopefully you will not feel overwhelmed with the prospect of changing your habits for healthy living.  And so, without making this post too terribly long, I now give you small step number one:

1.  Drink more water everyday.  See, I told you they would be small.  But every small step will bring you closer to the big payoff of a healthier lifestyle.  So, this next week, your challenge is to drink more water.   Did you know that water makes up sixty percent of our bodies?  Here is a quote about water from Dr. Joseph Mercola:


     Drinking eight glasses of pure water is an important foundational health principle for most people.  An alarming number of Americans don't follow this guideline and are constantly dehydrated.  Dehydration is subtle and most don't feel the thirst on their tongue, but their bodies are suffering-without sufficient water intake they cannot properly detoxify and aid their bodies in the elimination of wastes.  Some minor symptoms of insufficient water intake are headaches, feeling tired and groggy, constipation and dry skin.  If left untended, dehydration can contribute to a variety of serious health problems with blood pressure, circulation, kidney function, immune system function and digestive disorders.

The problem with most of us is we drink too much of the wrong things and only reach for water when we "feel" thirsty.  But, in reality, our bodies need it long before we ever feel it.  So, this next week...try to drink 6 to 8 glasses of water everyday...and make sure your children are drinking enough as well.  A good rule for little ones is to take half their body weight and have them drink that in ounces.  If you need to mark down how much you drink until it becomes second nature to you, then do that.  It will pay off for you in the long run.  Blessings to you!