10 simple lifestyle changes for increased wellness

Forget the excuses. Just for today, focus on the many ways you can improve your health. This list is by no means complete but a starting point to get you making your physical, emotional, and spiritual health a priority in your busy life. And, once you do these health upgrades today, do them again tomorrow. Before you know it you’ll be living a healthy lifestyle…with virtually no effort.

1. Drink more water. Your body is 90 percent water and needs water for almost every function. Many of the aches and pains, headaches, and other symptoms we experience would lessen if we just drank more water.

2. Go for a brisk walk. Your body was made to move. Your heart is a muscle that needs movement to function optimally. We know this but we often need a reminder to just do it.

3. Better yet, take your brisk walk in nature. Trees and other plants are regularly turning our carbon dioxide into rich oxygen we can breathe. Getting rich, oxygenated air help kill bacteria and viruses, improves breathing, and may even help prevent cancer.

4. Hug someone you love. When you hug someone you love (someone who actually wants to be hugged), your body releases feel-good hormones like oxytocin that ward off depression.

5. Eat 2 or 3 pieces or servings of fruit. Brilliantly-colored fruit is packed with disease-fighting phytonutrients like proanthocyanins that protect against brain diseases and quercetin which helps alleviate allergies and breathing problems.

6. Eat a large salad. I’m frequently told by someone who is making excuses for his/her bad diet that eating healthy is expensive. Nonsense. Some of the best super-foods are cheap and readily available in the form of salad greens. They are packed with vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll (gives plants their green color and boosts our blood health), enzymes (that improve digestion and increase energy), and many phytonutrients.

7. Snack between meals on healthy snacks like almonds, veggie crudites, hummus and whole grain pitas. Not only will you stabilize your moods, you’ll balance your weight thanks to regulated blood sugar levels.

8. Write down at least 10 things for which you are grateful. Increasing amounts of research show that gratitude builds better health and happiness.

9. Meditate. Just taking some time out to clear your thoughts and unplugging from technology and people can help you feel more balanced and peaceful.

10. Adopt a pet. A pet is certainly a great friend. In fact, for nearly 25 years , research has shown that living with pets provides certain health benefits. Pets help lower blood pressure and lessen anxiety. They boost our immune system. As always, the recommendation I give is to "Adopt, don't shop" as our shelters are full with discarded and unwanted animals that need loving homes.

So, how will you choose to make a change for the better?