Things to make you live "better" (and longer)!

I was inspired by FreshDacre's "things to help you live longer" thread in the nutrition subforum to make this thread. While his is essentially nutrition-based, a result of the chosen subforum, this one will be a collaboration of all secrets to better health, longevity, vitality, immunity, anything at all you feel will help the others at hipforums. It's easy to get locked into reductionism and focus on only nutrition, exercise, or even worse "help I have condition x, what cures it?". The holistic approach truly is the way to go.

For me:

Exercise (obviously!): No need for an explanation. Heart-pounding, sweat-pouring good exercise. Make sure to use your muscles at least a bit, even if you're a female.

Nutrition (obviously!): Not just staying away from junk food and eating real food, but comprehensive nutritional plan that suits you perfectly. Eating all organic and unprocessed "healthy" food is pretty useless if one is missing essential nutrients. I could list a bunch of supplements and nutrient-dense foods, but I feel like a nutritional plan should require a lot of thought and study and suggesting individual things that will probably have positive health effects isnt as effective as true knowledge.

A few supplements to look into that don't quite count as your regular nutrition: Coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, probiotics and digestive enzymes.

Mastication: related to nutrition, most people don't fucking chew properly. Food should be chewed thoroughly and methodically to ensure optimal digestion and absorption.

Meditation/Yoga: Reduces stress and neuroticism, improves mental focus. Insert new-agey significance here if you wish, but meditation isn't just for spiritualists, it's a huge boon to well-being.

Breathing: breath deeply! Are you a shallow-breather? I am and I need to keep reminding myself to take deep breaths throughout the day.

Hydration: duh! The more pure, the better. Mineral water, if you can get it without hurting the environment has its merits too.

Toxins: We live in a very toxic world and many of the things we use like lotions or hairspray can get into the body and increase the toxic burden on our livers. Luckily the liver is very resilient and can rid the body of many toxins, but it needs our help. There are many herbs and fasts that will help in detoxification, exercise helps too, but what good is that if we don't eliminate the sources of toxins as best we can?

Sunlight: Obviously vitamin d is completely essential to well-being and used by the body for nearly every function. In winter months sunlight can be hard to come by and supplementation is an option but sunlight is really ideal, as your body can regulate the absorption of sun-derived vitamin d, while there's a small chance of overdosing on oral supplements.

Doctors and testing: Have a physician and get blood-work done yearly. I can understand the disillusion with traditional doctors, but they do provide important knowledge and assistance, and lab-work is indispensable, especially if you're taking large amounts of vitamin d supplements.

Sleep: Obviously! But one thing I've recently become aware of is that darkness when you sleep is essential. The only time the body produces the hormone melotonin is when one is sleeping in the dark. So if you wake up to go to the washroom in the middle of the night, do it in the dark or else you'll disturb your melotonin production.

Mental exercise: A healthy brain ties into it too. Who doesnt want to be a better thinker? Reading actual physical books for an hour or more at a time is the thing that helps me the most, but there are plenty of other things to get the brain going like brain gym, logical problems or even conversation.

And lastly: spread the health, spread the love. What good is amazing health if those you love can't share in it?

Okay those are mine. Let's hear your original ones or you expansions upon mine :cheers2:

 

Oh come on I can't be the only one here who knows ways to live more vitally. This is hipforums ffs.

 

Yeah i like this post alot. I just don't really have much i can add, you have good stuff already.
One thing I can think to add, is always have a good time to keep a good mindset. If something is causing a stressful unpleasant time, do what it takes to change it. Stress is the #1 aging factor.
I didn't know about the darkness for being asleep thing. I have slept during the daytime alot in the last year or two, and i haven't noticed any difference in how i feel.
Another thing is spend time outdoors as much as you can, there are studies that show that there is much worse pollution indoors.

 

I like how the lifestyle choices come full circle. If you start spending more time outside you feel better and your mood improves, you have less stress, less stress begets better health, better health begets better mood, better mood leads to less stress, etc.

Curse you winter!

 

Haha ya thats a great way to look at it. Once you get in the cycle it gets easier to go with the flow!
I actually love winter, since i love snowboarding so much, i try to exercise during the summer but no matter what i do it never compares to the full workout i get from boarding. Snowboarding is my main source of a stress free life. Not only do i get the amazing workout, but it is meaningful, especially on drugs. Also it gets me more motivated to be outside.
The only problem with winter, is I can't sleep outside, which i have been regularly doing this last year. It is good to avoid furniture and matresses because they have fire retardants (learned this from neone) .

 

cool list. i basically live by this. i think you covered the basics. i'll come back if i have anything original to add. i'm tired.. .

 

I think that if you're 'trying to get healthy', and you're not doing regular enemas, then you're not serious.

 

I'm trying to stay healthy and possibly get healthier, but I don't plan on doing any enemas. It might have benefits, but yeah I don't want to do that kind of thing. As for you thinking i'm not serious, i could care less because i know what i am serious about.

 

Enemas don't look extremely appealing. Is there a purpose to them other than reduction of risk for colon cancer and protection of the liver? If not, maintaining a proper diet and the use of various herbal supplements accomplishes the same thing.

 

Then you are not serious.

You think you eat some acai berries and you're set?

The 'good' things you do for your health, they DO NOT negate the 'bad' things you do.

 

Unless you eat 100% entirely clean then you should be doing enemas.

Everything about your health starts in your guts. If you're not doing everything you possibly can to help them, then you're not going to be getting better.

 

Well firstly good things do fix bad things, that's the entire principle to naturopathic medicine. You act as if we aren't the product of millions of years of evolution and haven't evolved systems of fixing ourselves. Secondly, I do so few bad things that colon cancer will never be an issue for me. Thirdly, my health regimen has not been reduced to acai berries, captain straw man. There are numerous things a person can do to contribute to colon health. If somebody has regular and proper bowel movements and continually detoxes/eliminates sources of toxins it isn't the slightest issue.

Basically. You don't know shit (pun intended)

 

what are the bad things you are talking about?

 

Actually i know 'shit' very well. You have never even preformed an enema before, thats just the basic noob entry level stuff as far as im concerned.

I have taken the idea of health to a level where you guys have no foundation to be able to relate to what i am talking about. I do not need to do enemas anymore, if I were you though, i would be doing them.

Like i said, you guys are not serious enough if an enema is too 'gross' for you.
but thats just it, YOUR shit is gross, i wouldnt want to touch YOUR shit either.

 

He does know some good info, I choose to listen to alot of his tips but some things go too far.

 

elitist you are making a lot of assumptions

i'm not taking sides here btw

 

I love being an elitist. I don't get to be one here, because i don't care but its fun in video games and snowboarding

 

Find me one single medical article that advocates enemas for completely healthy people with 100% whole food diets and have been taking probiotics all their lives and perhaps Ill give your ideas credence.

Right now the prevailing view is that enemas are only a good idea if somebody is so far gone that they need drastic measures. And if somebody lives and eats healthily, detoxes often and uses a probiotic, they will never be at risk for colon related health problems.

 

Hmm i need to learn about probiotics. Seems like a good thing, I have always tried to avoid antibiotics because it kills off your good bacteria.

 

I go to write a bunch of stuff but fresh, you're right..

Most of my ideas are 'too far' for you guys. I just didn't have anywhere to stop i guess. I just kept going and going untill I figure out what works, even if its outside of societal norms