Part I - 12 Secrets to Health and Longevity: Keys to Good Nutrition and to Eating Healthy

Question: What would I say if someone asked me what they had to do to live a long and healthy life?

Answer: I'd say, "Do you want the short answer or the long answer?"

Here's my short answer...

Listen, seek, research, learn, study, and understand that there are keys of knowledge that will help you unlock the secrets to a long and healthy life. These keys to good nutrition and to healthy eating will open a whole new world of health, life, and vitality to you. I believe you were created by God and destined to a life of health and prosperity.

1. EAT ONLY HEALTHY ORGANIC NATURAL WHOLE FOODS

Eat foods that are grown organically, not with chemical pesticides and herbicides. Eat live whole foods, not processed foods. Eat natural foods, not artificial foods and additives. Eat foods that are grown naturally, without hormones and antibiotics. Eat raw foods. Try to eat at least 75% of your foods raw in their natural whole food state. Eat a lot of vegetables and greens, organic of course. Also eat plenty of fruits and berries. Eat non-GM foods; avoid all genetically modified and engineered foods. Eat whole food grains, legumes, beans, seeds, and nuts. Eat only organically grown and grass fed natural chicken, turkey, lamb, and beef. Eat only wild ocean fish with fins and scales, and avoid all farm raised fish and seafood scavengers. Eat only full spectrum Himalayan crystal salt, avoiding all table salt (sodium chloride). Eat traditionally fermented lactic acid foods like sauerkraut, sour pickles, miso, raw yogurt, raw kefir, apple cider vinegar, etc.

2. AVOID ALL MAN MADE PROCESSED "FOODS" MADE WITH THE FOLLOWING

Artificial sweeteners like aspartame, nutrasweet, splenda, sucrulose, saacharin; table salt (sodium chloride); white sugar, brown sugar, fructose, dextrose, sucrose, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup; white processed flour and enriched wheat flour; white processed rice; pasteurized and homogenized milk and dairy products; MSG, soy sauce, and teriyaki sauce; cottonseed oil, palm oil, hydrogenated oil (trans fat) and partially hydrogenated oil, Crisco, Olestra, Olean, and all margarine products; canned and bottled juice, sodas, diet sodas, coffee, caffeine, caffeinated teas, and alcohol; shellfish scavengers (shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, scallops, oysters, etc.); deep-fried foods; all pork and pork products; deli luncheon meats loaded with sodium nitrates; "farm-raised" fish; fast food; junk food; artificial colors and flavors (toxic chemicals); anything labeled "fat free" or "sugar free" or "low carbs" or "net carbs;" chlorinated and fluoridated tap water; and anything microwaved. All of these things are toxic to your body and will poison your system. Avoid all these refined, processed, denatured, fattening, pre-packaged, sugar-laden, overcooked, toxic, man-made "food."

3. DRINK ONLY PURE NATURAL SPRING WATER

Drink your body weight in ounces every day. If you're 160 pounds, then drink 160 ounces of water a day. Never drink tap water that is loaded with chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride.

4. LEARN HOW TO EAT PROPERLY

This includes the following: eat only when you're really hungry; eat slowly and chew your food very well; relax when you eat and enjoy the experience; practice conscious under-eating (this is the number one longevity and health principle); eat your whole meal within a one-hour period; eat all fruit by itself; don't drink liquids during or right after your meal; and always remember to give thanks to God for the food He provides. Keep in mind that overeating is one of the main causes of premature aging and degenerative illnesses.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3 of these 12 secrets to health and longevity...

"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, even as your soul prospers." - 3 John 1:2

To your health, the Naked Nutrition Knight

Morning Health Declarations - Keys to Eating Healthy and to Good Nutrition

"I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers." - 3 John 2

Good morning, my faithful readers who have a deep desire to live a healthy, prosperous, and long life. I would like to share with you some more keys to eating healthy and good nutrition. Are you ready?

I call these my morning declarations. These are declarations of my purpose and intentions for each day related to my health and well being. I encourage you to write these down on a piece of paper and tape them to your bathroom mirror and/or your refrigerator. Every morning take a minute to declare these health purposes out loud before you start your day. In this way you will train your mind and body to work together to create a more healthy lifestyle. God bless you, this wonderful morning. The Naked Nutrition Knight

MORNING DECLARATIONS TO START YOUR DAY

"I will this day live a simple, sincere and serene life; repelling promptly every thought of impurity, discontent, anxiety, fear, and discouragement. I will cultivate health, cheerfulness, happiness, charity, and the love of brotherhood; exercising economy in expenditure, generosity in giving, carefulness in conversation, and diligence in appointed service.

I pledge fidelity to every trust and a childlike faith in God. I will be faithful in those habits of prayer, study, work, nutrition, physical exercise, deep breathing, and good posture. I shall fast for a 24 hour period each week, eat only healthy foods, and get sufficient sleep each night. I will make every effort to improve myself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually ever day."

These morning declarations were written and used by Paul Bragg and Patricia Bragg.

Detoxifying Your Body & Its Environment Is a Key to Eating Healthy & A Tip to Good Nutrition

Daily Quote: "Deep-cleansing your body right down to the cellular level will renew your vitality, restore your energy, reclaim your health, shed toxic fat, lengthen your life and give you a healthy glow you haven't had in years." - Dr. Don Colbert

"A man digs his own grave with his fork and knife." - Ancient Proverb

DETOXIFYING YOUR BODY & ITS ENVIRONMENT

American society today is one of the most overfed and undernourished societies in the world. And most of our health problems are caused by poor eating habits and poor nutrition. In today's posting, I will discuss the importance of detoxifying your body and its environment, which is one more key to good nutrition and eating healthy.

PRACTICAL STEPS TO DETOXIFY

Begin detoxifying your body by banishing toxic, refined, processed man-made food from your diet and your kitchen. Stop putting toxic health-destroying "foods" into your body. For a complete list of these, look over my past blogs. Avoid and eliminate all pork products and all shellfish from your diet, both of which are loaded with toxic poisons. Eliminate everything with MSG, which is an excito-toxin that makes you fat, increases your appetite, is dangerous to your health, and causes many physical health problems.

Fast once a week and make fasting a weekly health habit for you and your family. Also, consider doing a 7-30 day fast once or twice a year, which will give your body a chance to fully purge itself of toxins and heal itself.

Give yourself a daily dry brush massage after showing. Exercise every day to sweat out toxins. Take a dry sauna or infared sauna to sweat out built-up toxins.

Use an air purification system to keep your home air quality healthy. Wash sheets and towels in organic all-natural soap. Get all mercury amalgam fillings and all metal removed from your teeth.

Eliminate the following unhealthy toxic poisons from your body and its environment: antiperspirants, deodorants, sunblocks, toxic cleaning supplies, air fresheners (use organic citrus oil instead), all use of microwave ovens, using non-stick cookware (instead use stainless steel, glass, stoneware, & cast iron), fluoride toothpastes, fluorescent lighting, dry cleaning (coats your clothes with toxic chemicals), and hot tubs & steam saunas (the chlorine turns into a toxic gas).

Periodically cleanse your body from toxins with these 7 types of important cleanses: colon cleanse, liver/goll bladder cleanse, kidney/bladder cleanse, parasite cleanse, heavy metal cleanse, candida cleanse, and a whole-body cleanse.

Recommended Reading: Toxic Relief, by Dr. Don Colbert

What Does REST Have to Do With Keys to Eating Healthy & Tips to Good Nutritioin?

Daily Quote: "A good laugh, a walk, and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." - Paul Bragg

You're probably wondering what in the world REST has to do with the keys to eating healthy and good nutrition. Right? Let me explain.

ONCE A WEEK GIVE YOUR BODY THE REST IT NEEDS TO REJUVENATE ITSELF

I strongly recommend you give your body the Sabbath day of rest that your Creator designed for your rejuvenation. The Sabbath day begins at sundown on Friday and continues until sundown on Saturday. Resting during this time period promotes the optimal rejuvenation of your body's cells. Each week a lunar cycle occurs starting at sundown Friday and ending at sundown Saturday. This is the optimum time for your body to rest, recharge, and rejuvenate. Use this special day to spend quality time with God your Creator, as well as with your family and friends. Make it a special day to focus on God and His goodness and to fellowship with other people. Refrain from all of the everyday activities that you're used to like working, cleaning, shopping, banking, doing errands, etc. Instead, use the time for prayer, for worship, for meditation, for reading, for Bible study, for fellowship, for taking a walk, for some fun and recreation with your family, for taking a nap, for laughing, for some unhurried romantic time, for enjoying God's blessing of sex with your spouse, for taking a bath, for calling an old friend, for playing a board game with your family, for listening to music, for etc.

GIVE YOUR BODY A FULL 8 HOURS OF SLEEP EVERY NIGHT

Without proper rest, the cells of your body aren't given the chance to recharge and rejuvenate themselves. Cells that are tired are not able to efficiently eliminate toxins. Most healing takes place during times of rest, and yet most people do not get enough rest, and the rest they do get is often not deep or full.

TRY TO SLEEP BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 10 PM AND 6 AM

Going to bed by 10 pm and waking up around 6 pm seems to allow the body to rest the deepest, rejuvenate its cells the most, and provide the body with the most energy throughout the day. In addition, hormones that heal the body are released only from 10 pm - 2 am, and they are only released when the body is enjoying deep sleep.

Many people are in the habit of going to bed very late (around 1 or 2 am) and then trying to make up for it by sleeping in until 8 or 9 am. Even though they may be getting the same number of hours of sleep (8) as someone who goes to bed at 10 pm, the quality of the sleep is not the same. Generally, our bodies were designed to sleep while it is dark outside and to arise when it gets light. The best, deepest, most valuable sleep takes place between 9 or 10 pm and 6 am. If you give your body eight hours of rest during this critical rest period, I promise that you'll really feel the difference after just a few good nights of sleep. You will have a lot more energy and focus throughout your day.

One more note about sleep. Some research has shown that women actually need more sleep than men. In fact, sleep researchers recommend that women try to get 9 hours of sleep, as opposed to only 8 hours of sleep for men.

FAST ONCE A WEEK ON NATURAL SPRING WATER

It's also very important to fast once a week on water in order to give your body time to rest and heal itself. Fasting from food for a day gives your whole digestive system time to rest while your other eliminative organs can focus unhindered on cleansing your body of toxins and eliminating toxic residues in your cells and system. I will share much more on this very important health point in a future posting. However, I strongly encourage you to pick one day a week and refrain from eating any food, while drinking plenty of natural spring water to assist in the purging and cleansing of toxins.

WHEN POSSIBLE TAKE A 30-MINUTE "SIESTA" OR NAP AFTER LUNCH

If you have this luxury, take advantage of part of your lunch break to rest your body and mind by taking a short nap. You'll be amazed at how much energy you'll have afterwards. If you only have 10 or 15 minutes for this, make it a "power nap."

LEARN HOW TO MANAGE STRESS AND TAKE BETTER CARE OF YOUR BODY

We all are exposed to the pressures of life and the daily stress that seems to come from every direction at times. Learn how to be a good manager of the stress in your life by taking better care of your body. All of the recommendations in this posting will help you to better manage your stress. In fact, I need to include daily exercise as an important part of reducing stress in your body and mind. By simply going for a 15-30 minute vigorous daily walk, you can help relieve a lot of built up stress.

In conclusion, there are many important ways for you to give your body the rest it needs to rejuvenate itself. It all begins with you learning to VALUE REST and what it can do for your body and mind. Remember, God designed your body to rest deeply every night for 8 hours between 10 pm and 6 am, and He designed a special day of the week (the Sabbath) for your body to rest from all work and all of your normal everyday activities. If you cooperate with your Creator in these two ways, you will be wise and you will reap the incredible health benefits He has waiting for you. Just do it.