Optimum health and vitality are what most people strive to achieve and yet seldom do. If our bodies are, as we read so many times, perfect organisms, then how can sickness and disease possibly affect us? Contrary to what you might read in most entertainment magazines, a perfect body is not measured on a scale or in clothing size. Perfection of the human body, though inherent in all of us, is simply a raw potential for perfection.n nManifesting this potential requires daily replenishment of critical resources necessary for continuous cellular regeneration and constant maintenance to prevent a buildup of negative mental and physical stress.n nOptimum health is dependent on several components, none of which should be omitted if health is truly what we desire. Unfortunately, our food today is sorely lacking the essential nutrient content of, say, a couple decades ago. According to agricultural experts, there are many reasons for this, such as soil quality, fertilizers, crop rotation, maturity at harvest time, and so on. Charles Bembrook, PhD, who has conducted a fifteen-year study on the nutritive value of organically produced foods, explains that nonorganic methods that include soluble nitrogen fertilizers produce higher yields because with their use, plants and vegetables absorb more water. While the fruits these plants produce are larger, they tend to suffer in nutritional quality due to the nutrient dilution. n nIf we closely examine what passes for food these days, it becomes quite clear that the average commercial nourishment sources are laden with more of the things that are not conducive to the replenishment of spent nutrients and less of the things that are. The widespread use of antibiotics, hormones, and other substances on cattle and poultry farms increases the production of milk, beef, eggs, and so on. The effects of these practices have yet to be proven safe for human consumption. The labels on most of today’s supermarket products list a number of preservatives, food coloring, artificial flavoring, and taste enhancers. Avoid foods that contain the word hydrogenated: this process creates a known carcinogen and shows no signs of being removed from our food supply anytime soon.n nWe further compound this nutrient deficit by failing to incorporate an adequate physical, mental, and spiritual maintenance program, which is essential for optimum health, vitality, and longevity, and in not doing so, we unknowingly accelerate our bodies’ overall deterioration. Something as important as the key to our survival deserves more than just a casual commitment.n nWe are a nation teetering on the edge of chronic obesity. Many people tend to have misconceptions as to why they may have accumulated this excess fat and usually try to counter it by subscribing to every fad diet, pill, or gadget that comes along, and when that fails to work, as is generally the case, they resort back to eating infrequently, eating the wrong foods, or not eating at all. There is a general consensus among dietary experts that advocates increasing the frequency, diversity, and quality of our food intake and drastically diminishing the portion size of each meal. Failure by most to adapt to this concept is one reason for this excess accumulation of fat that plagues our society today.n nObesity is a product of many years of miscommunication with our bodies and the contradictory information we unknowingly send it. Though there are certainly more complex causes to explain such a condition, the root cause will always be one of imbalance somewhere along the line.n nThe body is designed to forgo unnecessary tasks, and fat storage becomes redundant when a steady stream of high-quality nutrition is frequently being supplied. Cooperating with your body’s natural cycle is the surest way to attain optimum health, so the most important thing to do is to choose your foods carefully, then introduce them in relatively small and balanced portions during the time when your body is most prepared to accept and digest them. There are three eight-hour cycles, and each is designed for specific tasks. The first cycle is the elimination cycle, which begins at 4:00 a.m. and continues until 12:00 noon. Your body will discard all unwanted material, such as toxins and waste, in various forms. During this phase, it is highly recommended that you consume only fruit, fruit juice, or vegetable juice. These foods enhance this detoxifying stage without taxing your digestive system. n nNext comes the appropriation cycle, which runs from 12:00 noon until 8:00 p.m. This is the time to eat frequent, small, and balanced portions since the body is most active and can easily break down foods. These mini meals should consist of alkalizing (neutralize acid) foods such as green leafy vegetables and salads of various colors and tastes such as green salads, cucumber, zucchini, to name a few. Our bodies also require pungent tastes, not just sweet and salty ones. It is further suggested that we eat healthy fats such as those found in avocados, olive oil, and flaxseed oil. Alkaline and healthy fats should represent 70 percent of each portion. The remaining 30 percent should consist of acid-forming foods such as meat, dairy, breads, etc. Applying this 70-30 rule will help you make better food choices and improve your energy level and overall health. Highly processed foods, such as smoked meats, fried foods, white flower, sugar, bread, and sodas, should be eliminated as food choices altogether. n nThis 8:00 p.m. cutoff period for food consumption is critical as the next phase is the assimilation cycle, which begins at 8:00 p.m. and continues until 4:00 a.m. Now, the extraction of nutrients from the foods you consumed during the previous phase begins. No eating whatsoever should take place during this time. If the food consumption up until that point has been adequate, any feeling of hunger will most probably be of a psychological nature rather than a physiological need, and a cup of hot tea or room-temperature filtered water will probably quell the sensation of hunger; your body will also adjust in time. n nWe can greatly accelerate our metabolism by adding exercise to our health plan, and this can include a game of golf or tennis or simply going for a brisk walk. If you opt for a more complete training program, check with professionals, and let them tailor an exercise program to best meet your needs and personal goals. Your mental outlook is also important—take time out each day to contemplate all that is good in your life.n nFinally, these cycles can be modified to fit any lifestyle. If you work the swing or late shift, you simply move the cycles so that when you wake up, you begin cycle 1. If you are taking any medications, please check with your care provider first before starting any new diet or exercise regimen.n nToday, we know enough about the human body to understand that when you eat is equally as important as what you eat. Armed with this knowledge, let us give this most marvelous of organic machines the opportunity to reach its perfection potential and experience total health, vitality, and longevity. Let us strive to reach our inherent perfection in the absence of sickness, disease, and overall imbalance. nn** This article is one of 101 great articles that were published in 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health. To get complete details on “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Health”, visit
http://selfgrowth.com/healthbook3.html