I heard today that almonds help some people with heartburn. I haven't had heartburn for a bit; but I think next time I do, I might try a handful of almonds; They are a healthy and tasty treat, after all.

Sleep

Although individuals can vary slightly, and perhaps babies need more than the elderly, it is a good assumption that almost all of us need 8 hours of sleep.

We can combine with some forms of mediation to make up 8 hours. For instance 6 hours of sleep and 2 hours of meditation add up to our needed 8 hours. But in every 24 period we all need 8 hours.

For me 4-6 hours seems to be enough, as long as I get enough mediation in to balance it during the same day. I don't recommend less than 4 straight hours, and that's assuming that we really sleep in those 4 hours and sleep well. If we don't fall asleep right away or don't sleep well 6 is a minimum no matter how much meditation we try during the day. This also assumes that we meditate well enough to replace the sleep as well. It could be that we need mediation and still 8 hours of sleep too.

I like to meditate when I first get up. In fact, I usually just scoot up onto my pillow right there in the bed and get in my first hour of meditation before I slide out of bed for some my light exercise routine. Then another hour or two sometime during the day is a wonderful practice for me.

Air and Water

Health & Wellness

Air we Breath: Filter the air in our homes and take big deep breaths.
We are mostly air, and we are porous.
We need this air to flow in and out of us as completely as possible.

Water we Drink. Filter our water and sip water throughout the day.
Next we are mostly water.
We need this water to flow in and out of us regularly.

Quote from Wayne Fields

"The best six doctors anywhere, and no one can deny it, are sunshine, water, rest, and air, exercise and diet. These six will gladly you attend, If only you are willing. Your mind they'll ease; Your will they'll mend and charge you not a shilling" - Nursery rhyme quoted by Wayne Fields

Nutrition

Certainly our earlier post on 'variety' applies here. Good nutrition comes from obtaining a variety of nutrients that we need. The consensus always seems to come back to basing our diet on Whole Grains, Vegetables, and Fruits.

Moderation in all things has been always been taught. Though a moderate amount of poison could still kill you; so I suppose we need to decide how much of any one thing.

So Eat a balanced diet. Balanced means not equal amounts, because we need to give different weights to different things. Especially if they are toxic their weight might need to be zero and have none of those things that are toxic. So we need the right amount of everything to complete our nutritional needs.

I also believe that most of us don't drink enough water. Water can be a great cleanser (inside and out). Sometimes we think we're hungry but we're just thirsty.

I like teas, but they can stain your teeth and some are better than others.

Vegetable Juices can give us a boost of some nutrients if we need a boost of those;
Fruit Juices, too, can give us this boost; but like their whole counterparts we need to be weary of the amount of sugar they contain. Still if we have a sweet tooth Fruit can help satisfy it much more nutritionally than a candy bar or donut.

Those of us on Vegetarian diets need Soy Products and Flax, espcecially if we're vegans with no diary. Vegetarians probably need to monitor the amount of dairy they take in so as not to give this category too much weight.

Nuts and seeds are a wonderful compliment to a vegetarian diet, as well.

We need to make sure we include the categories of Legumes, and Green Leaves in with our vegetables, as well.

A variety of colors, shapes, and textures is nice.
Eating locally and seasonally can be great, especially if the variety in the area is enough.

But I think the main points we all know. Drink enough water, Eat Whole Grains, Vegetables, and Fruits. Eat a variety...and eat the right amounts of the right stuff. The trick is not knowing it, we all know it; the trick is to make sure we do it.

Exercise and Health

I believe that exercise is important. Even a walk around the block can help us wind down and loosen us up, and improve our health.

In my uneducated opinion, we should begin the day with light stretching and work ourselves up into a fairly vigorous exercise routine, like lap swimming or running, to earn our breakfast.

Aerobic exercise is particularly good I think. Alternate each day with some resistance exercise so that each is done 3 to 4 times per week is ideal.