There are certain times of year—especially during cold and flu season—when it seems like people will do almost anything to prevent illness. After all, with the demands of work, school and life in general, who has time to be lying in bed with a fever or simply not feeling up-to-par. Some still believe that a clove of garlic will stop the threat of a cold, while people who don’t normally take their vitamins might overdose on vitamin C the second they feel that scratchy throat. If this sounds familiar, then you’re in luck because there are many natural ways to stay healthy and the key is in prevention. 1. Choose Organic Foods You may still be skeptical in regard to the health benefits of organic foods and whether or not they are one of the best natural ways to stay healthy. Those flavorless, tough tomatoes you bought in the grocery store last week were probably genetically altered and grown in a greenhouse with the use of multiple pesticides. You might not be able to taste these chemicals, but their carcinogenic properties remain regardless of the number of times you try to wash them away. When you choose organic produce instead, there are no harmful chemicals and the food simply tastes better—it has more nutrients, too. 2. Drink Alkaline Water While you probably already know that you should consume eight, eight-ounce glasses of water per day as one of the best natural ways to stay healthy and hydrated, let’s face it: tap water often doesn’t cut it and bottled water can be expensive. Most department stores sell filters that attach directly to your tap and are designed to remove impurities from the water, but an alkalization filter is even better. Studies on cancer patients have shown that their bodies are usually highly acidic. By choosing alkaline water over standard tap water, you can improve immune system function and help balance the pH within your body which may reduce your cancer risk. 3. Stay Away from Wheat If you are like most people, you probably enjoy several wheat-containing products each and every day. In fact, wheat may be hidden in some foods that you would never even suspect. Something many people don’t know is that wheat contains a protein known as gliadin that can increase your appetite because it causes the body to crave more wheat. Who would have guessed? Instead of bleached, refined wheat products like white bread and cereals that will provide you with very little nutrition and an insatiable appetite, you should opt for healthier options like oatmeal, millet, barley, rye and quinoa because these are some of the best natural ways to stay healthy. 4. Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but when you consume high fructose corn syrup on a regular basis, the likelihood that you will actually need medicine for things like diabetes, liver disease and other health problems increases dramatically. High fructose corn syrup, commonly abbreviated HFCS, is essentially concentrated sugar that is cheaper to produce than cane sugar or beet sugar. If you regularly choose products with HFCS in them, you are likely consuming twice as much sugar as people who avoid HFCS. It is best to avoid products with HFCS completely and instead choose natural sugar sources. Raw sugar that has not been processed and bleached is the best choice. 5. Introduce Flax Seed Bowel irregularity is no laughing matter, and neither is the stomach pain, flatulence and other side effects it can cause. Simply ensuring that you get enough fiber in your diet is one of the best natural ways to stay healthy, and it can improve or even eliminate bowel trouble. Since a good portion of your body’s immune health comes from the bowel, ensuring that everything stays on track is imperative. A single teaspoonful of flax seed can provide you with three grams of fiber as well as a full day’s supply of Omega-3 fatty acids, which promote lower cholesterol and good bone health. Flax seed absorbs the flavors that surround it, so you should have no trouble incorporating it into your favorite recipes. 6. Eat More Blueberries Blueberries have been touted as one of the world’s most powerful ‘superfoods’ in the media due to their concentration of resveratrol, which is an antioxidant and natural immune booster that can fight cancer, slow the aging process and lower blood sugar. While you can also find resveratrol in things like chocolate and red wine, these are not the best natural ways to stay healthy for obvious reasons. In order to get the amount of resveratrol found in a large serving of blueberries from red wine, you would have to drink half the bottle—and this can have some undesirable consequences. Dark chocolate and red wine in moderation is fine, but healthy blueberry smoothies every morning are even better. Download All 21 Natural Ways To Stay Healthy FREE If you are interested in learning about more natural ways to stay healthy, the top 21 all-natural methods are available for you to download in PDF format. It is your body; learn how to take care of it the right way with all natural foods and beverages that are available in your neighborhood.
