How to repair our food habits, face health challenges, reduce plastic usage and avoid climate crisis – all in one shot? Take your time and dive into a unique algorithm of more sustainable people within cleaner environments.

Whether you are young or senior, a man or a woman, a manager or a car dealer, a vegetarian or meat eater, you are invited to co-create the community of people, who found their happiness within themselves. Somehow, more and more of us understand that we don’t need more “things” and external sources of our good mood, but we managed to find the balance inside of us, by finding the right path. We are slowly reaching a place, where we  need no more expensive brands to feel valuable, luxury hotels to feel appreciated, fastest cars to feel better or numerous quasi-friends, who will not help when we need them.

We finally enjoy a minimalistic life, a simple house, backpack exploration of the world, getting to know interesting, loveable people and places with organic food or offering fantastic experience. I am honoured to invite you to enter a magic world, created by inspiring individuals, like you, who share the first class knowledge and solutions, which work for a better life. We are here to find the truth and escape from the world of a rat race. You and I know, that we don’t need to jump from space to hit the ground, to feel that we live our lives. We can appreciate a miracle of living our life just now. Would you consider knowing the concept which can make everybody’s life simpler, healthier and happier?

Here is a simple, cost-free algorithm called “Happy Evolution – 10 steps to health, happiness and balance”, which has been created in Spring 2014 by Żaneta Geltz, after she had interviewed nearly a thousand of scientists and specialists for her magazines. This is a message that is sent to the World, to avoid unnecessary diseases, harmful toxins and the madness of shopping, that make us older and obese. We can live a life with excellent bodies, fantastic mood and amazing self-esteem, if only we know all the scientific secrets and tips.

Happy Evolution Algorithm:
Step 1 – pH Balance
Step 2 – True Nutrition
Step 3 – Body Control
Step 4 – Holistic Detox
Step 5 – Body Move
Step 6 – Sleep & Relaxation
Step 7 – Wallet Voting
Step 8 – Minimalism & Upcycling
Step 9 – Listening to Nature
Step 10 – Mindful Love

Before you consume a happy recipe
The moment has come that you want a change in your life. You want to improve something, feel more, live a better life, understand the sense of our everyday pursuit. If you wonder where to start from and what is the formula for a better future, you are in the right place. Here is a simple and literally free method, which is not only effective, but the effects come to you almost immediately, within weeks. There is always something to do, something to improve. You can never say that you are a finished masterpiece.

The key to open a new chapter in your life is trusting your inner voice. That is why, not everything you will find here is good for you. You may even come up with another message and start your own movement. But provoke yourself.

If you are chronically tired, demotivated and you lost joy in your life, or maybe you suffer from allergies, diabetes or extra weight – whatever you want to change, review your friends – note that you can achieve your dream looks, good mood and everyday happiness in the next several weeks. Let’s start.

Step 1: pH Balance

„Our organism reacts to what we eat, how much we eat and how we eat it. The acid-base homeostasis of our organism depends on our nutrition. In case of an imbalance, we may suffer from acidification or even acidosis.” – Dr. Mirosław Mastej, M.D.

We start spoiling the pH balance of our bodies by eating a typical breakfast – a piece of wheat bread with cheese or ham along with a cup of coffee. Instead of fueling our bodies with energy, we consume acids. The pH balance is absolutely crucial for our health and well-being. The issue of acidification started to appear on the media lately, but there are still a lot of people who don’t realize the connection between what we eat and how we feel. We tend to cheer ourselves up by eating sweets and drinking beer. They may work for a short while, but in fact they also add up to disturbing pH balance of our bodies. Why does it happen? Our organism does whatever it can to keep the right pH of our blood. It should be between 7,35 and 7,45 pH. When we face acidification, our organism has to make an enormous effort to bring back the right pH. This effort has the influence on how we feel and how we function every day. We usually feel weak, sleepy and discouraged.

Another factor that causes acidification is stress. We are stressed at work, at school and in our relationships. We even get stressed in petty situations, like getting stuck in a traffic jam or while we are standing in line while doing shopping. We are sometimes so stressed that we suffer from insomnia. This is a rather gloomy picture already, but let’s just add up working late and the lack of physical activity. We don’t have to wait long to get the results. Luckily, it is never too late to change our life. What do we need to do to get out of this loop of disturbing our pH balance?

Our health is our choice. Keeping the right pH is as simple as a bowl of millet groats with olive oil. To keep stabilized pH, we need to learn to compose alkalizing food products with neutral ones. It doesn’t mean that we should totally get rid of acidifying food products, but we should definitely reduce them (down to 20% of our plate). Everything needs to be in balance. Our meals should consist of various vegetables, fresh herbs, different types of grains and olive oil.

What type of coffee?
Alkalizing also depends on what we drink. The massively produced coffee from supermarkets is not a good choice. It contains preservatives and added aromas. It is better to get certified organic coffee and reduce the number of cups we drink per day. It is also beneficial for us to quit using UHT cow’s milk. Nut-based milk is a perfect alternative here and it is rich in omega-6 fatty acids. Green tea and green coffee are also perfect for alkalizing. Both green tea and coffee are rich in antioxidants, so they are good stimulants. It is also important to choose good water. The best water is still slightly mineralized water of which pH is similar to our pH. Another highly recommended water is Redox water. In good shops you can also get natural, alkaline, spring water or glacier water. You can also install a special filter at home that would change tap water into alkaline water.

Happiness is the highest form of health. Dalai Lama

 

Vegetables and holy peace
It is not only a proper nutrition that makes a difference. Healthy lifestyle is equally important. Stress has a strong acidifying impact on our organism and this impact cannot be easily reversed by taking even most sophisticated pills or by eating the most nutritional, green salads. How can you deal with such a fast lifestyle in the modern world?   Hipoalergiczni 5 www.hipoalergiczni.pl

We need to realize that we don’t always have the influence on what happens to us. Sometimes bad things happen and we cannot do anything about it. But we do have control over our reactions to what life brings. Will we surrender to a stressful situation or will we treat it as a motivation to fight? Techniques like mindfulness and meditation teach us how to be more peaceful in life. It is good to deal with stress while doing some physical exercises so instead of “sleeping on it”, go running. Any physical exercise that suits you will stimulate endorphins emission and thanks to them you get some distance to what is happening in our life. You will see things from a new perspective. There is no coffee substitute for a good sleep. Most successful people emphasize that it is absolutely crucial to have a good night sleep. Do you work so hard that you forget to relax? Brian Tracy says that it is not a sign of being hard-working, it is a sign of unproductiveness. Work in the morning but leave the evening for relaxation, soothing music and good sleep.

Balance is absolutely crucial
Avoiding pH imbalance shouldn’t mean that we eat only alkaline food. The key to having a healthy lifestyle is keeping a balance between these food groups. Look below what is alkalizing and what is not!

Highly acidogenic products: pH 5.9 – 5.0
[strongly pro-inflammatory]
Artificial sweeteners, beef, lamb, pork, poultry (chickens), turkey, venison, cheese, fizzy drinks, beer, liqueur, white wheat flour, wheat bread, white flour-based cookies, sugar, brown sugar, sweet chocolate, coffee from supermarket (mass production), puddings, jam, black tea, white rice, semolina pasta, flour pasta, jellies, regular salt.

Medium acidogenic products: pH 6.9-6.0
[pro-inflammatory if used excessively]
Fish, seafood, fruit juice with added sugar, sausages and cold meat, ham, rye bread, cereals, cornflakes, wine, yoghurts containing sugar, green bananas, buckwheat, ketchup, mayonnaise, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, wholemeal pasta, peanuts, boiled potatoes, salted popcorn, basmati rice, brown rice, soy sauce, almonds, artichoke, brussel sprouts, green tea, cherries, fresh coconut, cucumbers, eggplants, mushrooms, leeks, fresh honey, onions, fresh olives, sea salt, horseradish, spices, raw goat milk, homogenized cow milk, homogenized goat milk, coddled egg yolk, olive oil, cauliflower, rhubarb, soya grains, soya milk, sesame, wheatgerms, cashewnuts, slightly sweet tomatoes, bran, graham bread, cranberries, fructose, lentils, pasteurised honey, mustard, pistachio nuts, sunflower seeds, crackers, cocoa, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, salted butter, whortleberries, dry beans, plums, potted olives, prunes, whole grain bread.

Medium alkaline products: pH 8.0-7.0
[anti-inflammatory if used from organic sources]
Turnip, sweet corn, strawberries, raspberries, marrow, peaches, parsnip, kohlrabi, oranges, iceberg lettuce, kale, sour grapes, beetroots, cabbage, broccoli, green beans, spinach, bamboo, sour apples, pumpkin, apricots, sweet apples, alfalfa, blueberries, avocado, ripe grapes, sweet tomatoes, carrots, fresh dates, fresh figs, currants, garlic, celery, gooseberries, fresh herbs, slightly sweet grapes, fresh lettuce, grapefruit, nectarines, slightly sweet pears, fresh green peas, wine vinegar, jacket potatoes, high quality organic coffee.

Highly alkaline products: pH 9.0-8.1
[strongly anti-inflammatory if used from organic sources]
Lemons, watermelons, cayenne pepper, dried dates, dried figs, limes, mangoes, melons, papaya, dried apricots, seedless grapes, parsley, beet leaves, cress, seaweed, sweet grapes, kiwi, asparagus, fresh vegetable juice without sugar, raisins, pineapple, sweet pears, passion fruit.

The best is when at least 70% of our daily meals consist of alkaline food products.

If our life is dominated by fast food, sweets and drinks full of fructose such as juice, nectars and fizzy drinks, it is recommended that you start changing your lifestyle from detox and complete elimination of the following food products:

• sweets and sweet snacks
• sweet drinks, both fizzy and still such as carton juice
• wheat bread, pasta and other white (refined) flour food
• alcohol, black coffee from supermarkets and black tea
• replace cow dairy products: milk, sweetened yoghurts with sour milk, natural yoghurt or kefir
• processed dishes: things you buy on trays with a long expiry date

Alkalizing may seem an abstract term, that’s why it is good to know what are the symptoms in our body. It is not yet another term that was created by a celebrity on a diet. It is also not a radical diet that is based on certain ingredients.

DEACIDIFICATION
By definition acidification doesn’t mean that we are necessarily in pain. Usually we feel chronically tired and weak. We lose joy and energy. Sometimes it may even lead us to feeling depressed. Some people suffer from certain pains in different parts of their bodies. They visit various doctors, but it is usually hard to determine the cause of these pains. When an organism is in pH imbalance, many biological mechanisms don’t work as they should. Medicine won’t work in such a situation, just cleansing and gradual alkalizing. Deacidified body brings back joy, better sleep and general well-being. Gastrointestinal system works better too.

The most basic routine is drinking a glass of hot water with lemon before breakfast.

• better looks – when we start to base our diet on organic vegetables and different types of grains, our skin becomes smooth, firm and well moisturized. There is less tendency to get pimples and cellulite.
• resilience – when we get rid of toxins, heavy metals and pathogens and when you start to absorb necessary ingredients from vegetables, green plants, grains, seeds and oils, we make our body strong again and ready to fight with microbes.

Our organism gets back a chance to reduce allergic reactions in our body, as well as stop inflammations. Thanks to deacidification, we heal ourselves from chronic pain, problems with joints and symptoms difficult to treat.

Now you know what to do, if you want to learn how to do it, you can order a printed magazine here >> .

Step 2: Real Nutrition

 

About 13 000 artificial substances are used in a current food industry. The majority of them is not good for us. It just improves the impression of taste and the look of a given product. We need to choose if we want to eat simple food, simple dishes made from organic products or if we want to eat fast food full of chemical compounds that are harmful for us.” – Dr. Danuta Myłek, M.D.

Extra hours at work, catching up with a friend or maybe getting up a little too late. What else makes you eat a fast-food meal instead of a properly hand-made dish? Such ready-made food usually only increases our sugar level. That’s all it really does. Children visit fast food restaurant basically on every school trip, as part of a plan. There are vending machines with various chocolate bars and cans of coke in every office building. We don’t care what we eat and we don’t care how we eat. We eat while doing stuff. We eat while talking on the phone or while sitting at our desks and doing things. We even eat while driving a car!

We don’t have to wait long to see the consequences of our actions. The first consequences to appear are problems with digestion: bloating, stomachache, nausea or bowel cramps. The common belief in western countries is that all of these can be successfully treated with pills, so we can continue being careless with what we eat. Weight gain will be another symptom for sure. We will suffer from mood swings, because our hormones are not in order. It will depend on how much time has passed since we ate the last chocolate bar or had other junk food. That’s a straight way to get closer to some illnesses, even cancer, diabetes and mental disorders. It sounds like a drug addict’s life, right?

Junk food is full of addictive substances such as monosodium glutamate. Such food doesn’t give us any nutrients, but it makes us constantly hungry for more. We fall into a loop of eating whereas many of our cells starve to death. They starve for vitamins and microelements and what they get from us, are only calories.

Food determines consciousness. Herbert George Wells

Healthy food is usually simple, unprocessed and costs less
Food can become our medicine. The key to success is knowledge. But where to look for this knowledge when more and more books talk only about various diets? Healthy food usually means simple, not packed food, or not processed food. It is also relatively cheap, buckwheat groats with olive oil, vegetable soup or potatoes with dill or parsley greens and sour milk to drink. Or maybe potatoes with a broccoli? It is a kind of a paradox, but to eat healthier, you don’t need to make a revolution in your kitchen. You don’t need to spend hours frying or baking. So, instead of getting supplements at a pharmacy, eat some vegetables, millets, nuts or seeds. Natural products are the best source of nutrients that are necessary for us to stay healthy. A lot of information about food that we might have learnt at school, is no longer valid. The newest pyramid of a healthy lifestyle (recommended by Harvard University) places physical activity in the bottom of the pyramid. The Harvard scientists agree that it is the fundament of a healthy lifestyle. Dairy is understood here as protein from cow milk and we should reduce it to the minimum. Another new recommendation says that we should eat much more plants. According to specialists, we should eat fish once a week with vegetables, vegetable oils and grains, seeds every day. If we plan to be healthy, we should rarely eat meat – maximum once a week. We should remember though, that children need more protein as they are in the process of building their organisms. However, we should avoid conventional food, including meat full of antibiotics, hormons and artificial ingredients, added to prolong expiry date.

Where to look for energy?
The basic source of vitamins are vegetables, except for vitamin D, that we can find only in meat, animal-based products or we can get it from the Sun, for free.  If you want to make sure that you buy good quality vegetables, look for the certificate from the EU (a green leaf sign) or other local organic certifications. Of course the best option would be to have our own piece of land. If not, it is a good idea to buy only seasonal vegetables from local, organic stores. Seasonal vegetables also cost less. If a given vegetable is not available in the winter, don’t buy it from some distant countries. Shipping means that it is covered with a thick layer of preservatives and the food you eat costs a lot of CO2 emissions.

What vegetables to serve on our tables?

• Cabbage– the source of calcium, potassium, iron and vitamin C. It is good for our bones instead of an overrated glass of milk. Cabbage has also been used as treatment for painful joints. Sauerkraut is also famous for its taste and nutrients.
• Onion, garlic, leek– they are excellent bacteriolytic ingredients. They also fight inflammation in our bodies. They are very good for us especially in autumn and winter to strengthen our immune system.
• Pumpkin – the inner part of a pumpkin is a great source of beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamins B. Pumpkin seeds are good to fight parasites. It is worth remembering that folic acid is making us younger! Pumpkins are also a source of zinc and important fatty acids. It is worth remembering that vitamins A, E and K are soluble in fats, thus it is good to sprinkle vegetables with olive oil or flaxseed oil.

What about fruit?
They are a source of a lot of vitamins, but also fructose – sugar that most of us don’t absorb and don’t digest well. This sugar is also feedstuff for blastomycetes of the bowels (when fermenting, you can suffer from bloating). When fructose is finally absorbed, it is turned into fat. There is even more fructose in junk food.

Fruit can be treated as a snack, one or two per day is fine. The recommendable fruit with a little dose of fructose is avocado. It is especially recommended in the combination with lemon juice and warm water. You can have it daily.

Grains
Groats should be a basic element of a healthy meal. Different types of groats are the source of minerals and fibre that regulates the work of our guts. Unfortunately, refined wheat is the most popular grain on our tables. It is modified and treated with all sorts of chemical compounds and it is full of bad gluten. Gluten found in wheat is a kind of lectin that destroys the walls of our guts (the cells called enterocytes). It also causes problems with digestion and with absorption of other nutrients. It can cause a lot of problems in our body. Instead of wheat, it is better to choose millet groats (it is made of gluten free millet) – it is delicious both in a sweet or salted version. Another groats which is good for us is warming buckwheat or amaranth. They are gluten free and they don’t cause violent changes in our sugar levels.

A diet based on refined wheat (gluten), UHT cow’s milk (milk proteins) and white sugar (fructose) is the main cause of most of illnesses that contemporary patients suffer from.

Arguments you can‘t deny
Healthy food can be the easiest thing on Earth, but for someone who is used to eat instant soups and pizza, making a change in your diet can be a kind of a challenge. At first, there may be cravings for artificial flavours, especially the salty ones, but it is better to focus on the results and benefits of the coming methamorphosis.

Are they in love?
People who go along healthy meals have more energy and are usually in a good mood. Thanks to a proper amount of omega fatty acids, which are necessary for the brain to work well and proper amounts of complex carbohydrates (such as starch from groats or vegetables), we avoid sudden changes in our mood, which is the result of the changes in the sugar level in our body. Thus, don’t be surprised that after changing your diet, you will look as if you were in love again!

You don’t have to put on weight when you get old
The pair of jeans we used to wear when we were students don’t have to hide somewhere on the bottom of our wardrobe. Putting on weight is not a natural process of our life. People who compose their meals properly, sleep well and do physical exercises, don’t put on weight. When you quit eating sweets and fast food and when you start listening to your real hunger, not your appetite, you will definitely avoid putting on weight. So how is it going to be? Water instead of a coke?

Stay away from a clinic
Healthy dishes will save some money, time and stress linked to regular visits to a doctor’s clinic. A lot of people say that when they change what they eat, they get rid of chronic illnesses that were not properly diagnosed. Before you join a queue at the medical clinic, start changing the content of your fridge, plate and a glass. Fall in love with vegetables, olive oil and groats. You will surely find more interesting activities than lying on a hospital bed. Of course, there many more pros of healthy food, than this. It is an important element of our healthy lifestyle, but you need to keep a little distance here, too. If you are already on the good path, respect others who might be just beginning their journey. So instead of critisizing others, invite them for healthy soup and lead by a good example. Lead by example showing that it is worth the effort of others.

Every time you eat something, you either support illness or health.

 

Stept 3: Body Control

“Most people have no idea how good their body is designed to feel.“ –
Kevin Trudeau

Easy access to medical care and pills encourages us to visit our GP whenever we catch a cold, and when we suffer from a painful indigestion we dare to call an ambulance. But we rather tend to forget that it would be better for us to make a regular medical check-up of our whole body. So many women die of a breast cancer, because they went to the doctor too late, because they ignored subtle symptoms. The situation is the same in case of cardiological illnesses. The reason for such a situation is often the lack of money for prevention and health education. We treat only results. We don’t look deeper into the true cause of a heart attack, for example, which is a very fast lifestyle, unhealthy diet and the lack of physical exercise. There is a need for real changes here.

Why don’t we get examined?
A Russion medical doctor, Piotr Pałagin, a deffender of natural medicine, says that fear related to the diagnosis itself, with the check-up and finally with the awareness of an illness risk, can decrease a patient’s mood so much that it may make it impossible to do anything for prevention. People who are stressed in life would get so much more stressed in case of a bad diagnosis.

There is yet further proof how much our state of mind and our attitude may impact our health. Those who are afraid to hear their diagnosis usually know very well that their lifestyle is very distant from being healthy, for example, people who smoke cigarettes. Another scary factor is the awareness that we have cancer cases in our closest family. But is it a solution to say “I prefer not to know”?

Check your health on a regular basis
Our job, home duties or lack of money – could these things be our excuses to stop caring about our health? It’s true that sometimes the price of some tests is a bit scary. But when you think how much it may cost to treat an illness, then the money invested in prevention does not seem such a big investment. It is better to spend €100 once on a complex checkup than spend €50 per month on a lifetime pill. Nowadays, we can get a quick diagnosis and start a proper treatment within days. And it is not only about cancer, there are also other illnesses that have a big impact on how we feel, such as diabetes or candida albicans, they all start to develop in the digestive tract. A lot of illnesses can be treated by changing your lifestyle.

Marc Lalonde, Health Minister in Canada, published in 1974 a famous report called “A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians” (which became a new public health strategy of WHO), from which we read that diseases are caused mainly by:

                                                  Heart diseases          Cancer
Biological & genetic factors:          25%                                 29%
Environmental conditions:             9%                                  24%
Healthcare system:                          12%                                 10%
Human lifestyle:                               54%                                37%

Nowadays, it is claimed that our lifestyle is responsible for even 60%, and healthcare system for maximym 10%.

A lot of diseases, including mental illness, can be treated by changing a patient’s lifestyle. Surgery or medicine is the last resort.

No one teaches us how to deal with difficult situations so that we stay calm. We can’t live without stress. But what we can do is changing our lifestyle so that we find time for relaxation every single day. It should be an active form of relaxation, like taking up fitness classes or yoga, or adopting a dog, that will get us out of the house for a walk.

How to avoid surprises?

• At least once a year have a medical check-up done of your blood, sugar level, D3 vitamine level, B12, etc.
• Eat healthy food, stay away from processed food that is full of preservatives, become a hunter of certified products.
• Find time for physical activities, at least 10 minutes a day; choose such an activity that will bring you pleasure.
• Relax, spend time with your family and friends, take care of your solid night sleep.

Each of us can be healthy
Don’t wait for an illness to come or for some sort of accident to shake your lifestyle. It is not worth it. Try to improve it now. Everyone can implement some improvements. They are not for teenagers only or people in their 30s or seniors. They are for everyone, no matter what age or what illnesses we suffer or suffered from. Smoking is so difficult to quit, because you don’t see the result of the change immediately. When you start eating organic vegetable salad instead of salty fries, your energy level will increase straight away. It is a more sophisticated process. You will definitely see some results after a few weeks. What’s important for a lot of people: thanks to these changes, your look will improve, too! You will get slimmer. You will have a stronger organism and notice much more energy wihtin you.

Regular medical check-ups and prevention don’t have to carry the stigma of a lifetime sentence. It may turn out that you are healthy. It will make you even more sure that the lifestyle you have now is not bad. But if it turns out that you suffer from some sort of illness, treat it like a signal that you need to make a change in your lifestyle. These regular check-ups should become our habit. They should make us think of our health in a positive way, as we usually get good results that will make us certain that we are in good shape and we should stop worrying about hypothetical illnesses. Calming down our mind means less stress.

You fight one difficulty, and you will avoid 100 others. Confucius

 

Step 4: Holistic Detox

Moderation. Small helpings. Sample a little bit of everything. These are the secrets of happiness and good health. – Julia Child

Chronic tiredness and the tendency to catch illnesses  may indicate that our organism is weak because of big amount of toxins. Unconsciously, we fill our bodies with harmful substances such as pesticides, preservatives, artificial colorants, emulsifiers, overdose of sugar and salt. When we don’t care how we wash fruit and vegetables, we also risk inviting parasites into our bodies.

Cosmetics from the colorful shelves in drug stores bombard us with carcinogenic ingredients and our everyday contact with domestic detergents, at best, causes various skin problems. Our gastrointestinal system is the main victim of living in the world of pesticides and chemical compounds. Our guts become the headquarters for the development of mold and yeast fungus. According to medicine, the guts are responsible for our general well-being and are responsible in 80% for our immune system. But still, we eat too much, too often and we choose food that is not good for us and our digestive system doesn’t have the chance to digest everything or have some rest. The remains of food in our guts are a real feast for parasites living in our bodies, as well as nonphysiological bacteria, mold and candida. As a consequence of this invisible contamination of our body, we are more prone to get sick, lose life energy or get symptoms similar to food allergy symptoms. Despite their attempts to lose weight, some people put on weight more and more every year. The best way to “reset” our body is to go on a few-day starvation diet or fasting. The process of detoxifying our organism is neither easy, nor pleasant, but it brings good results within a few weeks. Such a detox is a starting point to change your eating habits and live a healthier life.

Gradual detoxification
The fast should start with the watchful eye of a specialist. The whole process requires preparations. You should gradually reduce the amount of meat and dairy that you eat. Two weeks before fasting you totally stop eating meat and dairy. During the detox, it is good to schedule some time just for ourselves, for some relaxation and some time in the open air. Fasting is not the only way to detoxify our organisms. There are some people who, for various reasons, shouldn’t completely stop eating. Such people can switch to a macrobiotic diet or just eat millet groats with olive oil for a few days. However, it is crucial to choose only organic products. Instead of eating, you can fast on properly composed juices. The juices should be made from vegetables, fresh herbs, maybe a little bit of fruit. Though be careful with fruit. It contains fructose which is not very good for us. Juice should be prepared in a squeezer or in a juicer. That’s how it will be full of nutrients. Diet based on juices is a part of Gerson therapy that has been successful as a part of cancer treatment.

An organism that doesn’t get nutrients, turns on a survival mode, it feeds itself with remains of food which have not been digested. It uses cholesterol, lipids (fats), proteins (albumen, amino acids). The bone marrow is motivated to produce white blood cells (fasting is perceived as something life-threatening that’s why we witness such a mobilization while it lasts). A lot of other organs are “set straight”. Such a fast resembles an inspection or a drill of an army when their general officer pays them a controlling visit. The same happens with our brain. Since we are starving, it needs to find something to eat! There can be observed some beneficial changes occurring in the brain, like “clearing foggy mind“ and such people are less prone to suffer from neurological illnesses.

Fasting for the busy ones
More often than fasting, we can go through intermittent cleansing that does not require preparation or taking some days off. If you want to clean your mouth, you need to put coconut oil in your mouth and keep it there for about 20 minutes massaging your gums and palate. After about 20 minutes spit it out. You mustn’t swallow it. After spitting it out, just brush your teeth with a toothpaste that doesn’t contain fluoride. If you want to support your liver, mix olive oil with lemon juice (1:1) and drink it before going to bed. It helps the body to get rid of the toxins. Another good habit is to start the day with a glass of delicately warm water with lemon juice. Such a combination wakes the body up and prepares the gastrointestinal system to work. Lemon juice also prevents throat from infections. Despite lemons’ taste may suggest something completely different, lemons actually deacidify our bodies.

Another method to cleanse our organisms is drinking cistus tea. This herb is famous for its anticancer properties. It can be also very helpful in the treatment of borreliosis and it supports the activity of our guts. As all herbs, it has some active ingredients that may cause side effects, just like in case of medicine you get in pharmacies. So, drink it in moderation and read the information on the package.

Instead of food, you can drink properly composed juice that mostly consists of organic vegetables and fresh herbs.

You need to get exhausted
Intensive physical exercises influence not only our silhouette. When we perspire, we get rid of the toxins from our bodies. The first benefits of sweating we can observe on our skin, but even more important is getting rid of toxic substances that otherwise don’t know how to leave our body and they gather in some places in the form of cellulite. When we treat physiacal activity as a way to cleanse our bodies, we should choose these kinds of activities which make us sweat such as zumba, jogging or cross training. Sauna may be another option worth considering. High temperature improves our blood circulation and it motivates our bodies to fight with germs. Oxygen is carried to cells together with blood. A visit to a sauna helps to get rid of remains of some chemical compounds from cosmetics through the skin, as it opens skin pores. Going to sauna doesn’t require any effort from our side. In some countries it is a typical form of weekly relaxation or even meeting friends.

After cleansing it is good to change the usual cosmetics to organic ones. Instead of creams full of preservatives, look for products with the organic label. It is also beneficial for us to reduce the number of cosmetics we use to just a few.
You can read more in the book: Paul C. Bragg and Patricia Bragg “The Miracle of Fasting”.

Your choice
The results of fasting we have made may be forgotten quickly if we go back to our old eating habits. The whole purpose of fasting is to change our thinking about food, which is supposed to be the source of nutrients. Healthy products are incredibly delicious and we can prepare very exquisite dishes from them. But we need to make some changes in our habits. For example, instead of frying, it is better to boil or steam. Use rock salt (Himalayan) or sea salt instead of normal table salt. Another thing that we may notice after going through fasting is that our sense of taste gets sharper.

Here is a list of products that it is better to exclude from our plate:

• wheat-based products: white bread, pasta, cakes, pancakes; wheat is a source of harmful gluten, and in most cases contains residues of pesticides
• sugar and sweets containing sucrose and fructose, sweeteners
• alcohol, sweetened drinks and juice
• fast food
• salty snack processed in high temperature in refined fats
• processed meat from mass animal production that contains antibiotics or growth hormones
• dairy products with additives – thickeners, stabilizers, colorants, big amounts of salt or sugar
• ready-made meals, instant soups

“You become what you choose, think and do every day.” – Heraklit from Efez

 

Step 5: Body Move

You sit, you lie, you get sick
It starts with the chronic pain in the neck or in the back. Headaches and problems with hands and hips come later. These are results of working at a desk, usually 8 hours spent in the same position – it is not good for our back and spine. It leads to the degeneration of the spine. What’s even worse, after working a lot, people don’t go for a walk because they are tired and they go back home to sit in front of the TV, thinking they are relaxing.

This issue with the lack of physical activity refers also to teenagers who massively get a sick note from their doctors for PE classes and instead of a ball, a child holds a smartphone. We have plenty of excuses why we don’t do any sports: “lack of time”, “too big distance to a fitness club“, “lack of money” or maybe just a belief that it is not for us. We may feel motivated when we notice that we put on extra weight or we lose our self-esteem or maybe we just get ill.

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Waste of time?
Do you really need to spend long hours in a gym to have an active lifestyle? Active lifestyle also consists of such trivial things as cleaning your floor or making the bed. The source of physical activity are also often things that we perceive as a waste of time, such as going to work on foot, tidying up the house, working in the garden or going shopping on foot. We can also do some sport that is supposed to relax and strengthen our bodies, as well as make them more flexible. Sitting makes our lives shorter. It leads to many illnesses and it makes us feel bad. We are also weaker at dealing with stress.

Activate your body
Many of us may not have motivation to do sports. But it is enough to take just the first step. Just go for 2km walk at the end of the day, inhale some fresh air. Our bodies feel the willingness to be more active very quickly. Being active makes us feel happy and makes us feel better. Our mood is good and we know how to deal with depression and tiredness better and better. It is hormones that make us feel great after jogging or after participating in local yoga classes. When we do some sort of sport, even just for 10 minutes, a day is much better for us than going to the gym for an intense workout once a week. So instead of watching a 30-minute tv show or some stressful news, it is better to go for a walk and think. The therapeutic influence of physical activities on our bodies makes us less stressed. The first symptom of stress is the tension in our bodies. Sometimes we literally feel pain in certain parts of the body. Doing some sort of physical exercise is the best solution in such a situation. Of course, we need to choose the most suitable kind of body movement for us – the exercises that make us feel relaxed. If we want to release the tension, it is good to choose yoga, instead of fitness club. Everyday dose of success will make us proud enough to stick to the sport practice we started. Moreover, we will challenge ourselves with more repetitions, new positions and finally, we will influence our closest relatives to join us!

Sport as therapy
Sport can also be a form of meditation if we do it consciously. Whether doing some exercises on a mat or running, we might have the only chance to be alone and to escape from the rush of life. A lot of women observe that they change the attitude towards their bodies, despite having a few extra kilos or a bit of cellulite. We can see it when we take part in a running event. Women don’t hide their thighs or shoulders under their clothes. Sport and having more and more small victories makes us feel more and more self-confident. Sport also teaches us to respect our bodies that are to serve us our whole life. If we want to have a healthy and happy time vehicle, we need to love it and accept it. Our positive attitude and our commitment to physical exercises will make us slimmer. Our face will shine. The sugar level in our blood will be lower and our brain will get more oxygen. It happens so also because of the fact that when we sweat and move our muscles, we get rid of toxins from our lymphatic system. Although a lot of people don’t like sweating, it is a great way of detoxifying our bodies and opening the pores in our skin.

Sofa or sport?
Being tired after work is our impulse to sit on the sofa. In the past it could be more justified, because we did more physical exercises. We moved more, walked more and we needed to have a passive form of relaxation at the end of the day. Our contemporary world has given us a lot of blessings that make the physical activity less compulsory – escalators, washing machines, dishwashers and of course, cars. Nowadays, a lot of people have jobs which require hardly any physical movement, that is why we need to relax in a more active way. The choice is big:

• Beginners can go for a walk, do Nordic walking, ride a bike or go to a swimming pool regularly
• If we want to relax our body and mind, the best options are yoga, pilates, dance or five Tibetan rites
• For more intense work-out, we can choose going to the gym,  jogging or doing cross fit

If all this seems boring, there is always climbing the wall, bike riding or an ice rink. We can also organise our workplace in a more challenging way. It is important to change the way we sit at least once in an hour. It is also beneficial to stretch a bit every now and then. It may be enough to just stretch our arms and move the neck gently from one side to the other. In some companies there are offices where you can stand while working on your computer. Standing is also a form of physical activity. You can even burn around 200 more calories a day, if you stand instead of sitting. If we take into account the risk of putting on weight if we just sit for so many hours, every 200 calories is like gold dust.

Recommended by Harvard University
Sport can replace a therapy, massage or even a session with a psychologist. And there are so many forms of physical activities available completely for free that it is safe to say –physical activity is a free method for most of illnesses that contemporary people may suffer.The scientists from Harvard that created the healthy eating pyramid, underline the blessing of being active. They state that implementing some sort of physical activity in your day is an absolute priority if you want to have a healthy lifestyle. It is even more important than our diet! Both make a part of the pyramid, so we should remember we will achieve the best results by combining these two – proper diet and physical activity.

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar

 

Step 6: Sleep and Relaxation

“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.“ – Mahatma Gandhi

Disturbed sleep
Most people finish work later than they should. Not only do they leave work late, they also take work home, even to their bedrooms! Fast pace of life, work overload and taking more and more responsibilities have huge impact on the quality of our sleep. Some people even say that they don’t want to waste time sleeping. The lack of sleep has serious consequences for our bodies and well-being. In the meantime, our society admires people who sleep four hours a day and work for their success. We often like saying that we don’t have time for anything.

The lack of good sleep and regular relaxation is the main cause of heart attacks and strokes among 30-40-year-olds. Our organisms can’t keep up with the pace of our lifestyles. When we are exhausted, we don’t perform our standard efficiency at work. We shouldn’t drive a car when we are overloaded with work. Driving a car being extremely tired or sleepy is similar to driving a car after drinking alcohol. Without a proper night sleep, there is no chance for us to keep our young looks for long. Our immunological system doesn’t work properly either and it means that we are more prone to catch viruses and bacteria ‘hunting’ for us around. A longer day also means more meals, which quickly turn into fat if we don’t get some proper sleep at night or have time for body movement. Before you make yourself another cup of coffee, think if it will really give your body the kind of regeneration  it needs. Maybe a 15-minute nap would be a better idea.

Sleep to regenerate
Going to sleep before midnight is the only way for our organisms to be regenerated on the cellular level. When we sleep, there is a growth hormone produced in our body (also known as samototrophic hormone, i.e. growth hormone), which is responsible for reviving proteins used during the day. That’s why after a good night sleep, we are in better shape. Various American institutions advise 7-8 hours of sleep for adults. It is crucial to observe our bodies and learn to know when it is good for us to sleep longer and when six hours of sleep is enough.

In the western countries there are more and more offices where taking a nap is not only tolerable, but there are even special, comfortable rooms where employees can relax peacefully. Drinking coffee won’t help us when we feel sleepy.

Mind regeneration
Sleep brings our power back after an intense day and it prepares us for new challenges. But it is not the only way to recover your brain power. Apart from getting a good night sleep, plan some time for proper relaxation. The key to success is to leave some space for unexpected things to occur, so that not everything goes according to our plan. We are so much used to planning everything that even our relaxation turns into yet another task to do. Instead of feeling guilty that we didn’t go to the cinema, didn’t meet a friend or didn’t go to the gym, it is better to take relaxation step by step. 15-minute long breathing relaxation is something that we can easily promise ourselves. Breathing has an incredibly cleansing power, it energises the whole body. You can play with your breath:

• Try to make your breath longer and longer, you can count so that you are sure it is getting longer
• You can inhale with your nose, then keep the air for a moment and then exhale through your nose or your mouth

Benefits of sleep
If there is anyone who needs more arguments that sleep is good for us, they should study a long list of benefits of good night sleep. We feel them in our bodies and in our minds. Regular sleep is especially important for children and teenagers who still grow. Growth means production of new protein in the organism and this process happens when we sleep. When teenagers don’t sleep well, they will suffer from hormonal disorders.

Mind:                                          

• better concentration
• faster learning skills
• good memory
• reflex and fast reaction to stimuli
• better perception
• well-being, good mood
• willingness and energy to take up action
• better stress management

Body:

• metabolism and appetite regulation
• radiant and smooth skin
• relaxed muscles
• higher immunity
• lower risk of getting some illnesses (e.g. heart attack or stroke)

Meditation
For a moment leave all your tasks and let your mind rest. You don’t need to meditate in silence. The core of meditation is accepting what is happening around without focusing your attention on sounds or passing thoughts. After a few minutes, some interesting ideas may come to you!

Step: 7: Wallet Voting

“I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is
a healthy you.” – Joyce Meyer

Educate yourself and vote with your wallet
When a long weekend is coming, there are usually long queues in supermarkets. People have their trolleys packed with all sort of junk that they wouldn’t survive without during the weekend: multi-pack of coke, toast bread, ready-made steak for a barbecue, a few bags of crisps and, of course, beer and ice-cream. Is this the menu our body will enjoy or needs?

The lack of vitamins and minerals in our diet answers a lot of questions about our discomfort, catching illnesses and “I don’t like Mondays” attitude. But how can we know it if healthy, high quality products are hidden in a shop corner under the sign “Healthy Food” or they are only available in online stores or on organic farms. The offer of stores and restaurants depends on us, but we also depend on it. Blindly buying things on sale or what we have just seen on TV, makes our market flooded with unhealthy products that make us and our children suffer from diseases that used to happen only to older people.

Despite the risk of causing allergies, hormonal disorders or even cancer, products containing formaldehyde donors (preservatives that are forbidden during pregnancy and lactation) are legally available in shops.

What do you vote for?
Our choice is the first step. That’s why we need to look for reliable sources of information and get advice from true experts. Not everything that has a label “sensitive” or “baby” is really good for us and our children. In Europe we don’t have any laws that would protect consumers from harmful substances that are applied in cosmetics. Despite the risk of allergies, hormonal disorders or even cancer, manufacturers still sell cosmetics that contain formaldehyde (it must not be used in case of pregnancy and in the period of lactation  – DMDM Hydantoin, Imidiazolidinyl Urea, Quanternium-15, 2-Bromo-2 nitropro- pane-1, 3 diol), and the whole list of highly allergenic perfumes (e.g. d-Limonen, Linalool, Geraniol, Cinnamal, Citronellol, Eugenol, etc.). Only our conscious choice not to buy such products can eliminate them from the market. That’s how people who are still unaware of the risk, wouldn’t be exposed to allergies and various illnesses.

In Denmark, harmful products gradually disappear from shop shelves as Danish people are very aware of the influence our everyday choices have on our health and well-being. It is the result of educating the population starting from kindergartens. It is the initiative of the Danish government which cares about its nation and despite favourable law of the European Union supporting big multinational corporations, it introduces restrictions in case of food products and cosmetics.

People love doing shopping in pharmacies, so from the media we hear that when we happen to suffer from any problem, we need to get some sort of medicine (instead of changing our diet, going for a walk or getting a good night sleep). The situation is the same when it comes to food, clothes and cosmetic industry – most shops sell poor quality products full of pesticides, formaldehyde or fluoride, etc. Not to mention the fact that most of them are not fair trade products. When you go shopping next time, think twice that doing shopping is giving your vote. The consequences of our voting, will literally enter your skin. Those of us, who already make a very conscious choice, should inspire others, who still wander.

I can’t afford my health
There are usually financial arguments coming up that healthy food and healthy products are expensive. But the fact is that healthy shopping doesn’t cost more than shopping full of junk products. It is enough to compare the price of a bag of millet groats with the price of a frozen pizza. Or compare the price of a coke can with the price of a mineral water bottle. Or take a look how much a kilo of tomatoes costs compared to a kilo of candies. The list is very long. This is only an illusion that when we don’t buy healthy food, we actually save money or we can buy more. The truth is, unhealthy products lead to inevitable illnesses and treating illnesses is never cheap.

The people who are waiting in a queue to a specialist know it and those who have problems with moving, too. People who are obese, know it too. When we buy healthy products, we protect our health. We can also be sure that we don’t put sugar into our bodies or some unknown ingredients (cheese or cheese-like products on pizzas) or completely useless and very harmful trans fat. Maybe it is worth paying attention to what you can find on shelves with healthy food?

Your shopping = Your lifestyle
Proper education about healthy food, ecological cosmetics and fair trade are an important step to our well-being. We are getting away from this well-being when we get a fashionable dress from synthetic fabrics or an expensive gadget made of plastic.

Food
There are more and more small farms that understand clients’ needs and they offer subscription for fruit, vegetables and herbs without chemicals, certified organic. In your local stores – look for products with “eco” logo. In a lot of restaurants you can replace some ingredients with those that are sugar and gluten free. In good cafes they offer almond milk as an alternative to cow’s milk.

Cosmetics
When you use organic, certified products, your skin is really nourished, not only temporarily covered with some synthetic film. Use certified cosmetics and natural oils – coconut oil, argan oil, moringa oil and others. A product that is safe for the skin doesn’t contain colourants and artificial fragrance.

Detergents
Do you rinse your floor after cleaning it? I doubt it. That’s why choose those detergents that don’t leave a layer of harmful chemicals on the floor, furniture or even on your clothes. If you don’t have an opportunity to use good, unscented detergents, use home remedies – vinegar, bicarb soda and citric acid. Friendly for your pets, safe for your family and cheap!

Clothes
Buying a new dress usually brings a lot of joy. It will bring even more joy when you know that people who made the dress were well paid for their work and they worked in a safe and comfortable workplace. Clothes produced in Europe might be a bit more expensive, but we can be sure that they were not made by children, which is a common thing in Asian countries.

We recommend the following certificates
Be aware that a lot of cosmetics and food companies, knowing that clients are a bit more careful about what they buy, design their own “signs” and put them on the packages. These “semi-certificates” have nothing in common with health and safety, they usually say “organic” or “highest quality” or “dermatologically tested”. If you search for products that will let you live longer, it is worth choosing international certificates which (what’s important) are not granted for life:

• AllergyCertified – One World One Label – global system of granting certificates to products that don’t contain allergy causing ingredients as well as ingredients that may cause cancer, hormonal disorders and infertility. Toxicological assessment of products also means checking if they contain formaldehyde donors, artificial preservatives, colourants and first and foremost fragrance.
• Astma Allergi Denmark – a Blue Wreath is granted by Astma Allergi Danish Association that stands guard to make sure we do choose safe cosmetics. Only odourless cosmetics that don’t contain colourants have a chance to get this certificate.
• Eco Cert – certificate for organic products. Here not only the ingredients are thoroughly checked, but also their origin and the production process. This certificate guarantees that natural ingredients in the products are not polluted with pesticides and herbicides. You can find this certificate only on good quality products.
• Nordic Swan – products with this Scandinavian certificate have minimum impact on the natural environment. Everything has to be environmentally friendly – ingredients, packagings and the whole production process.
• Green Leaf – it is a certificate reserved for organic farming that delivers vegetables, fruit and grains free of synthetic fertilizers. This certificate also guarantees high quality of meat, fish and dairy.
• Demeter – regulates the processing of food, cosmetics, textiles as well as storage, packaging and labelling. The holistic Demeter requirements exceed governmental mandatory regulations. Not only do they exclude the use of synthetic fertilisers and chemical plant protection agents in agricultural crop production, or artificial additives during processing, but also require very specific measures to strengthen the life processes in soil and foodstuffs.

FRAGRANCE
We don’t need them, but they are very often added to cosmetics and detergents. They are the most common cause of contact allergies. The EU list of the most risky scenting compositions includes those that are most allergenic, such as:
Cinnamal, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool, Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl alcohol, Cinnamyl alcohol, Citral, Hydroxycitronellal, Amylcinnamylalkohol, Anisyl alcohol, Alpha Isomethyl Ionone, Cumarin, Farnesol, Evernia Furfuracea, Evernia prunastri, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl salicylat, Benzyl benzoate, Benzyl cinnamat, Butylphenyl methylpropional, Hydroxyisohexyl, 3-cyklohekseno karboksaldehyde.

CHEMICAL COLOURANTS
It is also good to avoid chemical colourings from E 100 group that are used in the food industry: E 102 tartrazine, E 104 quinoline yellow, E 110 orange yellow, E 122 azorubine, E 123 amaranth, E 124 strawberry red azo dye, E 127 erythrosine, E 131 patent blue, E 142 brilliant green, E 173 aluminium, E 180 lithol rubine.

PRESERVATIVES
Preservatives are used in cosmetics to prevent the development of germs. Avoid carcinogenic substances and formaldehyde donors*: Benzylhemiformal, Methenamine, Paraformaldehyde, 5-bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane, Diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin*, Formaldehyd Imidiazolidinyl urea*, Sodium hydroxymethylglycinate*, Quaternium-15*, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol*, Methylisothiazolinone (MI), Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI).

* Cosmetics containing formaldehyde are especially not recommended for breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women.

EMULSIFIERS AND CLEANING AGENTS
They combine fat and water into one consistent mass. They can be found in a lot of shampoos, creams, make-up cosmetics, toothpastes and hair sprays. Examples of PEG and PPG – all substance with PEG and PPG prefix:

– Aluminium Chlorochydrate
– Aluminium Chlorochydrex
– Ceteareth
– Glycereth-7 Triacetate
– Laureth-5 Carboxylic Acid
– Myreth-4
– Oleth-3 Phosphate
– Poloxamine, Polysorbate 20, 60, 80
– Sodium Myreth Sulfate,Steareth-2, -21 and other numbers
– Trideceth-12 and other numbers 

Step 8: Minimalism & Upcycling

“Doctors won’t make you healthy. Nutritionists won’t make you slim. Teachers won’t make you smart. Gurus won’t make you calm. Mentors won’t make you rich. Trainers won’t make you fit. Ultimately, you have to take responsibility. Save yourself.” – Naval Ravikant

Buy less and more slowly
Is shopping really the best way to reduce stress? Spending money on things we don’t need becomes a trap that we can easily fall into. Spending money has had an influence on the natural environment, our health and well-being. Time spent in malls is becoming a substitute for a Sunday family walk or going cycling. Some of us still spend time driving, then looking for a parking spot and then we just aimlessly walk around the mall. A lot of women know one thing after such a walk: “I wanted to get a book, but I came back with a new bag.” There are thousands of stimuli in shopping centers – huge sales banners, hostesses giving something away, different types of music in basically every shop, shop assistants trying to persuade us to buy something and crowds of people fighting their way through. We go back home happy we got more stuff that we don’t even have space for. We throw away older things to make some room for the new ones. The old ones are not necessarily worn out or broken, but because of too many things, we just throw them away, contributing to enlarging dumps and escalating the ocean pollution.

Thus, we face the paradox: on the one hand, we try to earn money to send our children to better schools, but on the other hand, we give them a bad example of how to manage that money. We show them that a wish should be immediately fulfilled. Where can we find benefits in all this?

Shopping is a mindset
Recently the minimalists movement is becoming more and more successful. In highly developed countries, those who speak of a minimalist lifestyle are the ones who used to look for happiness on the Porsche seats not so long ago. As they admit, the feeling of emptiness in a house full of luxury stuff makes you redefine your life map. There are also people who, despite having a lot of money, decide to live a modest life instead of buying expensive cars or bigger TVs. They buy little houses, they ride a bike, instead of driving a car and they wear the same jacket for years. Minimalism is not about throwing away half of your house to a rubbish bin. If we have plenty of household items and clothes, we can give them to those in need. We can check if there is some charity nearby and we can donate our stuff there. So when you feel like getting some new clothes and the old ones are still fine, there will surely be someone who will take your old clothes and still use them with joy. When we think of shopping in this way, we reach a different level of life – helping others.

Charity actions can contribute to our self-development:

• we become more sensitive to other people
• we become more self-confident and brave
• we meet new people and we learn how to build relationships
• we get rid of the tendency to feel sorry for ourselves or to fall into depressive states
• even if we are unemployed, we still have the sense of fulfillment and we feel that someone needs us
• we build our self-esteem

Ecology
When we buy something, we not only get the product, we also get the package, foil and polystyrene foam. It is also worth noticing that the furniture that was produced in the 70s, is still fine nowadays, but the furniture that was produced after the year 2010, breaks down within less than a decade. The situation looks the same with electronics. Producers don’t care about the quality anymore. Non-breakable goods are not in the interest of producers. We can refuse to buy them.

Colourful plate
We do grocery shopping every day. Thus, we easily fall into a routine. We buy things that we know, we don’t read the list of ingredients and we happen to trust TV commercials. At least once a week, it is good to visit a vegetable market and break your routine. There are usually a lot of local sellers that offer organic food. You can really explore new flavours, smells and even play with colours. Do you know that organic carrots have more intense colours than the perfect-shaped ones you buy in supermarkets? Ecological eggs have more delicate eggshell than the eggs you buy in supermarkets.

Thoughtful shopping – investment in your health
The first rule of thoughtful shopping is getting the things that will serve for many years to come. Shopping mostly means investing in a material. But when we make good choices, we can invest in something more – in our health. The fewer goods we have on our shopping list, the less time we will need to spend at work. Thus, we will gain more time for physical activities, relaxation and art.

“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain

 

Step 9: Listening to Nature

“Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners”.
– William Shakespeare

You buy a “naturally” labelled face cream and you see a long list of perfumes, colourings and preservatives. You try to eat healthily, but so well-known salmon appears to be full of heavy metals, vegetables are full of pesticides and innocent looking muesli contains too much sugar. Can we be closer to nature in the times when we seem to be living more in harmony with our smartphones, instead of our biological clocks?

Fast technology development made our lifestyle even faster. We quit using our grandma’s healthy recipes, rituals or even natural ways of getting rid of stains on our clothes. We choose modern methods that we find in colourful magazines, but… the “modern” direction has side effects. Ready-made meals, fast food, fizzy drinks, lack of physical effort and the missing human interactions caused people to get ill with all sorts of civilization diseases. Our mental condition is not the best either – more and more people suffer from depression, neurosis and schizophrenia. Not everyone feels great in the world of plastic bottles with bisfenol, polystyrene foam trays, disposable cutlery and ready-made dishes. However, the power of Nature cannot be underestimated. That’s why it is good to remember about it before we hear our diagnosis or we put on weight.

The Earth is 4,6 billion years old. Let’s assume it is 46 years. The human kind has been on this planet for some hours. Our industry revolution has lasted for 1 minute and within this time we have destroyed 50% of forests on Earth [www.sciencealert.com.au]

In the rhythm with Nature
Traditional medicine is based on nature – some spices and herbs are recommended for summer and different for winter. In the summer we need food that keeps the body cool, in winter – on the contrary. The time of the day matters, too. In the morning it is recommended to eat something warm as it warms up our digestive system after the night. In winter we should eat vegetables that were harvested in autumn and can be stored without being processed, such as potatoes, carrots, beetroots or cabbage. Winter is also a season of soups, groats and fats. Spring is the season of radish, lettuce, cucumber and other vegetables, preferably from our own garden. You can also have your own vegetable garden if you live in a block of flats. It is enough to organise your kitchen and windowsills properly. The situation is even better when you have a balcony, you can grow cherry tomatoes or even wild strawberries.

Greenery and biological clock
One hour in nature is enough to regenerate after a stressful day at work, according to scientists. Looking at nature is very calming. Time spent in a park or forest can be compared to a trip to the seaside. Trees create a microclimate which is rich in minerals. People who have problems with upper respiratory tract should walk, or even better, run in a forest. Time spent in nature is also a chance to get far away from all the electrical / electronc goods we have at home. They create an electromagnetic smog which is not good for us. The influence of all the electronics around us includes sleep disorder, morning headaches and general discomfort. What’s more, the light that is emitted by smartphones has similar impact on our brain as sunlight so checking e-mails and Facebook in bed, just before you are about to fall asleep, is not a good idea. Light stops melatonin production, which causes sleepiness and which makes it easier for us to fall asleep.

Too much work makes us forget about our biological clock. In summer we should go to bed at sunset and get up at sunrise. Yes, together with hens and roosters. For most people it is impossible to do. Instead of listening to nature, we force our organisms to work when we should be relaxing. Especially those who live in cities tend to have their inner clock completely out of order. Cities are full of lights, supermarkets are open until 11pm, the same with gyms. All these things have bad impact on our sleeping habits.

Naturally? Only breastfeeding!
Breastfeeding is the only natural way to feed newborns. It is recommended by midwives and doctors. We should breastfeed our babies for at least six months as in this period a functional immune system is built. Mother’s milk is adjusted to a given baby’s needs. It is full of nutrients that a baby needs in this period of life. Breastfeeding helps a baby avoid having allergies later in life.

Breastfeeding is also a chance to build a close relationship between a mother and a child. During breastfeeding oxytocin is produced, which is also called “love hormone”. It increases immunity and it helps to deal with infections more quickly. It also protects from sadness and depression. Artificial milk, even those declaring a high quality in no way can substitute mother‘s milk. Women who are breastfeeding for the first time, can get help from midwives and other advisors. The beginning may not be easy but the benefits for a baby are enormous.

“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.” Henry Ford

 

Natural choices are simple:

• Ecological vegetables
• Breastfeeding
• Reasonable usage of water and electricity
• Bike instead of a car
• Relaxation in a forest, instead of in front of a TV set

Step 10: Mindful Love

“Your body hears everything your mind says.” – Naomi Judd

There is an excuse for everything
Do you also constantly hear from your friends that they don’t have time for a healthier life? Gym? Nice idea, but there are children and their after-school classes. Books? Yeah, books are fine, but you have no energy left to educate yourself. Holidays? Yes, but only for one week. These excuses can go on and on for decades. The universal answer is “I don’t have time”. You can start to think if, in such a situation, we find time to live. But when the price is our mental and physical health, it is good to stop and look at our calendar to find some time for ourselves and our health. Job is an important thing for most of the people. But it is worth remembering that our efficiency at work depends on our ability to relax, too.

Fast pace of a stressful life is not only a problem for adults. More and more often it is also a problem of children who are rushed by their parents. Even if you think you live in such a fast way that you can’t stop even for a moment, everything is possible with a good strategy. Before you stop because of getting ill, stop to take care of your health. If you want to support your child, some of these hints might be useful:

• don’t buy everything your children are asking for, they should learn minimalism
• be a good example – try to avoid spreading bad eating habits
• allow your child to fall, make a mistake and learn from this
• build up as well as you can his or her self-esteem by getting more and more life competencies (gardening, cooking, listening)
• never complain, always look for solutions and taking lessons from mistakes
• avoid “producing” fear and stressful situations, it is one of our biggest crimes towards children
• teach a child to show gratefulness, love, to say “I am sorry”, “I forgive you”

You will find more tips in our printed magazine HAPPY EVOLUTION – read more here>>!

Follow your intuition, it will show you the way
At the beginning of your path, it is good to look for trustworthy sources of information – maybe take part in a cooking classes, buy a book about organic food or maybe follow bloggers who write about healthy food and lifestyle. Mindful eating and physical activity have this good quality that they motivate an individual to do both. People who start jogging or going to yoga classes, appreciate the effort they put in regular workouts. A bag of crisps or a can of beer will never taste the same for them when they know they can waste hours spent at the gym. Fast-food does not give the energy you need for working out, and organic choices make you fit and strong! That’s how afternoon classes become the beginning of a new lifestyle in all life dimensions – movement, nutrition and even sleep.

The same with food. When you start to create balanced meals, you will be more willing to spend Friday evening going for a long walk with a friend, rather than going to a pub full of cigarette smoke. You can choose how you want to start to introduce changes into your life.

Follow your inner voice, it won‘t lead you astray
Those who visited any of Asian countries, know that the wisdom in eastern philosophy shapes healthy attitude towards life. Not all of us though are ready for zen meditation. Luckily, we have something which is called mindfulness. It means nothing more than being here and now. Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of the mindfulness idea, started to use the practice of being totally present in therapies reducing stress and even in healing depression.

The practice of mindfulness can start from observation of one’s own breath. Being mindful means we focus on what we see around us right now. It encourages to use all our senses to connect with the world without judging it.The last element is especially crucial if we want to be happy – avoid judgement. At the very beginning, we may find it difficult. But it is worth remembering that life is not a punishment. Quite the contrary, life is an award. That’s why there is no point in being too strict in judging yourself whenever you eat a doughnut or spend your Sunday on a lawn chair. Being too critical towards yourself will actually discourage you from having a healthy lifestyle. Mindfulness teaches acceptance and letting things go. It also makes us realize that things we commonly call problems or obstacles are usually just a challenge that we are facing at a very moment.

“Believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there.” – Venus Williams

What can I do in a quarter of an hour?
You can actually do quite a lot of things in a quarter of an hour. For example, you can be late for your work. It is more important that you can make your veggie shake for lunch or  finish your oats with cinammon without a rush. Do something that will make you feel better. When you see a smile on your face, you will change 15 minutes into one hour. Within 15 minutes you can practise Five Tibetan Rites, 5 positions repeated seven times. You can learn from this video, it is for free: https://youtu.be/YjzHyy-hrUE.

What can you do?
Squeeze some lemon juice and drink it with warm water. You can add some leaves of fresh herbs such as mint, basil or melissa. Warm water with lemon regulates the work of our digestive system. When you drink it first thing in the morning, it will help your body get rid of toxins. It takes less than 5 minutes.

You can also do sunbathing practice. Let’s say 10-20 minutes a day. You can find professional guide how to practise a safe sun exposure here: dminder.info.

You can also do breathing exercises. Stand by an open window and breathe normally at first. When you feel ready, you can try to lengthen your inhales and exhales while stopping the air in your lungs for a few seconds. At the end of the practice – sigh a few times. It will free your whole body from stress and tension.

Another thing that you can do is calling your best friend. On a subconscious level we choose a conversation as our medicine for stress. When such a conversation is accompanied by laughter and words of support, no challenge seems to be too difficult. For more ideas, you could consider ordering a book worth reading: “How To Be Free” by Tom Hodgkinson.

“We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Gautama Buddha

Join Happy Evolution movement!
Use these 10 steps to the balance
and feel great again!
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About the project
For many years, Danish people have kept winning the first place in all rankings for the happiest nation in the world. Their happiness stems from healthy lifestyle, easily accessible organic and certified products and everyday physical activities.

The editor-in-chief of Happy Evolution magazine, Żaneta Geltz, inspired by the Scandinavian attitude towards health, invited the best experts – doctors, dietary consultants, psychotherapists and midwives to share their knowledge and the best practice. Hundreds of discussions and interviews let her create “10 Steps to health, happiness and balance” project and Happy Evolution movement which is an initiative encouraging the readers to the changes that lead them to uncompromised health and happiness. During meetings with readers, she quickly realised that such educational projects are really useful. Simple steps towards health, written down on a piece of paper, gained a new form – an informative and inspiring algorithm that shows not only “what points to cover” but also “why they are all important.”

This material is addressed to anyone who wants to eat a bit healthier food, lose extra weight, recover from an illness, regain energy or simply be happy. The basis for this guide is the author’s metamorphosis and her own path towards a better and healthier life. This guide is full of hints about food, alkalizing, physical activities, relaxation and a balanced, sustainable life. The author also emphasises that it is absolutely crucial to live in harmony with yourself and with nature that is our legacy.

Listening to our own needs is a reliable recipe for a healthy and balanced life. That is why it is worth coming up with our own solutions that will allow us to enjoy life for many years to come.
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Publisher: Geltz Media | All rights reserved.
Proofreading and editing: Anna Siódmak,
dr Mirosław Mastej, Milena Żebrowska
Graphic design: Robert Mieniok, Małgorzata Wiatr
Photos: Michał Ozdoba, Krystyna Sarnacka, Żaneta Geltz
and © Shutterstock.com, © Pexels.com
Contact us: news@happyevolution.tv
Author of the concept and illustrations of 10 steps:
Żaneta Geltz, graphic design: Roland Scheerer
Design of 4 Worlds for Happy Evolution: Lucky You Agency
First printed edition: 31.01.2015, www.facebook.com/HappyEvolutionTV

If you want to follow this algorithm, do it.
If you want to copy the text – you are not allowed.
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Thank you! 🙂
If any queries – please contact us by email  ( address mentioned above) (news@), we are very responsive!

Follow the guide which shows WHAT can be done, and order the magazine which show HOW to implement all these steps by inspiring interviews with our experts: www.multishop24.pl/category/en/happy-evolution