August is National Wellness Month.

Our local baseball team was in the spirit, and invited me to exhibit at their “Health and Wellness Day” event yesterday. 

But based upon what I observed, it looked like lots of people didn’t get the memo.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not a party pooper.  When you’re at an event like that, it’s fun to indulge in a hot dog, popcorn, pizza or whatever your favorite stadium food is.

But the majority of the people walking by looked like they hadn’t eaten anything that wasn’t highly processed in decades and they wouldn’t know a fresh fruit or vegetable if it jumped up and bit them in the derriere.

I saw people who were overweight, missing teeth, walking with a cane or walker, using a puffer, had unhealthy-looking skin and/or hair, diabetics, cancer survivors, and folks looking FAR older than their years.

And all I could think to myself is:  Most of this is SO preventable! 

Am I talking about you?

If you saw yourself in any of my words above, listen up.

It’s time for you to choose health and wellness…because if you don’t, disease and death will be happy to choose you. 

And I don’t want that to happen to you!

Now the good news is better health is very achievable—even for you! 

As the ancient saying goes, “A journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.”

Here are three very effective steps you can take in the direction of better health:

Step 1: Go green

If your only vegetables of late have been fries, ketchup and onion rings, it’s time to work in some real stuff, my friend.

Commit to eating just one tossed salad a day, even if your version of “salad” is iceberg lettuce with dressing.  It’s a start.

Plus you can roast many vegetables and make an easy, delicious side dish.  Brussels sprouts, asparagus, carrots, broccoli and zucchini all work well.  Just drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast at 400° until crisp-tender.  Use a cast iron pan if you’ve got one.

If you’re pressed for time, you can even steam frozen vegetables and dress them up with butter, herbs like basil, rosemary or oregano, grated cheese, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and honey, lemon zest or pesto.

Also, opt for coleslaw, a side salad or the vegetable of the day when dining out, instead of fries, mac and cheese or pasta for side dishes.

Step 2: Take a step (or 2 or 3)

Yes, I mean exercise. 

If you don’t engage in some form of exercise, my 3 cats will sing an opera at the Met before you will achieve better health.

But exercise doesn’t have to be drudgery and you don’t need to join a gym—even taking a walk is helpful!

You can also take a dance or yoga class, swim, get some home equipment like a treadmill, or use a DVD program.

That’s how I started my karate training, by the way.  I did Billy Blanks’ Tae-Bo workouts in my living room for 4 years and decided to try karate…and 16 years later I’m a 4^th degree black belt and still training.

Step 3:  Help things move along

The saying “Death begins in the colon” couldn’t be more accurate.  Having sound digestion is absolutely VITAL to good health.

Why?  Well, two reasons.

First, digestion is how you get nutrients, and your body needs nutrients to keep you alive.

Second, digestion is how you get rid of wastes and toxins.  If you don’t do that, your innards will start to resemble a clogged toilet.  This creates the perfect breeding ground for disease, plus people will smell you from a mile away with your BO and bad breath.

You can help improve your digestion in 3 ways:

1- Eat simpler meals

Our typical meals that could feed a lumberjack are next to impossible for your system to break down completely, plus processed foods are very hard on your GI tract.

But eating simpler meals comprised of foods that require similar digestive enzymes (acid OR alkaline) can pave the way for easy, more comfortable digestion and less gas, bloating and heartburn.

All of my books—Great Taste No Pain, Want to Lose Weight? Stop Dieting! and Great Taste No Gluten are based on this principle, which is the dietary science of food combining!

And they have created tens of thousands of happy tummies all over the world!

2- Support your microbiome

In order to be able to absorb nutrients like you should, you MUST have a healthy gut microbiome.

But unfortunately, our guts are taking a beating from things like soda, refined carbs and sugars, medications and stress—all of which make your flora balance topsy-turvy.

That’s why a full-spectrum probiotic formula like Super Shield is helpful for just about everyone!

Super Shield contains 13 well-studied probiotic strains that help to keep your gut in a healthier balance, support digestion and encourage strong immune health too!

3- Give a helping hand if needed

Contrary to what you may believe, there is not an endless river of digestive enzymes flowing through you.  If you expend more than what Nature intended you to (and if you eat lots of processed foods, trust me, that’s pretty likely), you may find yourself running short.

Plus if you’ve had gastric or gallbladder surgery, chances are excellent you’re already lacking.

But a complete enzyme formula like Digestizol Max can help your body break down whatever foods you eat!  Its blend of 15 plant-derived enzymes can work alongside your own enzymes and pave the way for more complete, pain-free digestion.

Now you are armed with truly effective strategies to help make a healthier you!

Please do it for yourself.  Now.

You’ll never regret it.

To your health,

Sherry Brescia