Health

You can't achieve much in life if you have poor health, so on this page I've collected together some of the questions you may have faced and tips for general health and well-being. It is interesting that most of the things we are told to avoid are actually those that are most essential to good health. Our problem is that we over-indulge. We know what is good for us, but we gorge ourselves when it is in plentiful supply. For example:

Salt - essential, but you don't need much (unless heavily exercising)
Sugar/glucose - essential, but you don't need much (unless heavily exercising)
Fat - we need about a tablespoon of good quality fat a day. Most people ingest far more poor quality fat on a daily basis.
Sunlight - a daily amount on uncovered skin (ie no suntan lotion). Again, moderation and best to get sunlight in morning or late afternoon rather than middle of the day when you are likely to burn. Sunlight is required for vitamin D and helps to keep the skin mites in check.
Protein - is important but we get a good amount from bread, fruit and vegetables and dairy products. It isn't necessary to eat a 1/4 lb steak a day. Most people in the western world eat far too much animal protein.

Diet

Meat - is it okay to eat it, or is it better to be a vegetarian? My Osteopath has told me that some of the most unhealthy people he has seen are those who have been long-time vegetarians (20 years). It is not necessary to eat meat. Many people eat far too much meat - 6 times a week and fish on Friday. Not necessary. Twice a week is fine, and eating meat the way the Chinese do in a stir-fry rather than a 250 g steak and a bit of lettuce. There are a couple of reasons why some religions have promoted vegetarianism. In earlier times meat wasn't stored in refigerators, so the chance of getting ill from poorly kept meat was a lot higher than it is today. Some reject eating meat as they don't want to harm any animals. If you choose not to eat meat you do need to be more careful with your diet and probably take dietary supplements (not for protein, but for B12 and Folacin). If you wish to keep eating meat I recommend moderating the intake, and consider deep sea fish as a way of avoiding steroid enhanced battery farming.
Water - that we should drink 8 glasses of water a day (about 2 litres) appears to be an urban myth. It is a good idea not to become dehydrated, but an industry seems to have sprung up selling bottled water and specially enhanced rehydration aids. If you are doing detoxifying diets or strenuous exercise you will need more water. However, in general it is better to drink pure water than many of the alternatives.
Coffee, tea - avoid coffee, it isn't good for you. Most nutritional experts also recommend limiting standard tea (ie not herbal varieties) to one or two cups a day. And you shouldn't be putting sugar or artificial sweeteners (which are much worse) into your beverage.
Coca cola, V, Red Bull, soft drinks - in general avoid them. Some of the simple sugar flavoured water is ok (lemonade, Sprite, Ginger Beer, Chi).
Oil - a tablespoon of a good quality oil (eg Flaxseed, or other high in Omega 3) is recommended.

Multivites

If you are vegetarian then you may well require daily supplements.
If you work in an office surrounded by unhealthy people in winter, dose up on vitamin C (it is almost impossible to over-dose on vitamin C).

Exercise

First it was 20 minutes a couple of times a week, now it is 30 minutes a day. Exercise is good and it doesn't have to be jogging or going to the gym - yoga is excellent. Jogging on asphalt is a great way to do in your ankles/shins/feet/knees. If you are going to run get good shoes and try and run on grass or the beach. Walking, cycling, swimming is much more gentle. Time outside in the garden also counts as exercise.

Bathing

Showering once a day is typical. It is possible to bathe too much (eg showering 3 or more times a day) and this can deplete the skin of the natural oils leading to skin problems. Taking a bath or swimming once a day is even better. I prefer sea-water to fresh-water for swimming.

Brain exercise

Muscles deteriorate if not used, and so does the brain. Daily brain stimulation is important.

Fresh Air

Try and spend some time outside in the open air each day, in daylight and preferably sunlight. Spending weeks indoors in winter is known to result in mood changes and depression.

Relaxation

30 - 60 minutes a day of a relaxing activity is great if you can do it. If a busy schedule prohibits this try and take a day off at the weekend.
How much sleep is necessary? This does vary from person to person and is typically 6 - 8 hours. It is known that if we get behind, it takes a while to catch up again. So if you always need 8 hours sleep and you have 5 days of 7 hours, then you have 5 hours worth you will have to catch up on. It is like the body has subconscious processes that need to be completed, and if you skimp on sleep you get way behind.
It isn't necessary to meditate, but meditation does work for some people.