My Health Goals: The 5 Things You Must Do To Live A Longer, Healthier Life!

Whether it’s the start of a new year, a birthday, reunion, or some other life-changing event, these milestones often prompt us to question how we can improve or what we would like to do differently with our health. At zazen Water, our goal is to help you live a longer, healthier life. We wholeheartedly believe that there are 5 key things we all must do to live our best lives:

1. HYDRATE with a high quality alkaline mineral water

The right quality and quantity of water is foundational for the prevention of – and recovery from – disease and illness. zazen Alkaline Water delivers hydration at a cellular level, supporting an increase in energy and vitality as the basis of a whole health strategy for a longer, healthier life.

Being properly hydrated can bring a whole raft of benefits:

• Support the immune system
• Natural regular detoxification
• Reduced headaches
• Higher quality of sleep
• Increased energy
• Improved skin conditions
• Better mood
• Enhanced absorption of nutrients from food
• Reduced muscle aches and pains
• Improved joint health
• Alleviated gut issues
• Ability to think more clearly for longer

2. EAT 80% alkalising, 20% acid forming foods

Alkaline-forming foods:

• Vegetables: Broccoli, spinach, cabbage, fermented vegetables, cucumber, sprouts, wheatgrass and kale
• Fruits: Grapefruit, rockmelon, avocado, lemon and lime
• Nuts, seeds and oils: Almonds, chia and pumpkin seeds, olive, flax and coconut oil
• Drinks: Apple-cider vinegar, kombucha and of course, zazen Alkaline Mineral Water.

Acid-forming Foods:

Foods that contribute most to acidity include:

• Processed and sugary foods 
• Cold cuts and conventional meats
• Caffeinated drinks and alcohol
• Pasta, rice, bread and packaged grain products

3. MOVE towards healthier body and mind

Many people focus on the cardiovascular and weight loss benefits of exercise, but there's far more. Exercise can make you look and feel younger in a number of ways. It can help you to be more flexible, sleep better and lower your risk of chronic disease. Exercise increases circulation and blood flow to your skin, which means its receiving a fresh dose of oxygen and nutrients. This promotes overall skin health while helping to heal wounds.

4. BREATHE and improve your focus

A great technique to help elevate your thoughts is the practice of mindfulness, which is a means of actively paying attention to the moment you're in right now by maintaining an internal, rather than external, focus. Instead of letting your mind roam free, when you're mindful you're tuned into the present moment inside yourself versus focused on your racing thoughts about external circumstances.

Aside from helping you harness an internal sense of strength to go after what you want in life – including a more positive, happier mental state – mindfulness can also help reduce stress-induced inflammation. Simple techniques such as the following can help you to become more mindful:

• Pay focused attention to an aspect of sensory experience, such as the sound of your own breathing
• Distinguish between simple thoughts and those coloured by emotion (such as "I have a performance review tomorrow," versus "What if I get a bad review and don't get the raise I need?")
• Reframe emotional thoughts as simply "mental projections" so your mind can rest

5. FEEL happy and be grateful

Like a muscle, your sense of gratitude can be strengthened with practice. One way to cultivate an attitude of gratitude is to keep a journal where you write down what you're grateful for each day. It is said that gratitude can actually alter your brain in a number of positive ways, and can help to:

1. Improve physical health by having a general pain-lowering effect; reducing inflammation and blood sugar; improving immune function, blood pressure and heart health; and encouraging general self-care.
2. Increase happiness and life satisfaction by lowering stress and emotional distress;
3. Improve emotional resiliency, which also helps combat stress and anxiety;
4. Improve mental health by triggering the release of antidepressant and mood-regulating chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and oxytocin, while inhibiting the stress hormone cortisol;
5. Improve sleep, which can have far-reaching benefits for physical and mental health.

What are your health goals?

Health is a journey. To help you on the path of your own wellness journey, we have created a handy print-at-home toolkit. It contains our five ways to live a longer, healthier life and a trail map for you to chart your own goals under each section. You can give yourself a current and target rating (out of 10) based on each of the five key areas to help track your progress. Why not complete one for each member of your family?

 Click here to download your '5 things I will do to live a longer, healthier life' poster.   

Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment that can be provided by your physician, therapist, licensed dietician or nutritionist, or any other health care professional. It is for educational and informational purposes only.