Health by George Hernandez

Exploring health for personal and martial reasons.

The essence of my health explorations is as follows:

Inspiration and motivation for health. This is the first and most important thing about health. There are many reasons to be healthy and many ways to be healthy, but if you aren't motivated to be healthy, if your means for health are not fun and interesting, then most likely you won't persist with those means, and thus will not be healthy.
The Body
- Anatomy. Use consistent language to discuss the human body.
- Physiology. Know the basics of how the body works.
Intake
- Diet. Eat in moderation, eat a variety, eat slowly. Stay hydrated but don't make it a burden. Your economic situation and environment affects your choices, but the choice is yours. Take some vitamins and supplements but don't over do it. Eat yogurt occasionally. A small carbs snack, like a banana, is good almost anytime for tweaking your blood sugar. If you eat a big meal, your digestive system will need blood for several hours, so don't have a big workout until then. Eat within two hours of a big workout in order to help the muscles recover and restore glycogen.
- Air. Get fresh air. Breathe more. Hang around plants. Don't smoke (or rarely do so).
- Drugs. I don't smoke or do recreational drugs —heck I hardly even take over the counter drugs. I only occasionally have a pain killer, alcohol, or caffeine. Most moderate cases can be handled by self-medicating with water, soap, petroleum jelly, hydrogen peroxide, antibiotics, bandages, RICE (Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation) [http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/rehab/a/rice.htm], and heat. Of course if you have surgery or a specific condition, you might want a minimal amount of drugs.
Action
- Kinesiology and Exercise. Variety, fun, safety, and often. If you're starting or restarting, then start easy. Use good posture.
- Sleep and Rest. Listen to your body. Sleep well at night and take a nap if you need to. Too many people rely on drugs (like caffeine in coffee or tea) to overcome a lack of rest.
- Cleanliness. Bathe and wash. Brush your teeth. Have a clean environment. But don't over do it because we live symbiotically with many organisms.
- Stress and Mindset. Use stress —don't let stress use you.
- Socialize. Live for others as well as for yourself.
- Purpose. Have goals, purpose, something to live for. Let your past enrich you, let your future enhance your present, but live in the present.
External
- The Healthcare Industry. I've worked in healthcare. The U.S. healthcare system is dangerously broken. My emphasis is on proactive, natural, and personal healthcare instead of reactive, mechanical, and impersonal healthcare. I will, however, go to the hospital if I absolutely need to.
- Clothing. Wear comfortable shoes, clothes, and eyeware. Change often and keep them clean. You might as well dress for self-expression too.