All my life I've been interested in health.  One of my earliest memories is playing in the back pasture (we lived on an acre), & gathering herbs. I would put them on the indention in a piece of cinder block left-over from building our garage, & grind them with another stone - that's what you do with herbs, isn't it?  Then, not sure what came next, I would form them into little cakes or 'pills,' & leave them in the sun to dry.
    I traded back & foot rubs with my mom, & ate a decent 50s diet, with plenty of raw milk, meat & potatoes, fruit & veggies, & 'of course,' wonderful home baked deserts.  Later I married a Botanist, whose mother had introduced him to Adele Davis' ideas, & became a 'Health food nut.' We ate wild greens, took vitamins, re-introduced my parents to whole grains, & they were able to stop taking their blood pressure medicine!  Still later, I began taking Classical Russian Ballet & Tai Chi classes, & studied massage.

    Over the years, I've retained that original interest in herbs & natural means of obtaining health.  I stopped drinking milk in the late 80s, & found that indeed, I had less mucus than I thought 'usual.'  I had my massage practice in a Naturopath's office for a number of years, & learned about Homeopathy. I began making & taking flower essences, & invited my Higher Self & Divine guides to assist me in staying healthy.
    Here are some gleanings from my years studying nutrition, movement, & health care.  May you be inspired to add some of these to your own routines, & continue to seek your own optimum health!

     I recently checked Rudolph Ballentine, MD's book Radical Healing out from our local Library.  He gives a Checklist that they began using at the Himalayan Institute in 1975, to help participants in their Combined Therapy Program assess how they're providing the basics for life.  This is the foundation upon which to 'build' with therapaies such as bodywork, flower, herbal & homeopathic remedies, etc.  Here's the Checklist, from p 368 --

                                   o        1         2         3          4
Water, 8-ounce                0           2           4           6            8
     glasses per day
Fresh, cooked green         0           2           4           6             8
    veggies per week
Grain/legume combo      0           1            2            3            4
    per week
Time outdoors each        0            5           15           30        60
    day, average minutes
Fasting time nightly        6            8           10           12         14
    (hours from last
    to first meal)
Aerobic exercise,             0           1             2             3           4
    30-minute sessions
    per week   __________________________________________
Total number of
     Checks in each column             ________________________
Number above x
    number at top of column             ________________________
 Sum of numbers above for
    total score                                     ________________________

    Evaluating your score:
                                                        18-24 -- solid foundation
                                                        12-18 -- good, but pay attention
                                                         6-12 -- need serious work
                                                         0-6  -- WAKE UP!
"This is not intenced to be a comprehensive survey, the items were chosen to serve merely as flags, rough indices to help estimate the status of the foundation of your health."
    Ballentine suggests establishing a routine of movement that includes  30-minute aerobic exercise four days a week; he prefers jogging or swimming. I feel that women are better off doing less jarring activities, & prefer  brisk walks & dancing!  Put on music & dance at home, or go out to a class.  The balance is to do 15-12 minutes of stretching, Ballentine suggests gentle yoga before bed as a sweet way to calm & end your day.

    My daughter recently saw a study that indicated smokers who exercise regularly have better health than non-smokers who don't exercise!  What a good argument for getting out there & moving!!

  --  When working in the Naturopath's office, I was introduced to 'simple' food combining, & find that I do well eating this way most of the time.  One of the strongest arguments 'in favor' of paying attention to how we combine comes from two friends who laugh at the idea, say they have no problems, then appologize for passing gas!  The book Eating Alive, Prevention thru Good Digestion, by Canadian ND John Matsen, gives a lovely overview of how our bodies process foods, & how to assist it by giving fewer types of food at one meal.  This is especially helpful for folks who have overgrowth of yeast, or have poor digestion.
    Foods to avoid: White sugar, Coffee, Black Tea, Alcohol, refined foods.
    In AM, eat fruits in season.  Non-starchy Vegetables & herbs combine with either carbohydrates (grains, starchy veggies such as corn, beans, lentils, peas, potatoes, & most fruits) OR with proteins: nuts, soy, dairy, animal proteins.  To avoid yeast overgrowth, avoid the combinations that would make good bread: grain, yeast, sweetening; or wine: fruit, sweetening, & yeast.

    --  Do we need to take vitamins?  Which ones??
    Brain tissue is highly susceptible to free radical damage because, unlike many other tissues, it does not contain significant amounts of protective antioxidant compounds. Heart attacks, strokes, cancer & other diseases of civilization are also linked to free radical damage.
    Fortunately, certain nutrients -- antioxidants -- can prevent the oxidative damage free radicals cause. Antioxidant nutrients include:

                 Vitamin A
                 Vitamin C
                 Vitamin E (gamma tocopherol is the antioxident factor, use = IU
                        of d-alpha & mg of mixed tocopherols for best results)
                 The mineral selenium (200 mcg/day maximum)
                 The carotenoids, among them beta-carotene

    These nutrients are abundant in plant foods, and many studies show that as fruit and vegetable consumption increases, risk of cancer decreases.  Sprouting grains & beans increases the vitamin content.
    I also like to take a good B vitamin complex, & more Magnesium than Calcium. For thousands of years most humans have eaten diets higher in Mag than Ca. Magnesium helps the muscles relax, while Calcium is used in contraction, & as a massage therapist, I find that clients who get Ca without enough Mag often have muscle spasms & tight shoulders. Rainbow Light's "Calcium Plus" has the 2 Mag to 1 Ca ratio which I prefer to take, & they make a good 'Complete B Complex,' too.
    Vitamins D, B-6, & certain herbs assist in the absorption of these minerals. Using Kelp powder in soups & on foods helps provide a number of trace minerals not found in land veggies.
    Vitamin B-12 doesn't absorb in the stomach, but in the intestines, so the sub-lingual form which dissolves under the tongue is helpful for folks who don't eat much meat, have chronic illness, or Bursitis. See Jonathan Wright's books on nutrition for more suggestions on supplements to assist in obtaining optimal health.

    Adaptogens are substances that help  the body return to a normal state while boosting its resistance to viruses, exertion and daily stress. To qualify as an adaptogen, an herb:
    1) must not hurt the body or disturb its normal function;
    2) should increase the body's resistance to harmful physical, chemical or
        biological influences;
    3) must help the bodyfunction normally.

    Ginseng, nettles, rosehips, rosemary, sage, & basil are some readily available adaptogenic herbs.