First I want to start by saying I’m not a nutritionist. Nor have I studied hundreds of diets from all over the world. On the contrary, the US is the only society who even uses the term “diet”, from my understanding. I’m also not a doctor, so don’t take anything I’m about to share as a cure for you. I’m just sharing what has worked for me in the past. It’s a new year. I’m getting back to basics. Historically, my approach to health has been from a more primitive perspective. Back to the days of hunting and gathering. When we didn’t have technology or the processing of everything we put in our mouth.

What I’ve learned over the years is it is better to add the good stuff – eventually it will push out the bad stuff. Your body’s natural detoxifying will kick in. Our body is programmed to be well and can naturally heal itself. Often times we just need to get out of our own way. Like many of you, I’ve been indulging over the past couple of weeks and feel it is time to get back to basics.

Here are some simple suggestions to possibly add to your repertoire. You don’t have to do all of them – or any – the best thing is to do what feels good for you.

1. Go Raw

As soon as we begin to cook any kind of food – our body will interpret it as a toxin. Our body recognizes food immediately in its raw state and can easily break it down. When we change a food’s composition – it takes more energy for our body to metabolize it. To balance this, I make sure at least 50% of every meal is raw.

2. Hydrate

Drinking enough water, a very simple act, may be all you really need to do. We are a dehydrated society – living off of caffeinated beverages that act as a diuretic to our kidneys. Dehydration affects your cognition, blood pressure, immunity, sleeping, electrolytes, and body weight, amongst many other things. When we begin to dehydrate – our body even craves food – which can lead to over eating. If one of your resolutions is to lose weight – drink water – you may have just been thirsty.

3. Exercise

It can be as simple as taking a walk every day. The key is movement that increases blood and lymph circulation. It is important to remember that our lymphatic system is not connected to a pump (our heart) the way our circulatory system is. Lymph flow is mostly influenced by body movement. A sluggish lymphatic system sets us up for all sorts of complications and disease. The key is every day and 30 continuous minutes.

4. Socialize

It is so important to maintain human contact. I’m not talking about work or school. I’m talking about a supportive network outside of work and school. Friends and family. Laughing, playing, interacting, traveling, dining, hanging out. Whatever it may be. We are social

creatures and will literally die if forced to be alone. And social media does not count as socialization. Including Facebook. Get out. Literally get out of your chair – away from your computer and phone – and visit with another human being. After you finish reading this column.

5. Detoxing

Our body does an incredible job of cleaning itself out if we are putting good stuff in. The problem is when we are adding bad and there is residual bad still floating around. We all indulge at times – especially around the holidays. Try this. One of the things I’m going to add to my repertoire is gelatinous foods. Foods such as Aloe Vera and Chia Seeds are incredibly cleansing and absorbing for our digestive tract. Parsley, raw, is another good thing to add. It cleans the blood. Another herb, raw of course, is cilantro. It removes metals. And of course seaweeds help remove the bad stuff too. All these items, just by adding them to your day, will give your body’s natural detoxification a little boost.

6. Vitamin C

If you take only one supplement – start taking Vitamin C. It is water soluble so you don’t even have to worry about taking too much. There are so many benefits I could write a whole column alone on it. It goes straight to your immune system. You will see a difference.

7. Lifestyle

Choose the term lifestyle – not diet. Stop using the word diet. Don’t ever tell yourself “I’m going on a diet” again! It sets us up for failure. It is a temporary solution. And statistics have proven time and time again – we always gain more weight back than when we originally started before the diet. Change is difficult to adapt to no matter what the species. But when change is introduced slowly – the human species has been the most adaptable out of all other mammals. Our climate is changing. The water we drink, air we breathe, food we eat – we are not in Kansas anymore Toto. It is important that our choices today, little changes, encourage a healthy lifestyle to keep us strong and healthy for many more tomorrows.