When it comes to the state of your health, you may be your own worst enemy.

This is actually good news. You may not be able to control how others treat you, but you certainly have control over the way you treat yourself! In order to treat yourself the best, you need to learn how. From there, figure out where you are off-track and then take the reins!

What are the attributes of good health? We know it when we see it:

-Excellent bone structure
-Erect posture
-Naturally pink cheeks
-Flawless skin
-Sparkling eyes
-Luxuriant, glossy hair
-Rhythmical, graceful movements
-Buoyant energy
-Strong, white teeth

You can probably think of people who fit this description. They seem to literally glow with strength and vitality. How do you compare?

What you eat may be affecting your ability to display these attributes for yourself. While looking healthy is great, feeling healthy is even better, and what you put into your body can affect this ability, as well as making you look and feel tired and listless, while putting you on the path to disease.

A diet "rich" in refined foods can lead to the following:

-Obesity
-Heart disease
-Stroke
-Breast cancer
-Prostate cancer
-Arthritis
-Osteoporosis
-Sexual dysfunction
-Birth defects
-Infertility
-Diabetes
-Depression

If you had to choose one of these lists for yourself, there is little doubt that your preference would be for the list of attributes. Why be anything less than your ultimate potential, especially when it is something you have the power to achieve? Unfortunately, that is seemingly what people do. They eat refined foods, and starve their bodies of a certain amount of vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fiber, and phytochemicals. It becomes an endless cycle of cravings and hunger pangs, little to no energy, and a list of physical complaints.

You deserve better. Your body deserves the very best that you can provide. More importantly, from wherever you start today, you can heal yourself and turn around those habits that lead to deterioration. Superb nutrition does not require a prescription from your doctor, a lengthy stay at a health spa, or a personal chef. You have the power to control what you put into your body and how your body is treated. By taking the time to educate yourself on whole foods nutrition, and then working to incorporate some basic foods and new recipes into your daily eating, you are well on your way to having the level of health that you were born to have!

An all-or-nothing approach is what makes people feel overwhelmed and out of control. Just take one step, today. Drink water in place of a soda, put some beans on the stove to soak for a bean soup, eat an apple. Start with something, and add on to that foundation daily.

Look forward to creating vitality and displaying your own inner glow!