Bonnie of BRenewed.com – @DanaMNelson

As a wellness guru, I’m not a big fan of surgery especially when it comes to removing body parts that God placed in our body for a reason. However, unexpected situations occur that prevent us from avoiding surgeries. When this happens and you have a few weeks to prepare, here are a few things that I would do to ensure my body will bounce back quickly to the trauma incurred by surgery.

Eat as many fresh, fruits, vegetables and dark leafy greens as possible. Organically grown and local, natural are your best bets. These foods are loaded with antioxidants that can build your immune system and facilitate the repair process after surgery.

Eat 50% or more of your fruits, veggies and dark leafy greens raw. Raw foods contain enzymes which are the key to life and healing. Make a fruit or green smoothie which is a great way to receive large amounts of nutrients that are ready for your body to use.

Drink plenty of purified (reverse osmosis or distilled) water. To determine how much divide your body weight by two and this is the number of ounces you need per day. Avoid coffee, sodas and black teas. These beverages will dehydrate the body and even block or deplete necessary nutrients in the body.

Participate in a gentle, beginners yoga class to learn deep breathing techniques (reduces stress) and increase your strength and flexibility. Even one class per week will be of benefit.

Avoid alcohol. Alcohol stresses your liver, kidneys and suppresses your immune system.

Avoid white sugar, artificial sugars and, white flour products which suppress the immune system and increase inflammation.

Well meaning friends and family may supply you with “comfort” foods or sweets as a sign of their love and concern. These foods are fine for your family but you should avoid them. Plan ahead by supplying your home with fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables and dark leafy greens. Make some soup or meals that you can freeze prior to your event. Or hire a personal chef to prepare a week’s worth of meals for you and your family.

Remember, always check with your doctor about restrictions or foods to avoid for your specific health needs.

For some, this may be music to your ears. For others, you may be shocked to hear these words come out of the mouth of a wellness guru. My motivation stems from the frequent comments I hear from people, “Tom/Mary worked out all the time, I can’t believe he/she had a heart attack (or cancer, or other disease.).The names and diseases will change, but the story is the same…working out in the gym or being a runner does NOT make you healthy or prevent you from getting sick or a getting a disease. In fact, quite the opposite is true.Americans put the cart before the horse when it comes to health. We want to lose weight or “get healthy” so the FIRST thing we do is start some extreme exercise program like running, jogging or weight-lifting. You may be thinking, what’s the problem with this? The problem is, your nutrition needs to be in order BEFORE you start a rigorous workout program. Rigorous exercise like lifting weights and running/jogging creates free radicals in the body. For folks that are eating whole, clean foods like loads of fresh raw fruits, veggies, dark leafy greens, whole grains, nuts and seeds, this isn’t a problem. However, very few of us eat like this.

Picture your body as a scale where it is loaded with free radicals (top heavy) and the antioxidants are scarce. Winning the game of health is about having more antioxidants (from whole, clean food) than free radicals in the body. This is how we build the immune system.

However, exercise isn’t the only way you are incurring free radicals. They also come from toxins in your foods like large quantities of chicken, beef and dairy laden with antibiotics and hormones. Toxins also come with large doses of synthetic supplements.

So better than joining a gym, lifting weights and starting to run a marathon, your first step should be learning what whole, clean foods are and start building up your immune system by feeding your body what it needs to heal and grow strong muscles naturally.

The second step is to start that exercise program (with an experienced personal trainer or running coach).

So, stop exercising and start eating (whole, clean food)!

Author: Bonnie of BRenewed.com

Stop exercising and start eating! For health, that is.