Your body has the amazing ability to heal itself, so even if you haven’t been eating right, still on the stick and the bottle, or have less than healthy habits, you can still wipe your slate clean, make the decision to start living healthy and never look back.

This year could be your healthiest ever if you want it to be. Here are Dr. Joseph Mercola’s recommended lifestyle changes that will help you take control of your health this 2010:

1. Learn How to Deal with Stress
   Dr. Mercola notes that the vast majority of patients he has treated who were suffering from serious chronic illnesses have previous emotional stress that contributed to their problems. But it doesn’t take serious trauma to cause these changes, because the sum of the normal, emotional situations that you experience on a daily basis can negatively affect your future health. Mercola recommends meditation, prayer, physical activity and tools like the Meridian Tapping Technique (MTT) to help you maintain emotional and mental balance.
2. Get More Sun
   Studies show that vitamin D, which you can get for free by simply getting enough sun exposure, can help decrease your risk of cancer and many other diseases .Vitamin D receptors can be found in almost all of your cells, from your brain to your bones, so its ability to influence your health is simply amazing, Mercola points out.
3. Eat According to Your Nutritional Type
   Dr. Mercola’s nutrition plan is based on natural whole foods and is designed to help increase your longevity. This involves eliminating, or at the very least, drastically cutting your consumption of grains and sugars and at the same time, eating foods that are right for your unique biochemistry.
4. Exercise
   Don’t kid yourself – you can’t be at your peak condition if you don’t work it and sweat it out. That’s because exercise helps boost your immune system, aids in weight loss and weight management, and helps you sleep better, among other benefits.
5. Keep Your Toxin Load Low
   The world is more toxic nowadays and the number of dangerous chemicals lurking around you continues to increase. That is why you need to become an informed and vigilant consumer, Dr. Mercola advises. This means using non-toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, insecticides and other products.
6. Drink More Pure Water
   You can survive without food for weeks but you’d die without water within a few days. Your body needs to be constantly rehydrated as it loses water when you sweat and urinate. Checking the color of your urine will tell you what your water requirement should be. If you notice that your urine has turned deep, dark yellow, it’s likely that you’re not drinking enough water. Installing a quality water filter in your home will provide you pure drinking water and help you remove impurities and toxic disinfection byproducts from your tap water.
7. Get Quality Sleep
   Studies show that disrupted sleep cycles can lead to serious health problems like cancer, coronary heart disease and depression. If you feel rundown or tired all the time, lack of sleep is a big factor because circadian rhythms regulate the energy levels in your cells. Also, the proteins involved with your body clock and metabolism are intrinsically linked and are dependent upon each other.

Exercise and eating a healthy breakfast are two surefire ways to start the day right. If you do intense exercises in the morning – like cardio, strength training, core training or anaerobic burst interval-type  exercises – you’ll be generating energy to sustain your activities for the day but you’ll also be putting a lot of pressure on your muscles.

In order for your muscles to rebuild, recover and repair themselves, you will need to consume a lot of protein.

For Dr. Mercola, one of the best sources of protein is a high-quality and minimally processed whey protein from grass-fed, hormone-free cows. A premium whey protein powder contains immunoglobins, bovine serum albumin and lactoferrins, which naturally promote your healthy immune function and flora balance. High-quality whey protein should also contain all the essential amino acids, lipolic acid and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

Dr. Mercola puts a large scoop of banana-flavored whey protein powder in a one-quart glass mason jar. He then adds two to four organic, free-range eggs and between one-fourth to one-third cup of coconut milk. Coconut is an excellent source of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), which are the best low glycemic fuel for your muscles after exercise.

You can increase the fiber content of your protein shake by adding a teaspoon or two of fiber supplement like organic psyllium. To top it all off, Dr. Mercola adds some organic seeds, alternating between seed that contain omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats. For omega-3, Mercola uses chia seeds and flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds for omega-6.

Just grind your choice of seeds in the coffee grinder, add them to the protein mix, fill the rest of the jar with water, stir and you’re all set.

It’s good to plan what you’ll be having for breakfast before you go to bed at night but go you can go a notch higher by also planning what you’re going to eat for lunch, snacks and dinner.

If you want to ensure that your baby gets the best possible start, living healthy should be one of your biggest priorities. Those nine months are crucial for your child’s bright future.

Here are Dr. Joseph Mercola’s simplest and most practical healthy pregnancy tips gathered from over three decades of experience in health care:

• Get healthy daily doses of omega-3 fats – Dr. Mercola believes that getting adequate levels of omega-3 fats are the single most important dietary influence on prenatal health. Omega-3 and its derivative, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), are critical to a child’s development. Deficiency of this essential fat can cause unexplained emotional, learning, and immune system disorders, and increases the risk of a child being born prematurely. Omega-3s also help mothers deal with depression during pregnancy.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels – Vitamin D has been shown to influence over 2,000 genes in your body. It is believed that about 85 percent of Americans are deficient of this important nutrient, and that getting enough vitamin D through healthy sun exposure can decrease your cancer risk by 50 percent.
• Get regular exercise – Unless your doctor has told you otherwise, exercise should be a part of your health routine while you’re pregnant. Studies show that exercise decreases the possibility of premature birth. Women who exercised at the same rate throughout their pregnancies were shown to have larger placentas than their more sedentary peers. The volume of the placenta is an indicator of its ability to transport oxygen and nutrients to your baby.
• Eat for vitality and health – “Eating for two” during pregnancy is a very misleading statement because obesity can wreak havoc on your health, cause complications throughout your pregnancy and affect your unborn child, Dr. Mercola warns. It’s important to your health and to your baby’s to keep your weight within reasonable parameters. Eat a well-balanced diet consisting of adequate protein, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables (preferably fresh and organic). Green leafy vegetables are rich in folic acid, which helps reduce the chance of your child being born with brain and spinal cord defects. Raw eggs are another important food for pregnancy because they are a rich source of protein, carotenoids and choline.
• Avoid vaccinations – You should avoid all vaccinations while you are pregnant, as well as having your baby get any shots after birth. Vaccines contain mercury, which, even in low concentrations, has been associated with impaired energy production, impaired brain cell function and increased free radical production in the brain.
• Remove your mercury amalgams – It would be best to remove your mercury amalgam “silver” fillings BEFORE you become pregnant, but if you’re already pregnant, it is probably best not to remove your fillings until after you deliver.
• Minimize your exposure to chemicals inside and outside your home – Studies show that pesticide exposure increases the risk of autism, reproductive abnormalities, childhood learning disabilities and miscarriages. Common household chemicals like aerosol, bleach, carpet cleaner, etc., can also harm you and your baby. Use only the safest cosmetics because over time, toxins in your personal care products can affect you and your child’s nervous and reproductive systems, and cause other health issues so it’s best to look for natural and organic products.
• Avoid exposure to phthalates and BPA – These two chemicals have been linked to birth defects, shortened pregnancy and for being “gender-benders” – substances which cause male humans and male animals to take on female characteristics. Phthalates are added to many products, including food containers, hair spray, insect repellent, moisturizers and nail polish while BPA is also used in food containers, baby bottles and soda can linings.
• Treat severe gum disease – Numerous studies reveal that pregnant women who suffer from gum disease are more likely to have premature birth. Animal studies also shown that periodontal infections impair fetal growth.
• Get enough sleep – Along with a healthy diet and regular exercise, sleep also plays an important role in your overall health. If you lack sleep, your baby’s wellbeing will also suffer.

A new study conducted at the University of Nottingham Schools of Graduate Entry Medicine and Biomedical Sciences showed that it gets harder for people aged over 65 to suppress muscle wasting or breakdown.

When older people eat, their ability to build muscle with the protein they consume is hampered and the insulin in their bodies fail to prevent the muscle wasting that occurs overnight and between meals.

A follow-up study showed that poor blood flow may be an important factor because it prevents the optimal delivery of hormones and nutrients to the muscles.

Researchers discovered that regular weight training helps rejuvenate blood flow to the extremities of people in their late 60s, to the point that they were almost identical to those of 25-year-olds.

Osteopathic physician Dr. Joseph Mercola believes that exercise, including weight training, is a natural remedy for poor blood circulation. Many exercisers, however, give little or no time for weight training because they think it’s too strenuous and will cause them to “bulk up.”

But weight training isn’t about looking like an underwear model. Weight-bearing exercises can help produce beneficial changes in your body, on the chemical, enzymatic, hormonal and molecular levels. These changes will help prevent or slow down many diseases caused by a sedentary lifestyle, such as diabetes, heart disease, muscle wasting and osteoporosis, Dr. Mercola explains.

So unless you plan to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, there’s no need to worry about overly bulking up when you do weights.

When you gain more muscle, you’re also burning more calories, which are consumed even when you are at rest or asleep, and this helps you get rid of body fat.

Weight training does more than tone your muscles and induces weight loss. Weight-bearing exercises are among the most effective treatment strategies against osteoporosis. Taking drugs to improve your bone density is a big no-no for Dr. Mercola, because this is more likely to give you more harm in the long run.

Your bones become more brittle as you age, especially if you’re leading a sedentary lifestyle. Resistance training can help prevent this effect because putting more tension on your muscles also applies more pressure on your bones, which then react by creating fresh, new bone. Also, as you put on more muscle and strengthen your existing mass, you’re also applying constant pressure to your bones.

Weight lifting can also help reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease by lowering inflammation in your body to help keep off visceral fat (commonly known as belly fat), which is deposited in your abdomen to surround your vital organs. Visceral fat has been linked to serious chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, among many other chronic diseases.

Exercise can provide you with an assortment of health benefits but it is just one component of a healthy lifestyle. To fully experience the benefits of exercise, you should also start eating healthy and managing your stress levels.

Americans tend to eat under a state of stress and anxiety, says Marc David, director of the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. When you are eating under the physiological stress response, you could be eating the healthiest food but you won’t necessarily be digesting, assimilating and burning the calories from that food.

When under the physiological stress response, your heart rate goes up and your blood pressure rises. Blood is shunted away from your midsection and goes to your arms, legs, and head. Your digestion also completely shuts down.

In relation to digestion, stress causes:

• cortisol and insulin levels to rise
• as much as four times less blood flow to your digestive system, leading to decreased metabolism
• decreased flow of oxygen and decreased enzyme production (up to 20,000-fold) to your gut
• decreased nutrient absorption
• water soluble vitamins, macrominerals, microminerals and calcium to be excreted and wasted
• a spike in your cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• an increased risk of food sensitivity or heartburn
• decreased gut flora population

Corisol and insulin are two hormones that tend to track each other. When your cortisol levels consistently rise under a chronic low-level stress response, you’ll likely have problems losing weight and building muscle.

The worse part is, with rising cortisol, you’ll tend to gain weight around your midsection. Body fat, particlularly visceral fat (fat around your midsection that gathers around your internal organs), increases your risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Eating under stress puts your body in the opposite state of where it needs to be so it can digest food, assimilate nutrients and burn calories. In short, eating under stress is a recipe for weight gain!

So what can you do to avoid eating under stress?

Stress management is an important part of optimizing your overall health. Though it is not possible to completely eliminate stress, there are several ways that will help you minimize the stressors that seriously disrupt your digestion and other important bodily functions.

Here are some stress-busting strategies:

• Use the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Meridian tapping helps restore your mind and body’s balance by clearing emotional blockages from your system.
• Exercise is another effective and natural way of providing your body with relief from stress. Endorphins, your body’s “feel good” chemicals are released into your brain during exercise.
• Get proper sleep.
• Meditate.