Everyone can improve their health if they decide to follow these five simple guidelines:

• be optimistic,First, put aside any fears and worry and try to find the positives in your life. There are health professionals who recommend not watching or listening to the news. Reading the daily newspaper in the morning starts your day off on a negative path. The news brings you crisis after crisis, tearing you down.Change your thinking to one of optimism and gratitude. Thinking of things you can be thankful for is a great exercise every morning. Be thankful for life, for family, for the ability to see and to think. Develop of list of all you can be thankful for. The important thing is to develop a positive, thankful attitude to all around you.
• eat right.Eat more whole foods, less processed foods, and overcome your addictions to junk food. That may be hard for you to hear and perhaps even harder to follow, but it is so vitally important to your overall health.

Besides eating the right foods you need to be careful not to overeat. Overeating causes us to age faster, increases wrinkles, and greatly increases our chances of acquiring many diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. If you need to, decrease the amount of food you eat.

At the same time increase the percentage of whole foods in your diet. Whole foods improve your health and improve your immune system. Eat 7-13 servings of fruits and vegetables each day and reduce the amount of sugar and salt in your diet. You will notice a difference in your energy level and your overall health.

• get adequate sleep.If you do not sleep enough your body is not going to function efficiently. It will even slow down your metabolism and make it harder for you to lose extra weight.

Also, a lot of hormones are secreted in high levels during sleep which allows your body to recuperate and repair. For example, if you are an athlete or a body builder, not getting enough sleep will increase your chances of injury or failure.

• exercise regularly.Everyone should try to exercise every day, raising your heart rate a little bit and keeping it there for 20 minutes or so. If you can’ do it every day or every other day, at least do it every three days. Studies have shown that after sitting for 72 hours the body’s metabolism starts to decrease. This is what contributes to increasing weight and all the medical conditions that can arise from that
• find a purpose in your life.Even people who have experienced horrendous illness have been able to survive for a long, long time because they have had a strong reason to live. They have become incredibly useful individuals within their family and social and community spheres despite their illness. They have been sustained and driven by their powerful purpose.

These five guidelines towards better health are very basic and within reach of most people. Followed closely they can lead to a longer, healthier and a more fulfilling life.