Good health

's uAll this hubbub about the new study that suggests that a low fat diet does not help to prevent certain types of cancer and heart disease is so very frustrating. Beyond the fact that the study has so many limitations ( 1. They were studying women in their 50s. Who knows what sort of mess these women made of their bodies prior to joining the study. 2. They made no distinction between good fats and bad fats. 3. They only tracked these women for 8 years. 8 years in nothing in the lifespan of a person.) the study reinforces the notion that what you put in your mouth is the only influencer on your overall health. That's just a whole lot of bunk if you ask me. What about the amount of stress you deal with on a day to day basis, or how about the quality of your relationships with loved ones?

My personal philosophy on good health and preventing illness is thus:

1) Move, work out, and get yourself sweaty. You don't have to run marathons but a good romp around a dance floor can do wonders. Some nice, moist, bed creaking sex would also do the trick.
2) Love freely and take time to cultivate your relationships. Hugs, hugs, and more hugs! Never underestimate the power of human contact.
3) Learn to put things into perspective. I'm not gonna tell people to minimize stress...in this day and age, stress is kinda a given. However, with the right perspective things don't seem nearly as bad or insurmountable as first thought.
4) Find something that helps you quiet the mind. This can be prayer, meditation, playing a musical instrument, painting, hiking, counting pennies...whatever.
5) Don't stress too much about the food you eat. Yeah, it's better to eat food that is whole and not processed...but you know what, I'm not gonna stress if I eat a slice of pizza either. Everything in moderation...with the occassional piece of Junior's cheesecake. Oh, and if a food is a color that does not occur naturally in nature it may be best to avoid it. One other thing...learn to cook. You'll thank me later.
6) Drink lots of water.
7) Continually teach yourself new things...helps prevents the crazies as you get older.
8) Sleep lots.
9) Keep telling yourself that you're beautiful...even if you don't always believe it. And if that doesn't work, repeat to yourself "Bo thinks I'm a hottie and pretty damn amazing!" And you know what, I do!
10) Learn to disagree, speak up, and don't bottle everything inside. No matter how hard you try, not everyone is gonna like you at all times. You gotta get used to this and get over it.
11) Make up your own damn rules about life. Who the heck am I to tell you how you should live your life. However, don't adopt society's rules (like thinking feeding your kids chicken nuggets everyday is ok) and pretend that they are your own.

And there you go, Life 101 by Bo.