Our health is EVERYTHING. Without our health we simply can’t enjoy life and the abundance this universe 
has to offer. So if you have the gift of health, I advise you to LOVE IT. How do you love your health? You guard it and protect it, and if you learn you are losing it (I truly hope no one reading this is losing it), then love it a little extra.
A family friend, who for more than 50 years was the epitome of health—slender frame, blonde hair, huge smile with boundless energy—found out roughly two years ago that she had ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis); basically she learned she would be losing her health.
This article highlights an example of when our health is not in our control. It often isn’t. You read stories all the time of healthy, vibrant people that are suddenly rendered incapacitated due to an accident or random illness. News like this can leave you feeling deflated and defeated and asking yourself, “Why work out, eat greens, give up dairy, etc., if tomorrow something out of my control can rob me of my health?” I get it! The whole “why bother?” narrative has been ringing in my head these last few months as I watch many women I know personally struggle with the loss of health.
I find myself feeling angry and just a little at a loss. I think to myself, “Go ahead, have the ice cream, wine, chips, candy…wine—in the end, what does it matter?” But deep down we know that it does matter. For the majority of us, the way we honor our bodies will be reflected in the way we age and the way our bodies will honor us.
So, how easy is it to honor your body—to love your health? It is really simple, in fact; just add things. Add exercise to your day, add health foods to your diet, and add time for silent prayer or meditation. That’s really it. While there are plenty of ways to add fitness into your everyday life, such as summer evening walks, this issue focuses on nutrition, and as such, that is where this letter will focus.
Wait, please don’t turn the page! I am not about to suggest you give up ice cream, wine, chips, candy…wine☺. What I am instead going to propose is for you to add things! For example, add vegetable gardening to your life and enjoy consuming what you have grown; and add protein to your diet in the form of lean meats, fish or vegan options. Don’t tell yourself you are going to restrict anything; just fill your body with great macronutrients and fill your day with fitness, fun, friends and faith and you will find that you don’t have room for the things in life that set out to rob you of your health.
While many courageous people every day cannot control the diagnoses that befall them, more often than not we can control our bodies’ physical destiny. We must make every day count. We must drink more clean, filtered water to flush out toxins; eat when hungry, not when bored; and when eating, choose to fill our bodies with nutrition that shows we love our health and respect all that it brings to our lives.
Malama Pono!
Kelly Martinsen, Publisher
