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I don’t know about your family, but in my family healthy eating is an ongoing battle. Yes, I am the kind of parent who generally thinks that junk food is bad, and vegetables are good. Not surprisingly, my daughter is equally strong in her opinion that junk food is good, and vegetables are to be avoided at all costs.

I try to point out how insisting that she eat vegetables is an act of love on my part, a way that I look out for her health and try to create habits of healthy eating that will serve her well as she grows up. My daughter tries to point out that she thinks broccoli is disgusting, and why don’t I buy Oreos? I wouldn’t say that either one of us has really won this battle, although I know that the older she gets (and she’s now in high school), the less control I have over any aspect of her life, most especially what she eats.

So perhaps you’ll forgive me if I turn to you as someone who might actually listen to my sage advice about healthy living. Yes, I know that the Internet is full of articles about 10 things you should do or eat or not eat or do or not do in order to be healthy. Well, here’s mine:

1. My daughter and I are both right about healthy eating. I have a kind of equation for this: the sum of healthy + delicious should be as large as possible. (There’s probably a mathematical symbol for “as large as possible,” but I don’t know what it is.) You shouldn’t just eat junk food, even if you think it’s delicious, but you shouldn’t spend your life just eating things because they’re good for you if you hate them. The world is full of all kinds of edible things, some of which are bound to be both healthy and delicious. Sure, it won’t kill you to choke down a few super-healthy things that you don’t care for, and it also won’t kill you to have a few Oreos, but it’s worth tracking down as many things as possible that you really love that make your body feel good as well. In my world that includes berries, Greek yogurt, oatmeal and dark chocolate. Not all in the same dish. Although that might be good, too.
2. Do something every day that makes you sweat. As with the food, try to combine health and pleasure. Find something that you really think is fun to do that also gets your blood pumping. Play tag with the dog or your siblings or your kid. Ride a bike. Put on music and dance around the living room. Go for a walk. Go to YouTube and find a video that will teach you how to belly dance or do ballet or twerk. Find an 80s jazzercise video and laugh at the outfits while you dance.
3. Speaking of which, do something every day that makes you laugh. Laughing is totally a part of good health. Call your funniest friend or cousin, watch a funny movie, read a funny book, watch funny videos of cats, whatever. But laugh.
4. Spend some part of every day with other people, and some part alone. You might be an extrovert who really loves being in a crowd, or an introvert who needs a lot of time by yourself, but all of us need some of both. Find the balance that is right for you, and recognize when you need more of one or the other.
5. Spend some part of every day in silence. Turn off your electronics. Get quiet enough that you can hear your own heart. It doesn’t have to be for long, but do give yourself a few moments where you take in as little as possible.
6. Spend some part of every day with music. Make music yourself. Sing along with the radio, or sing in the shower or drum on the table or play the violin or whatever feels like your kind of music. It doesn’t have to be something anyone else would want to listen to—that isn’t the point. This is for your health, not someone else’s listening pleasure.
7. Spend some part of every day in nature. Dig in a garden. Go to the park. Climb a tree. Listen for birds. While you’re at it, remember that your own health is tied up with the health of our entire planet.
8. As often as you can, be in physical contact with another being who loves you. Hug a friend or family member. Relax with a cat in your lap. Lounge on the floor or the sofa with a dog.
9. Spend some part of every day doing something just for yourself. Know what makes you happy—what truly brings you joy rather than just covering up the stress or boredom—and make sure you have at least a little bit of every day devoted just to that.
10. Spend some part of every day doing something for someone else, not because you have to or you get  a reward for it, but because you chose to give of yourself. Practice random acts of kindness, or have little things you do as part of your everyday routine. Give yourself the pleasure of knowing you’ve done some bit for the health and happiness of the wider world.

I can’t promise that if you follow my ten suggestions that you’ll never get sick, or will be miraculously cured of what ails you, or even that you’ll live longer. But I do believe that you will be healthier—more sound in body, mind and spirit—which is, as I keep telling my daughter, the goal.

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Rev. Dr. Lynn Ungar

Unitarian Universalist Minister and Poet at Lynn Ungar

Lynn is the author of two books of poetry, Blessing the Bread and Bread and Other Miracles. In her free time she trains dogs for competition in obedience, agility and canine musical freestyle (dancing with dogs). She is also an avid singer and contra dancer. Lynn lives in the pacific northwest with her two Australian Shepherds.

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