You wouldn't put diesel into a petrol car, or petrol into a diesel car, would you, except in an expensive moment of total distraction? (Ooh, I know!) Nor would you, by choice fill it with the lowest grade of fuel that will damage the engine prematurely; not if you want the car to run with minimum bills and a purring smooth ride home.

Unfortunately, we tend to look after our cars better, lavishing more money on them than our bodies. And it's very hard at first to give up the damaging foods and liquids, totally empty of nutrients, that prematurely damage our bodies, well-being and life.

It can be done, slowly, slowly, if you are not faced with a life-threatening disease; in which case it would be good to speed up. Despite habits of a lifetime, we can re-educate our taste-buds! There are many natural and very effective nutritional ways of healing the body, without distressing side effects, even if a disease has reached an advanced stage.

BEAUTIFUL WATER : Did you know that your body is a bag of skin containing about 80 to 65% water (depending on our age), rich in nutrients, held up by bones and muscles to stop us slobbelling about like a giant amoeba. So, to keep us beautiful, and to stop us shrivelling up, we need to drink at least 2 ½ litres a day of filtered, or still mineral water - preferably from glass bottles. Without sufficient water, our body cannot repair itself and our poor overworked liver and kidneys can't get rid of the nasty toxins we've ingested. In addition to water, fruit, herb and green teas, diluted pure fruit and vegetable juices are good too.

PROTECTIVE ANTI-OXIDANTS : Eat plenty, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - at least 5 to 7 portions a day, and of varied colours in one serving, if possible, because each colour has its own beneficial nutritional properties and the colours work together for optimum nutrition and protection from disease. Without enough of these crucial antioxidants, our bodies become susceptible to damage from free radicals, which destroy cells and disrupt DNA. This can lead to cancer, premature aging of the skin and damage to other body systems.

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS : These essential good fats have a very important role in the body and come from diet alone. The brain in particular craves them. If you are not vegetarian, eat 3 portions of (preferably oily) fish a week. All omnivores, vegetarians and vegans need daily essential fatty acids. Besides fish, the full range of EFAs - good oils/fats - can be obtained from cold-pressed seeds, nuts, olives and oil from plants and grains. Please note that the delicate sunflower, safflower and other polyunsaturated vegetable oils may become toxic when they are heated, hardened into margarines or exposed to light for long. So they are best used for fresh dressings and drizzles only. Mono-unsaturated EFAs like olive oil, are more robust, stable and suitable for cooking. Some research has suggested that oil seed rape products may be toxic or cause allergies.

MOVEMENT AND EXERCISE : is also a kind of nutrient that benefits all body systems. It helps keep the heart strong. It increases the intake of oxygen. Squeezing movements of muscles around the veins push the blue blood up, against gravity from toes to lungs and heart. Without movement, we'd have to hang upside down a lot more, like bats! Actually, it is very good to put your legs and feet up for a change. So even if you are bed or chair-bound, gently move whatever you can without pain or injury.

BREATH : another nutrient. If we lead sedentary lives or have been exposed to smoking and other pollutants, we don't use the full capacity of our lungs to take in sufficient oxygen and excrete excess carbon dioxide. If we are stressed, tense, frightened or concentrating, our breath may become shallow and we forget to breathe momentarily. (See Energy Constrictions - Holographic Repatterning). Failing to use the full capacity of our lungs may become a habit which literally starves the body. Within a few minutes without breath, the body dies. We can change this:-

Notice when the breath is shallow or has stopped, then consciously take deeper breaths into the abdominal area, under the lower ribs, up into the chest, feel the ribs expand, right into the upper part of the lungs just under the collar bones. (Don't tense the shoulders!) Then relax and let the breath go - like a wave.

For further info, see the yoga page.

If possible, try to avoid, or cut down on food, drinks and other nasties that can do nothing but ill: sugar, refined, processed and fried foods, hardened vegetable margarines. (Organic butter is better.) Avoid colourings, flavourings, additives preservatives, excessive salt and alcohol, fizzy bottled and canned drinks, soft drinks with artificial ingredients, tea, coffee, artificial sweeteners, and of course, drugs and smoking! But don't beat yourself up getting stressed!

Faddy fashionable diets claiming to help weight loss by omitting or reducing essential nutrients, and by increasing other nutrients such as animal proteins. This creates huge imbalances in the body, such as damaging over-acidity from excessive animal proteins, the wrong type of saturated fats and not enough anti-oxidants to protect from scavenging free radicals. You may lose weight short-term, but you may also significantly increase the risks of serious long-term damage to vital body systems, and of diseases such as diabetes, stroke, atherosclerosis, heart disease and cancer. Bear in mind, that some essential nutrients, including complex carbohydrates, are needed every day to keep the body in tip-top condition.