HEALTHY LIVING
'Healthy living' means maintaining a healthy lifestyle and introducing habits that improve your health. It can be difficult to change old habits, but there are steps you can take to become healthier. "Healthy living" to most people means both physical and mental health are in balance or functioning well together in a person. In many instances, physical and mental health are closely linked, so that a change (good or bad) in one directly affects the other. Consequently, some of the tips will include suggestions for emotional and mental "healthy living."
In order for an individual to be absolutely healthy, his/ her daily activities (Lifestyle) must be fully healthy. There are 5 major healthy measures which must be taken to ensure that an individual is health. This includes:
1. Eating a healthy diet
2. Getting regular exercise
3. Not smoking
4. Staying at a healthy weight
5. limiting alcohol
Healthy eating (diet and
nutrition)
All humans have to eat food for growth and maintenance of a healthy body, but we humans have different nutrition requirements as infants, children (kids), teenagers, young adults, adults, and seniors. For example, infants may require feeding every 4 hours until they gradually age and begin to take in more solid foods. Eventually they develop into the more normal pattern of eating three times per day as young kids. However, as most parents know, kids, teenagers, and young adults often snack between meals. Snacking is often not limited to these age groups because adults and seniors often do the same.
Tips:
1. Eat three healthy meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); it is important to remember that dinner does not have to be the largest meal
2. The bulk of food consumption should consist of healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products
3. Incorporate lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts (with emphasis on beans and nuts) into a healthy diet
4. Choose foods that are low in saturated fat, transfats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars; look at the labels because the first listed items on the labels comprise the highest concentrations of ingredients
5. Control portion sizes; eat the smallest portion that can satisfy hunger and then stop eating
6. Healthy snacks are OK in moderation and should consist of items like fruit, whole grains, or nuts to satisfy hunger and not cause excessive weight gain
7. Avoid sodas and sugar -enhanced drinks because of the excessive calories in the sodas and sugar drinks; diet drinks may not be a good choice as they make some people hungrier and increase food consumption
Tips for special situations:
People with diabetes should use the
above tips and monitor their glucose levels as directed; try to keep the daily
blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible.
People with unusual work schedules (night shifts, college students, military) should try to adhere to a breakfast, lunch, and dinner routine with minimal snacking.
People who prepare food should avoid using
grease or frying foods in grease.
People trying to loss weight (body fat) should avoid all fatty and sugary foods and eat mainly vegetables, fruits, and nuts and markedly reduce his/her intake of meat and dairy products.
People trying to loss weight (body fat) should avoid all fatty and sugary foods and eat mainly vegetables, fruits, and nuts and markedly reduce his/her intake of meat and dairy products.
Physical activity and exercise
Physical activity and exercise is a major contributor to a healthy lifestyle; people are made to use their bodies, and disuse leads to unhealthy living. Unhealthy living may manifest itself in obesity, weakness, lack of endurance, and overall poor health that may foster disease development.
Tips:
Regular exercise can prevent and
reverse age-related decreases in muscle mass and strength, improve balance,
flexibility, and endurance, and decrease the risk of falls in the elderly.
Regular exercise can help prevent coronary disease, stroke, diabetes,
obesity, and high blood pressure. Regular, weight-bearing exercise can
also help prevent osteoporosis by building bone strength.
Regular fitness can help chronic arthritis sufferers
improve their capacity to perform daily activities such as driving, climbing
stairs, and opening jars.
Mental health
Healthy living involves more than physical health, it also
includes emotional or mental health. The following are some ways people can
support their mental health and well-being.
Get enough sleep daily; the CDC
recommends the following by age group (naps inclusive); 12-18 hours from birth
to 2 months, 14-15 hours from 3-11 months of age, 12-18 hours for 1-3 years of
age, 11-13 hours for 3-5 years of age, 10-11 hours for 5-10 years of age,
8.5-9.5 hours for 10-17 years of age and those 18 and above need 7-9 hours
of sleep. Elderly people need about 7-9 hours but do not sleep as deeply
and may awaken at night or wake early, so naps (like kids need) allow them to
accumulate the total of 7-9 hours of sleep.
Take a walk and reflect on what you see and hear
at least several times per week.
Try something new and often (eat a new food, try
a different route to work, go to a new museum display).
Do some mind exercises (read, do a puzzle
occasionally during the week).
Try to focus on a process intensely and complete
a segment of it over 1 to several hours, then take a break and do something
relaxing (walk, exercise, short nap).
Plan to spend some time talking with other
people about different subjects.
Try to make some leisure time to do some things
that interest you every week (hobby, sport).
Avoid smoking
Tobacco use is the most
important preventable illness and cause of death in the world., according to the
National cancer Institute (NCI). Tobacco use was estimated to be the
caused a lot of deaths in 2010 in the world
Tip:
Stop smoking tobacco;
start to stop today (it takes about 15 years of nonsmoking behavior to achieve
a "normal" risk level for heart disease for those that smoke).
Avoid excessive alcohol
consumption
Chronic,
excess alcohol consumption is the major cause of liver cirrhosis
in the world.
Liver cirrhosis can
cause internal hemorrhage, fluid accumulation in the abdomen, easy bleeding and bruising,
muscle wasting, mental confusion, infections, and in advanced
cases, coma, and kidney failure.
Liver
cirrhosis can lead to liver cancer.
Alcohol
accounts for 40%-50% of deaths from automobile accidents in the world.
By: Divine James
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