How to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

How to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle : Fitness is not the only foundation of health, while being healthy is a combination of mental and emotional fitness. Healthiness should, therefore, become part of your lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle helps prevent chronic illnesses, and self-care is essential for building a great image of self and increase your self-esteem.

Hence, you should maintain a healthy lifestyle by doing what works for your body. For that, several health practices are available.

Being Conscious About Your Diet

Are you still eating junk food? Some people are not aware of the adverse effects of poor diet on their health. However, having a healthy and balanced diet is essential for a healthy body. A vast global population suffers from conditions resulting from unhealthy food. In the U.S., consumption of unhealthy food contributes to about six hundred and seventy-eight thousand deaths annually because of obesity and nutrition-related illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and heart disease among others. The rates of obesity have been tripling in children, quadrupling in adolescents, and doubling in the overall population in the past three decades.

What Healthy Foods Should I Consume?

Evidence from studies suggests a vegetable diet be the way to go. Individuals who consume plant-based diets are at low risk of developing all kinds of chronic diseases. In a study published in the American Heart Association Journal in 2019, the findings show that the persons whose diet consists of a variety of vegetable foods have a sixteen-percent lower risk of developing heart disease. The reason for the reduced risk could be due to the inclusion of nutrients such as potassium and more heart-healthy fibers in the diet, while lowering cholesterol and saturated fat intake.

What is a Plant-Based Diet?

What does “herbal diet” or “plant-based diet” mean? Is it like being vegan or vegetarian? Or does this diet mean you are trying to include more vegetables in your meals? All of these interpretations are technically correct. Some people use the term “herbal diet” as a synonym for a vegan diet. Others use the broader term to cover all vegetarian diets, while yet others use the term “plant-based diet” to refer to the diets that contain mainly, but not exclusively, plant-based foods. The main idea is to put plant foods at the center of your meals. A plant-based diet stresses on foods such as beans, fruits, and vegetables and limits foods such as eggs, meat, and dairy. Depending on the person’s interpretation, you can eliminate animal-based foods or limit their consumption. However, for a detailed read on plant-based diet, free essay examples have a vast library.

Reasons Why You Should Make Healthy Food Choices

Eating habits affect mental health.

Healthy foods do not only boost physical health but also dramatically impact our mental health. In a review published in Clinical Nutrition Research in July 2016, the researchers report that a diet rich in vegetable-derived minerals and vitamins reduces the risk of mental health problems, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, and anxiety.

Disease prevention

A healthy diet avoids obesity, which is a significant risk factor for many diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis. Eating foods with high sugar content, calories, and fat can increase body weight, weaken bones and damage organs, thereby increasing the risk of health problems. A healthy diet improves mood, thus consequently boosting physical activity. When you are satisfied, you become more active. Eating the right diet can make you happier and lead to healthier exercise. All of these effects are important since regular exercise is essential for disease prevention.

Besides, some nutrients impact certain body parts. For example, with deficiency in calcium, bones can become weak, brittle, and unhealthy, making one more vulnerable to osteoporosis. Therefore, a diet rich in calcium prevents osteoporosis. The same goes for saturated fatty acids and cardiovascular diseases; excess saturated fats in the diet can result in increased cholesterol and hypertension, which are the two principal risk factors for cardiovascular disease that a healthy diet can prevent.

Exercise and Physical Fitness

Fitness is the ability of the body’s systems to work effectively together so that they are healthy and able to perform daily activities. A fit person can do housework and still have enough energy to do sports and other hobbies. A fit person can also quickly respond to emergencies, for instance, by running for help or helping a friend in need.

Research has revealed that physical activity gradually improves muscle strength in individuals with peripheral neuropathy. When done regularly, physical exercise helps to relieve neuropathic pain and also controls levels of blood sugar. Below are the four routine activities one can engage in to remain physically fit and healthy.

Stretch Training Exercise

This activity strengthens the muscles making them more resistant to injuries. It also helps regain muscle strength that has been lost. An example of an exercise under this category would be bending opposite and keeping the foot flat on the ground, centering the chest above the straight leg, and slowly straightening the back until a muscle stretch is felt at the back of the leg.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is often achieved through cycling, walking, swimming, or taking a low-impact aerobics class. Engaging in aerobic exercise increases the heart rate, thereby improving breath and strengthening the muscles. Most people should aim at a thirty-minute exercise every day to become fit.

Balance Exercise

Maintaining a healthy balance system is crucial if you have problems such as dizziness, weakness, or joint pain. This exercise can help an individual get back to normal enabling them to conquer feelings of stiffness or instability. Balance, specifically, is an essential constituent for the elderly. Aging muscles are slower, smaller, and are often unable to respond effectively when they need to be contracted, increasing the likelihood of falls. Therefore, improving balance is extremely important for them. This can be achieved through activities such as standing on the toes, standing on one leg when the other is lifted, and side leg raises, among others.

Flexibility Exercise

Flexible exercise often includes stretching to keep the joints flexible, thereby reducing the chances of injury during other routine activities. A five to ten minutes gentle stretching is essential to the body as it warms it, getting it ready for aerobic activities such as swimming or walking.