By Dr. Syeda Sadaf Akber
A healthy lifestyle makes us healthy, energetic and reduced risk factors for different diseases, depends on the routine we make about our daily habits. Healthy and good nutrition, daily physical activity, exercise and proper and adequate sleep are the basic foundations for continuing good and active life. Healthiest and best lifestyle isn’t just about healthy eating and exercise, it’s also about having a positive self-image, great mental health and a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Healthy Breakfast
Breakfast is the primary meal of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast supplies the body with energy and helps jumpstart metabolism – which helps the body use and burn calories effectively during the day. Breakfast stimulate to start metabolism, helping burn calories all over the day. It also provides the required energy to get things done properly and helps focus at work. It’s important for a healthy breakfast to incorporate a protein and a carbohydrate with some whole grain and healthy fiber, some lean protein for staying power and maybe even some fruit to get started on fruits and veggies for the day. A breakfast like that will stay with all morning and help to focus and concentrate on work all the day. The fiber and protein will stabilize blood sugars and keep insulin levels low which helps limit or prevent fat storage. According to some researches eating breakfast can improve memory and concentration level along with help with improved mood and stress levels.
Stay Hydrated:
Human body is composed of about 60% of water. Drink water all day long to stay hydrated. Our body require water for food to be converted into energy. We lose water every day by bowel movements, perspiration, urination and breathing, we need to refill our water intake. The amount of water we need every day, it’s depends on age, body weight, humidity level, and physical activity and nature of work. It’s important to drink eight to 10 glasses of water every day to keep our bodies functioning healthy and properly. Health benefits of regular drinking water include the maintenance of body temperature, pH balance in the body, mechanism of metabolism, breathing process, prevention of constipation, heartburn, migraines, ulcers, gastritis, kidney stones, cardiovascular disorders, backaches, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. It also plays vital roles in kidney function and skin tone. We get quickly become constipated as our colon steals water from our stool to keep our digestive system moving. Urine will become darker; prolonged dehydration can also crystallize salts and minerals in the urine, which possibly leading to the formation of painful kidney stones.
Water plays an essential role in the functioning of the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, excretory, and nervous systems in the human body, along with metabolic reactions, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, maintenance of body temperature, maintenance of skin components, and a prevention of a number of disorders.
Drink Herbal Drink:
Herbal tea is strongly suggested to naturally improve health. Common health benefits can get from herbal tea include relaxing the body and mind, cop with sleeping disorders, reducing inflammation, easing the pain, protecting against different common diseases, boosting the immune system, optimizing the digestive system, detoxifying the body, and stimulating cognitive function. Herbal tea also helps to reduce and break down the body fats in the digestive tract. The Iron content in the tea helps to manufacture RBC for more energy. Calcium and silica are considered the best for healthy bones, hair, nail and teeth.
Healthy Sleeping:
If anybody wants to be successful in life, don’t deny and ignore the importance of a good night’s sleep. Try to get enough sleep. If Sleeping 5 hours or less per night may decrease life expectancy by as much as 15 percent. So get a full 7 or 8 hours of sleep at night. Better sleeping practice improves stress, reduces inflammation, and help cells to re-charge and repair damage and it also keeps us functioning at our optimum levels both mentally and physically. The National Sleep Foundation considers seven to nine hours of sleep a nightly criterion for a healthy lifestyle. Make it a habit to be in bed at a consistent time, formulating a bedtime routine to best facilitate regular sleeping patterns. Adults should aim between seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night.
Stay Active and Fit:
Physical activity and exercise are a better way to feel better and boost health. Fitness is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the biggest factors that lead to weight-gain and illnesses. If you want to live longer and be happier, make a conscious effort to get up and move your muscles more often. Activity will give us energy and alertness and improve the quality of our life. Activity helps with energy balance. Physical activity helps to prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When we engage in physical activity, we burn calories. We can break this into smaller time slots and get started on it during our workday. Exercise not only makes more physically fit, it also boosts mood, increases energy, and it can even improve sex life too.
Regular exercise helps prevent or manage a wide range of health problems and concerns, including stroke, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and depression, a number of types of cancer, arthritis and falls. When we exercise regularly, we can boost our confidence and improve self-esteem. Research has shown that daily exercise brings lots of benefits including increase of life span, lowering of the risk of diseases, higher bone density, and weight loss.
One of the easiest ways to find greater contentment as well as giving our mind a chance for a mental deep breath is to connect to whatever gives us peace and harmony. Whether we pray, meditate; listen to music, or practice yoga.
Healthy Diet:
Feed your body well. Look for easy ways to substitute healthy, natural foods for the packaged, processed items in your life. The less processed our food, the more likely we are to enjoy better overall health, clearer skin, and a healthy weight. A healthy lunch would include a serving of vegetable or a salad, a serving of fruit, a serving of milk or dairy such as low fat cheese or yogurt, a serving of protein and a healthy drink. According to the guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the diet should contain whole grains, fruits, vegetables and fat-free or low-fat dairy products.
Limit portion sizes at meals to control weight and risk for cardiovascular and other diseases through healthy lifestyle. Fruits and vegetables with bright colors are usually high in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are best for health, because they remove free radicals that damage cells. Eat fruits/vegetables of different colors: White (Bananas), Yellow (Pineapples, Mango), Orange (Orange, Papaya), Red (Apple, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Watermelon), Green (Avocado, Lettuce, Cucumber), Purple/Blue (Blackberries, Prunes).
Try not to eat out more than once or twice a week. It’s costly both to your wallet and your waistline too.
Healthy Snacks Time:
Snacks are a must at work as we really should eat every 3-5 hours. If you have a very early breakfast, you will need a mid-morning snack. Many people have the idea that snacks mean “junk food” but snacks should really contribute to your daily nutrition. Snacks fill the gap between meals, stabilize your blood sugar and keep you from becoming so ravenous that you make poor choices or overeat at the next meal.
If you’re hungry at work, eat healthy snacks like fruits, vegetable juices, and yogurts. Try to avoid cookies and candy bars.
Smoking kills:
If you’re a smoker, you can expect to die 7 years sooner than the average person. So quit smoking now. According to the CDC, a smoker is almost two to four times possible to suffer from coronary artery disease and stroke than a non-smoker. Moreover, people who smoke have a 25 times greater risk of suffering from lung cancer. Smoking causes heart disease, lung cancer, bronchitis and osteoporosis. Research has shown that smoking can lead to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), emphysema, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, lung infections, asthma and increases one’s risk of suffering from TB. Smoking leads to cancer of the nose, mouth, larynx (voice box), trachea, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, cervix, bone marrow and blood. Giving up smoking will also save you money which is another good reason to stop.
Social Communication:
Many people live alone and miss out on social interaction which can help to keep them mentally active. It can help to have just a few hours, contact a week with another person. It has been found that having a strong network of family and friends can help to prevent loneliness. This can also keep you feeling positive and engaged with society. Always think Positive. This is easy to say if you are in good health, have an active social life and no money worries: but even if you are not it can help to try and think of a few positive and possible aspects, for example a happy memory of something. Doing this can improve your mood and boost your immune system.
Get Vitamin D:
Fresh air is very much important for bone health as well as our general health. Because sunlight produces Vitamin D in our bodies which results in healthy bones. Bones start to thin as especially in women so anything which keeps them strong is vital.
Vitamin D is linked to benefitting many ailments, illnesses and diseases, including some serious conditions. Like Autoimmune disorders, different type of bone disorders like Rickets, depression, Diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension, influenza, obesity, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
According to one study from Aberdeen University, adequate and proper levels of sunlight can significantly reduce obesity. Another study was conducted in Boston, according this vitamin D deficiency is associated with lung function and more rapid decline in lung function over time in smokers. This research suggests vitamin D may protect against some of the effects of smoking on lung function. Vitamin D has been proven to lower insulin, improve serotonin levels, enhance the immune system, control appetite and even improve fat-loss efforts.
Be Yourself:
Enjoy the Little Things. Take time to notice and enjoy the small things that brighten your day. Take a moment to just feel the warm sunshine, to savor the food you eat. Relish the simple pleasures of life and allow your brain to release the serotonin that will help you feel healthy and happy. Then sit back and enjoy how much better you feel.
Be kind to everyone:
Practice random acts of kindness which are good for givers and receivers alike. It could be a quick call or text to someone you care about or have lost touch with, or showing a fellow motorist some consideration, or giving up your seat on a train or bus, or buying someone lunch or giving a spontaneous bunch of flowers.
Develop A Reading Habit:
Stay thirsty for knowledge. People who live long, fulfilling lives, learn as much as they can. Education doesn’t end with school. Make it a point to learn something new each day. Read new types of books. Research different topics that interest you online. Have lunch with a friend who knows a lot about something you don’t know anything about.
Regular Health Check-Ups:
Get Regular Health Check Ups because one of the best ways to preserve your quality of life and live longer is to have regular examinations with your family doctor. Regular health exams and tests can help find problems before they start. They also can help find problems early, when your chances for treatment and cure are better. Through getting the right health services, screenings, and treatments, you take steps that help to chance for living a longer, healthier life. This is especially important as we get older and our bodies begin to slowly weaken due to the natural processes of aging. Health examination is important to get primary prevention, to identify risk factors for common chronic diseases, to detect disease that has no apparent symptoms, as a way for the doctor to counsel people to promote healthy behavior, to update clinical data since last checkup, to enhance the relationship between you and your doctor.
If you have risk factors or a chronic disease, you may need different tests or you may need a test more often. Ask your doctor what schedule is right for you, but here are conditions, many people should be screened for high blood pressure, cervical cancer, and high cholesterol in men over 40 or women over 50 who have a low risk profile, diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer, osteoporosis, abdominal aortic aneurysm. Check cholesterol levels and blood triglycerides, among other things. High levels may indicate an increased risk of various health problems, including heart disease. Over 45 years of age, you should have these blood tests once every five years. If you are at high risk of heart disease and have a family history, you should be tested every year from the age of 40. Being overweight is a significant risk factor for many health conditions, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Ask your doctor to check your body mass index (BMI) and waist measurement every two years. If you are at a higher risk, you should have your weight checked more frequently. If the test results are not optimal, it means that you can quickly take corrective action. If they are great, that’s fantastic and you can have a peace of mind.
