Healthy Living

Want to know how to lead your life actively and healthily? In this article, you will learn every detail of leading a healthy life. 

Healthy living is something we all want, especially when we grow older. As we age, we face many health problems that are both physical and mental. Therefore, it is essential to try to lead a healthy life to get rid of health problems. Here, I will explain briefly how you can improve your lifestyle by eating healthy, quitting harmful activities and foods, keeping fit and active.

A Well-Balanced Diet

A well-balanced diet is essential to reduce the risk of several medical conditions like heart issues, diabetes, muscle pain, and hypertension. We all know it is important to have a balanced diet, but it isn’t always easy to find out what's best. The eat well guide will help us know which food groups we should have to get a healthy balanced diet. 

Of course, everyone's food choices are different, and they should not eat a single diet every day. Remember, food is more than fuel for our body, and it is something we need to enjoy in peace. 

Here are the basic guides you can follow to improve your diet, 

• Eat a combination of different foods in your daily diet, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. 
• Choose meals using wholegrain as possible on rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, and other starchy carbohydrates.
• Always eat some meat, beans, pulses, eggs, and other proteins every week. 
• Have some unsaturated oils and spreads like olive oil, vegetable oil, and sunflower oil in small portions.  
• Limit the intake of salt, soy sauce, fish sauce, and other high-sodium condiments when preparing meals. 
• Reduce sugar intake by having less than 5% of total energy for extra health benefits. 
• Always make sure to drink plenty of fluids like water, milk, and sugar-free or low-sugar drinks (tea and coffee). It is ideal to drink at least 6 to 8 cups of glass per day.  

Sport and Exercise

With a balanced diet, it is also important to do regular exercise for healthy living. Taking part in sports and exercise will offer lots of benefits to every age. Inactivity can cause you lots of health problems like heart diseases, obesity, higher rates of falls, and early death. So, keep in mind that it is never too late to take part in sport or start visiting a gym or yoga center. 

The NHS recommends every adult do at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. It might sound a lot for you to start, but you can easily meet your target if you do just 30 minutes five days a week. You can do walking, swimming, dancing, aerobics and playing double tennis. Also, you should do some muscle-building activities like push-ups and sit-ups, yoga, and heavy gardening. A good rule is to stand up and move around at least once an hour after sitting. You can simply drink water, go to the bathroom, or make a cup of tea. 

Stop Smoking

We all know how harmful smoking is, which poses a huge risk of health problems. Healthy living is not possible if you are addicted to smoking, then healthy living is not possible to achieve. Smoking can cause 70% of lung cancer and cause more than 7 million deaths per year worldwide. 

Some of the harmful impacts of smoking are, 

• Second-hand smoking can cause 7,333 annual deaths from lung cancer and 33,951 deaths from heart issues every year in the United States. 
• Smoking is costly, and smokers usually spend thousands each year on cigarettes.
• Smoking can lead to skin problems like yellow nails and stained teeth. It also leaves your clothes smelling smoke. 
• Smoking covers your whole mouth and nose with toxic chemical effects that will make it hard to enjoy the taste and smell of delicious foods. 

We know quitting smoking is hard, but it is never too late to quit it. You should give it a try, and in that way, you can feel different, and you will get rid of several risks of medical conditions while protecting your surrounding people and saving up a lot of money. 

Cut Down on Alcohol

Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can be a great obstacle to living a healthy life. It can cause several health issues like liver disease, diabetes, and cancer of the mouth, throat, and bowel. It can give a huge impact on personal and professional life as things can go out of hand if you are drunk. However, there are some procedures you need to follow. First, you should not drink more than 14 units per week. That will be, 

• Six pints of 4% beer.
• Six glasses of 13% wine.
• Fourteen 25ml glasses of 40% spirits.

Drinking alcohol can cause extra weight gain as there is high-calorie content in drinks. Also, it can lead to financial problems with increasing debt and taxes. So quitting alcohol will give you so many positive benefits and improve relationships with loved ones. 

Combat Loneliness

When it comes to health, living your mental health is also equally important as your physical health. Loneliness is a massive issue among older people worldwide, and almost 40% of adults face loneliness. More than a million people pass their whole month without speaking to a friend, neighbor, and family member. This loneliness issue can lead to several physical and mental health problems like anxiety, insomnia, depression, and heart disease. 

We recommend joining sports clubs or hobby groups to learn and explore new things and the plus point is you can make friends there. You can use modern technology to cut loneliness. You can use the internet to play games with other people and give video calls or instant messages to your loved ones that live far away.