Your health is your greatest wealth, and it is one hundred percent your responsibility to manage. Healthy diets, regular exercise, abstinence from smoking and moderate alcohol intake are key components of a healthy lifestyle. How do you practice a healthy lifestyle? Here are some simple tips to follow:
Adjust your diet: Change the way you eat and:
• Increase your daily consumption of vegetables particularly the leafy and yellow vegetables like broccoli, carrot, celery, parsley, lattice, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, red bell pepper.
• Have more fruits in your diet. Eat at least 2-3 servings of fruits. They are rich sources of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and potassium.
• Drink more water (eight glasses a day) to stay well hydrated.
• Limit consumption of bad fat; fatty foods especially those from animal sources.
• Reduce the intake of sugar and salt.
Exercise daily: Our body is just like any man-made machine, it was made to be active. Inactivity will lead to rapid deterioration and health decline. Exercise for
• Stronger heart and lungs
• Joints flexibility and muscle strength
• Stronger bones to manage your rigorous activities
• Acceptable weight management
• Enhancing vibrant sex with your spouse
• Reduction of stress and improve your mood
• Reducing risk of colon cancer
• Reducing risk of heart attack
• Reducing risk of gall bladder disease
Rest and sleep : Studies have shown when people get less than 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night, their risk for developing diseases begins to increase. Get more rest and:
• Keeps your heart healthy
• Reduces stress
• Reduce your risk for depression
• Improve your memory
• Makes you more alert
• Reduces inflammation in your body
Get more sunlight : Vitamin D is absorbed naturally from the sun. It's necessary for healthy bones, muscles, and cells. It also helps the body absorb and use phosphorus and calcium. If we are exposed to sunlight for 15 to 20 minutes a day, we can absorb about 10,000-15,000 IU of Vitamin D each day.
There is overwhelming evidence that therapeutic levels of vitamin D, not only strengthen our immune system, but protects us from cancer, including breast cancer and even the H1N1 Swine Flu virus. Vitamin D also appears to have a role in combating attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and autism
Laugh more : Laughter benefits the health of the mind and soul. Now research has shown that laughter can flush clots, cholesterol and inflammation from the body. Laughter has similar health benefits to exercise. When we laugh, our facial muscles stretch and there's an increased heart rate and blood flow. We breathe more deeply, taking in large amounts of oxygen, to cleanse the system and activate many health benefits.
Endorphins, a natural pain relieving hormone, are released during laughter. Endorphins created by laughter reduced cravings for food, alcohol and drug addictions. Endorphins are also believed to reduce stress and slow the aging process.
Forgive yourself and others : Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. In Forgiveness:
• Your mind will be at perfect peace with your God
• You'll be at peace with others even those who hurt you.
• You'll have the joy that cannot be explained
• You'll be able to love even your enemies
• You'll be willing to forgive yourself and others
• Your approach will be different to life's problems
• You'll have less stress symptoms
• You'll exercise more self-control
Be positive : You can tap into the power of your own self-talk by recognizing it for what it is, reducing harmful negativity, and increasing the number of positive internal messages that you germinate and nourish in your mind.
There is something called self fulfilling prophecy. Jamaica's first national Hero Marcus Garvey said, "With confidence in self, you have won even before you start. Without confidence, you are twice defeated in the race of life". If you think you can or you can't, you are right.