While your primary care physician (PCP) is your main reference for what you need to do to stay healthy, you can take matters into your own hands and do your part at home to improve your health. Little changes can make a major difference.
Limit Processed Foods
Processed foods seem harmless. You have a wide variety of options to choose from, such as stuffed peppers and lasagna. However, manufacturers add chemicals to these foods to preserve them. Unfortunately, these ingredients can be harmful to your health.
Preservatives, such as nitrates and sodium benzoate, prevent bacteria and mold. These ingredients are also known to cause inflammation throughout the body. Certain ones, including acrylamide, have links to cancer, heart disease, and nervous system dysfunction when you consume them regularly.
The manufacturers will add high quantities of salt to enhance the food’s shelf life and flavor. Your body needs sodium in small amounts. In high amounts, it increases your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
Ultimately, you want to limit processed food as much as possible. Fortunately, you can find recipes online for healthy dishes that are quick and easy to make, and they won’t contain those harmful ingredients.
Exercise Regularly
Even if you have mobility issues or other limitations that hold you back from rigorous physical activity, you should still get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. You can alter the routine to meet your needs. For instance, if you can’t jog, walk each day. And if time is a concern, you can break your workout up throughout the day — doing 15 minutes here and there.
Ideally, make the physical activity something you enjoy. If you’re having a good time while you’re moving, you’ll be more likely to stick with it. It’s worth mentioning gardening is considered physical activity.
Try to Limit How Much You Sit
In a world where many people have desk jobs, you could find yourself spending a great deal of time sitting. Some people spend their entire eight-hour workday sitting. Living a sedentary lifestyle can slow your metabolism, weaken your bones, increase anxiety, and heighten your risk of heart disease.
You’ll want to move as much as you can throughout the day. As you’re working at a computer, take a break every hour to walk for five minutes. When you’re at the house, try to stay busy with projects that keep you moving. If you are a TV lover, watch it while you’re moving on a treadmill.
Make Sleep a Priority
Your brain requires sleep to function optimally. When you don’t get enough, it can affect your ability to think clearly and regulate your mood. Your heart gets a rest while you’re sleeping as well. For that reason, if you’re going for long stretches without adequate sleep, you’re increasing your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Even your liver needs you to sleep because this is when it has time to detoxify the body and metabolize glucose and fat. You’re more prone to developing insulin resistance and obesity and having hormonal issues when your liver doesn’t have that time.
Ideally, you should receive at least seven hours of sleep per night, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you’re struggling to get enough, it may help to limit your caffeine intake during the day, refrain from using electronic devices before bed, and be sure to exert enough energy throughout the day.
Reserve Time to Do What You Enjoy Regularly
Between work, raising a family, and other responsibilities, you may have little time during the day to do much of anything else. Any spare time you have, you may use to your advantage to finish housework or other duties that you don’t have enough time for otherwise.
However, in addition to everything you have to complete, schedule some time for yourself regularly. That might mean taking a long bath at the end of the night or curling up with a good book for an hour or two per week. It doesn’t matter what it is you’re doing. It just matters that you’re doing something that takes your mind off all the stresses of life.
Stay Hydrated
Your heart, brain, and various other parts of your body need adequate fluid. Even going for a few hours without drinking can cause your lips to become dry, and you may feel fatigued and develop a headache. The effects only worsen over time.
The real problem isn’t occasional dehydration. Whenever your body doesn’t receive enough fluid on a regular basis, it can lead to kidney stones or even kidney disease. You may experience brain fog and mood swings regularly.
As a general recommendation, get at least half to a whole ounce of fluid per pound of body weight per day. That means, if you’re 150 pounds, you should drink at least nine cups of water daily. If you struggle to drink plain water, add lemon wedges or other fruit slices.
Water isn’t the only beverage that keeps you hydrated. Any drink will provide you with water, but anything with caffeine will have a diuretic effect, so take that into account when you’re determining if you’re drinking enough.
You can tell if you’re getting enough fluid by checking the elasticity of your skin and the softness of your lips. If you’re noticing issues, increase your intake.
You spend most of your time outside of the doctor’s office. So what you’re doing every day matters almost as much, if not more, than what happens at those visits. Luckily, a few tips can help you live a healthier life than you are now.
While your primary care physician (PCP) is your main reference for what you need to do to stay healthy, you can take matters into your own hands and do your part at home to improve your health. Little changes can make a major difference.
Limit Processed Foods
Processed foods seem harmless. You have a wide variety of options to choose from, such as stuffed peppers and lasagna. However, manufacturers add chemicals to these foods to preserve them. Unfortunately, these ingredients can be harmful to your health.
Preservatives, such as nitrates and sodium benzoate, prevent bacteria and mold. These ingredients are also known to cause inflammation throughout the body. Certain ones, including acrylamide, have links to cancer, heart disease, and nervous system dysfunction when you consume them regularly.
The manufacturers will add high quantities of salt to enhance the food’s shelf life and flavor. Your body needs sodium in small amounts. In high amounts, it increases your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
Ultimately, you want to limit processed food as much as possible. Fortunately, you can find recipes online for healthy dishes that are quick and easy to make, and they won’t contain those harmful ingredients.
Exercise Regularly
Even if you have mobility issues or other limitations that hold you back from rigorous physical activity, you should still get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. You can alter the routine to meet your needs. For instance, if you can’t jog, walk each day. And if time is a concern, you can break your workout up throughout the day — doing 15 minutes here and there.
Ideally, make the physical activity something you enjoy. If you’re having a good time while you’re moving, you’ll be more likely to stick with it. It’s worth mentioning gardening is considered physical activity.
Try to Limit How Much You Sit
In a world where many people have desk jobs, you could find yourself spending a great deal of time sitting. Some people spend their entire eight-hour workday sitting. Living a sedentary lifestyle can slow your metabolism, weaken your bones, increase anxiety, and heighten your risk of heart disease.
You’ll want to move as much as you can throughout the day. As you’re working at a computer, take a break every hour to walk for five minutes. When you’re at the house, try to stay busy with projects that keep you moving. If you are a TV lover, watch it while you’re moving on a treadmill.
Make Sleep a Priority
Your brain requires sleep to function optimally. When you don’t get enough, it can affect your ability to think clearly and regulate your mood. Your heart gets a rest while you’re sleeping as well. For that reason, if you’re going for long stretches without adequate sleep, you’re increasing your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Even your liver needs you to sleep because this is when it has time to detoxify the body and metabolize glucose and fat. You’re more prone to developing insulin resistance and obesity and having hormonal issues when your liver doesn’t have that time.
Ideally, you should receive at least seven hours of sleep per night, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If you’re struggling to get enough, it may help to limit your caffeine intake during the day, refrain from using electronic devices before bed, and be sure to exert enough energy throughout the day.
Reserve Time to Do What You Enjoy Regularly
Between work, raising a family, and other responsibilities, you may have little time during the day to do much of anything else. Any spare time you have, you may use to your advantage to finish housework or other duties that you don’t have enough time for otherwise.
However, in addition to everything you have to complete, schedule some time for yourself regularly. That might mean taking a long bath at the end of the night or curling up with a good book for an hour or two per week. It doesn’t matter what it is you’re doing. It just matters that you’re doing something that takes your mind off all the stresses of life.
Stay Hydrated
Your heart, brain, and various other parts of your body need adequate fluid. Even going for a few hours without drinking can cause your lips to become dry, and you may feel fatigued and develop a headache. The effects only worsen over time.
The real problem isn’t occasional dehydration. Whenever your body doesn’t receive enough fluid on a regular basis, it can lead to kidney stones or even kidney disease. You may experience brain fog and mood swings regularly.
As a general recommendation, get at least half to a whole ounce of fluid per pound of body weight per day. That means, if you’re 150 pounds, you should drink at least nine cups of water daily. If you struggle to drink plain water, add lemon wedges or other fruit slices.
Water isn’t the only beverage that keeps you hydrated. Any drink will provide you with water, but anything with caffeine will have a diuretic effect, so take that into account when you’re determining if you’re drinking enough.
You can tell if you’re getting enough fluid by checking the elasticity of your skin and the softness of your lips. If you’re noticing issues, increase your intake.
You spend most of your time outside of the doctor’s office. So what you’re doing every day matters almost as much, if not more, than what happens at those visits. Luckily, a few tips can help you live a healthier life than you are now.
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