We talked to many experts and have cherry picked the most beneficial 7 top pieces of advice on health and well-being. Follow these top 7 tenets and surely you will soon notice a great impact on your health…
7 Habits That Can Double Your Chances Of Being Healthy In Old Age
1. Reduce Your Alcohol Intake: Whereas men are advised not to drink more than 14 units (same as 6 pints of average strength beer a week), the women should not take more than 7 units of alcohol a week. Drinking more than this benchmark can harm your health and increase the risk of many life-style diseases to your health.
Although, its better to avoid alcoholic drinks but if at all you must drink then stick to these Lower risk guidelines otherwise you are likely to develop health problems like high blood pressure, liver problems, heart attack and some types of cancer.
Here is this free Drinks Tracker app to watch how much you are drinking and search for how you can make some simple drink swaps that still taste good.
2. Cut Down The Amount Of Sugar In Your Diet: Too much sugar intake can result into building up of harmful fat on the inside of your body that you can’t see. This fat can leads to serious diseases, like type 2 diabetes. Eating too much of sugar also causes early tooth decay.
You can easily cut down intake of sugar by just avoiding added sugar – extra sugar in pre packaged or processed foods or added in by you. You can also reduce sugar intake by doing away with the habits of taking sugary drinks, sodas, cakes, pastries, etc. Especially watch out for sugar intake when you are shopping and try to make smart sugar swaps.
3. If You Smoke…Quit: Do you know one in two long-term regular smokers dies from a smoking-related disease? Smoking is the underlying cause for nearly 90% of lung cancers and is linked to cancer in other parts of the body as well, heart disease, lung disease and other serious medical conditions.
Are you struggling to quit smoking but don’t know how and where to start? You can find a lot of FREE Support here – from a Quit Kit to support emails and a Smartphone App
You can also rein in those nicotine cravings and boost up your chances to quit smoking with stop smoking aids, like nicotine gum or e-cigarettes.
4. Lower Your Salt Intake: Regular intake of too much salt can lead to high blood pressure condition, which puts you at enhanced risk of health problems, such as heart disease and stroke. Do you know nearly 75% of our daily salt requirement is already there in the everyday typical foods that we normally eat including bread, breakfast cereal and ready meals? Watch before you add extra salt to your food. So, the rule number 1 to lower your salt intake, whether you eat at home or out, is to not to add additional salt to your food automatically – taste it first, to see if you need extra salt. Your taste buds will sooner or later adjust to less salt.
Family Fitness Tip: While shopping look out for low-salt or reduced-salt foods, and watch out for salt content by reading the labels on everyday items.
5. Remain Physically Active: Keep yourself very active every day to stay physically healthy. Being not very active upsurges your risk of getting serious medical conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Other health benefits of keeping yourself very active is that it’s not only good for your body but for your mind as well. Getting good physical activity each day can save you from getting depression, anxiety and other mental health problems.
On the other hand not being active steps up your risk of many health conditions that eventually will affect your future quality of life adversely, including dementia, osteoarthritis and general physical limitations in older age.
Total Fitness Tip: Do more workout/exercise every week.
6. Make Sure You Have Enough Sleep: What matters is good-quality sleep rather than the amount of sleep. Enough sound helps to keep you feeling healthy.
Not sleeping well can have a big impact on your health, exposing you to risk of serious medical conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. So much so, it even cut down your life expectancy.
Sleep and mood are co-related. Not getting enough good sleep can impact your mind and even cause mental health problems, like anxiety and depression. Sleeping less can result into unhealthy weight gain too.
Family Fitness Tips: To get more of good sleep include following into your bedtime routine where you wind down ready for sleep and retire to bed at a set time. Keep out distractions such as your TV, computer and phone, from your bedroom. Begin modestly and try one change at a time. Above all, keep away from caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol – particularly in the evening.
7. Try Not To Get Too Stressed: A little bit of stress is ok and can help motivate you to do something new or difficult, but too much stress is surely bad for your well being.
Stress on its own is not an illness, but if it isn’t under control it can lead to serious medical conditions, including heart disease, asthma, stroke, diabetes and some types of cancer. Identifying the early signs of stress, such as sweating, loss of appetite, headaches and loss of concentration can help avert it progressing to its worse.
Lowering your stress levels and being more in control lifts your mood and indicates you are more capable to manage life’s ups and downs. Too much stress can take its toll on your body and your immune system.
Total Fitness Tips: Start with taking simple and easy steps to make you feel less stressed. Take out time for having fun and relaxation, and try to do something you enjoy every day. Some ways to control stress are mediation, yoga, workout, listening to music, going for long walk, etc. If you’re feeling depressed, talking to someone can really help.
Fit the above good habits into your daily routine and see how positively they impact your mood and keep you young looking and healthy even in your old age.
Useful Related Post: 4 Best Habits To Live Long
Another reason to cut back on sugar! Sigh.