Four Healthy Habits To Live Longer & Healthier

It’s never too late. So make these 4 healthy habits part of your lifestyle to live a longer, healthy life.

We all succumb to temptations, whether binge drinking on weekends or lunging for doughnuts when stressed. Although we know all these are not good for our health, we still indulge in making excuses that it would not make much difference anyway.

The good news is that it is never too late to turn things around. So, here we go…

# 1

Avoid Lifestyle Diseases By Reducing Alcoholic Drinks Intake

Reason: Alcoholic beverages not only upset the way your liver functions but also make it weak at processing fat and can radically affect how you feel.

If you frequently overshoot the recommended limit of 1-2 units a day for women (2-3 units per day for men), you will be heading towards developing something known as a ‘fatty liver.’

How Are You Benefitted By Reducing Alcohol Intake?

(i) By avoiding alcoholic drinks or reducing the amount, you can reverse any damage that has already happened and significantly reduce the risk of liver disease.

(ii) You are less likely to suffer lifestyle diseases. Other benefits comprise weight loss, better quality sleep, and fewer hangovers.

Tips To Help You Reduce Alcohol

(i) Get familiar with the unit concept and how many units are in a particular drink. One 250 ml glass of wine has about 2.8 units of alcohol in it, almost your whole recommended intake for a day

(ii) Review your manner and approach towards your drinking habit, like reconsidering how much you drink at home – you may find that you are drinking more than what you think on average, particularly if you drink in front of the TV

(iii) Buying small drink glasses and an alcohol measure are good habits to make sure you don’t drink more at home than you should

(iv) When you’re out with friends, skip some of the rounds or have drinks with a smaller group

(v) Space your drinks throughout the rendezvous; alternate with plain water or any other less sugary drink to stay hydrated, or have a diluted drink like a spritzer or shandy.

# 2

Add 7 Years To Your Life By Exercising

Reason: Exercise does miracles for your body and mind. To quote Fitness Buffhq: “Exercise buys you three to seven additional years of life. It is an antidepressant; it improves cognitive function, and there is evidence that it can prevent/slow down the onset of dementia.”

Exercising Tips: Studies have indicated that even people who don’t start exercising until their sixties benefit more from the recent activity than what they would have done at a younger age.

How Are You Benefitted By Exercising (even walking) for just 20-25 minutes a day?

(i) Reduces a 60-year-old’s risk of heart failure by a fifth

(ii) Lowers cholesterol significantly

(iii) Reduces blood pressure, allowing for better circulation and a stronger heart.

(iv) Even if you start exercising after you’re 70, you’ll be less likely to suffer atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm condition that affects about 10% of people over 80.

(v) If you’re under 60, you’ll gain from strength training to protect your bones and make your core stronger, which leads to the strengthening of your back.

(vi) Aerobic exercises like jogging, running, etc., help relieve stress, improve sleep, and prevent weight gain.

Useful Tips

(i) Use stairs instead of lifts.

(ii) Consider getting off the tube or bus a stop early.

(iii) Try going for at least 20-25 minutes of brisk walking daily.

# 3

Quit Smoking And Cut Down Risks Of Stroke And Lung Cancer By Half

Reason: You may find it hard to give up smoking, particularly if you have been a smoker for a long time. But you can feel the benefits almost from the day you stop smoking. Try it – if you can refrain from smoking for just one month, you’re five times more likely to give up for good.

How You Benefit By Quitting Smoking Habit?

(i) After 48 hours of quitting, no nicotine will be left in your system. You will notice that your ability to taste and smell has improved.

(ii) Simply within 2 weeks, your lung capability and blood circulation will improve while your skin begins to recover its color.

(iii) Within 10 years, your risk of lung cancer plunges to half that of a smoker, while your likelihood of a stroke will be the same as somebody who’s never smoked a cigarette.

(iv) After 15 years, your risk of coronary heart disease will become like that of an individual who has never picked up a cigarette, and the same would be the case for your risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

Helpful Tips

(i) When you get the urge to smoke, rather than being anxious about smoking, rejoice that you’re no longer wasting money away; an average smoker has 10 cigs a day, which works out at $ 230 a month or $ 2,760 a year that much you would be saving.

(ii) If you need an extra helping hand, you can visit Smokefree.nhs.uk/Stoptober for free support material about staying away from cigarettes.

# 4

Cut Down Your Sugar Intake To Lower Your Cholesterol And Blood Pressure

Reason: We all often give in to munching at biscuits, savoring other sugary products, or slurping sugary drinks without realizing the harmful effects of too much sugar.

The NHS recommends that added sugars shouldn’t comprise any more than 5% of our daily calorie intake.

How Do You Benefit By Reducing Sugar Intake?

(i) Reduces blood pressure

(ii) Lowers ‘bad’ cholesterol

(iii) Lessens the risk of developing dementia

(iv) Decreases your chance of suffering from depression.

Useful Tips

(i) Identify the sources of sugar in your diet and think about what to cut out completely and what to cut down on.

(ii) You don’t have to avoid sugars found in fruit or dairy products as these foods have lots of nutrients that are good for you. But you need to watch your intake of some ready-made soups, stir-in sauces, condiments, and ready meals, as they do contain much more sugar than you think.

For example, just one-third of an average-sized jar of pasta sauce (roughly 150g) can contain more than 13 g (or 3 teaspoons) of sugar.

(iii) Avoid fizzy drinks, sweetened fruit juices, and squashes for sugar-free varieties or plain water.

Resources:

Helpful Resource

About Author: Renu Bakshi, AKA Fitness Buffhq, is ISSA Certified Elite Trainer. He passed Personal Fitness Trainer Course, Nutrition Health Coach course & Specialist Exercise Therapy course from ISSA, USA obtaining + 97% marks. He shares his experience and knowledge about nutrition and effective workouts to get you in the best shape of your life, no matter how old you may be. The author says: “For me, age is just a number!”