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What is a “healthy lifestyle”?
Ask 50 people to define what a “healthy lifestyle” is, and you’ll likely get 50 different answers. That’s because there’s no one way to be healthy. A healthy lifestyle simply means doing things that make you happy and feel good.
For one person, that may mean walking a mile five times a week, eating fast food once a week, and spending virtual or in-person time with loved ones every other day. For someone else, a healthy lifestyle may be training and running two marathons a year, following a keto diet, and never having a sip of alcohol.
Neither of these is better than the other. Both are perfect for that person. You get to decide what your healthy lifestyle looks like.
When you’re not at your healthiest, you can probably tell. You may simply feel “off.” You may find that you feel tired, your digestive system isn’t functioning as well as it normally does, and you seem to catch colds. Mentally, you may find you can’t concentrate and feel anxious or depressed.
The good news: a healthy lifestyle can help you feel better. Even better, you don’t have to overhaul your entire life overnight. It’s pretty easy to make a couple of small changes that can steer you in the direction of improved well-being. And once you make one change, that success can motivate you to continue to make more positive shifts.
How is it beneficial?
Making changes to improve your health can lead to benefits for your body, your mind, your wallet, and even the environment.
Customers like the ease of swallowing, ease of use, and weight loss of the nutritional supplement. They mention that it's easy to chew and swallow, provides numerous health benefits, and is convenient to take. Some are also satisfied with quality, and taste. That said, opinions are mixed on performance, pain relief, and value.
01. Eat More Vegetables
A 2010 analysisTrusted Source of prospective studies suggests consuming more veggies and fruit is associated with lower risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, and premature death.
Although eating more vegetables is better, you don’t have to go from zero to nine servings a day. Perhaps your goal is eating one serving of vegetables at dinner. If you already do that, consider eating one vegetable or fruit at every meal.
Keep in mind that less-processed veggies are better. Rather than fries, try roasted potatoes seasoned with herbs or make a stir-fry of several colorful vegetables and drizzle them with a tasty vinaigrette.
03. Be More Active
If the words “exercise” or “workout” put you off, think of this step in terms of physical activity or simply moving your body.
You don’t have to run a marathon — or run at all — to be healthy.
You could walk, go for a bike ride, take salsa dancing lessons, practice martial arts, or try a workout class online. The most important thing is to choose an activity you enjoy. Choosing an activity you have an interest in will increase the chances that you’ll stick with it.
Secondly, remember that you don’t have to start with a long workout. Aim for 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week. When you feel ready, add another 5 or 10 minutes. Keep doing this until you reach at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week.
04. Maintain Friendships
Strong relationships and staying in communication with friends and loved ones can support mental health.
For one, the risk of depression is greater in people with low-quality relationships. Those with the poorest quality social relationships have more than double the risk of depression compared to people with the highest quality connectionsTrusted Source.
Similarly, researchTrusted Source suggests feeling isolated is associated with an increased risk of poor self-rated health and depression. It is also associated with various health problems, like headaches, palpitations, and lower back, neck, or shoulder pain.
Even if you cannot get together with friends or family in person, schedule a time to catch up over a phone or video call once a week. Or, simply start chatting with a neighbor when you see them.
02. Swap in whole grains
Replacing refined grains with whole grains will benefit your health. In a small 2017 studyTrusted Source, 81 men and postmenopausal women were divided into two groups. Half followed a diet that contained whole grains, and the other half followed a diet that was calorically the same but contained refined grains. After 6 weeks, the whole grain group increased their resting metabolic rate (RMR). RMR is how many calories your body burns at rest.
Research from 2016Trusted Source and 2020Trusted Source link consuming more whole grains with reduced risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Start small by replacing one refined grain each day with a whole grain — maybe it’s your breakfast toast or the pilaf you make with dinner. Experiment with different grains and flavorings to see which ones you enjoy most.
Whole grains include:
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plain oats
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whole grain bread and pasta
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brown and wild rice
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buckwheat
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bulgur wheat
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millet
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barley
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spelt
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quinoa
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farro
Refined grains include:
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white bread and pasta
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white rice
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most breakfast cereals
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chips
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pretzel
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crackers
05. Control Stress
Chronic stress puts your body into fight-or-flight mode all the time. This taxes your immune system and makes you more susceptible to health problems, including:
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heart disease
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diabetes
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digestive problems
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depression
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anxiety
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difficulty sleeping
Exercise can help reduce stress by releasing pent-up energy. Physical activity can also boost the release of mood-lifting hormones called endorphins.
For others, mindfulness practices — like meditation, deep breathing, journaling, or spending time in nature — can help to lower stress. Talking to friends can also help.
If you would like more support relieving stress, consider therapy. Working with a trained psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist can help you work through challenges life throws your way, and it can help you learn new skills to manage stress.
Are there any drawbacks?
There really aren’t any downsides to a healthy lifestyle since each person gets to define what “healthy” looks and feels like for themselves.
This means you don’t have to do anything that doesn’t make you happy. After all, as we already covered, unhappiness can affect your health.
For example, if you don’t like conventional exercise, think of ways you enjoy moving your body. And if you hate kale, you don’t have to eat it.
Does this mean I have to give up my favorite “bad habit”?
Living a healthy lifestyle does not mean you have to give up the things that may be considered “bad habits.” It’s perfectly possible to balance healthy living with eating cookies, taking a day off from your workout, or having wine with dinner.
In fact, enjoying a treat once in a while can help you better stick to healthy eating habits. An all-or-nothing mindset where you can only eat “good” foods and never eat “bad” ones often backfires. Having the flexibility to eat your mom’s extra-cheesy lasagna — and savor every bite — is part of being healthy.
Rest days are also important for physical and mental health. Doing too much exercise can increase the risk of injuries or cause you to burn out and give up exercise altogether.
Furthermore, moderate drinking (one standard-size drink per day for women and two for men) is linked with various health benefits. A “standard drink” is:
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12 fluid ounces of beer
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5 fl oz of wine
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8–9 fl oz of malt liquor
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1.5 fl oz of spirit
On the other hand, if you feel as though you can’t control a habit that might bring negative health effects (such as drinking alcohol, using recreational drugs in excess, or smoking), talk to your doctor. They can help you find support.
The bottom line
A healthy lifestyle can not only help you feel better, but it can also reduce the risk of some diseases, lengthen your lifespan, save you money, and benefit the environment.
Your version of a healthy lifestyle is whatever you define it to be. There’s nothing you must or must not do in order to be healthy. Identify what makes you feel good and what brings you the greatest happiness. Then, start small when you make changes. You’re more likely to see success this way, and small successes will snowball into bigger benefits.
Lastly, if you want help with making any lifestyle changes, talk to your doctor. If they can’t directly help you, they may recommend other professionals, like registered dietitians or therapists.
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How is it that the United States spends the most money on healthcare, and yet still has the one of the lowest life expectancies of all developed nations? (To be specific: $9,400 per capita, 79 years, and 31st.)
Maybe those of us in healthcare have been looking at it all wrong, for too long.
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