Today more and more people are suffering from various lifestyle diseases like depression, hypertension, obesity, high blood sugar, heart diseases and even cancer.
It is a major concern that these diseases are becoming more prevalent among youths as well as among kids. You can blame it on busy work culture, sleepless nights, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, spending long hours in front of computers or televisions, lack of physical activities and unhealthy diets. To add to this list, fast foods, processed foods and too much sweet foods also play the role of villains.
Lifestyle diseases as the name implies are the result of leading a wrong lifestyle. They can be prevented with simple changes in day to day life. These changes will make your life healthier and better. There is a saying that, “prevention is better than cure.” So make changes from now on and see how your body will thank you for that.
Food habits
Due to excessive work pressure, professionals these days rely on packaged, canned or fast foods. However, these food options are unhealthy as most of them contains high amount of sodium and fat. Too much sodium and fat can lead to heart failure, high cholesterol, high pressure and stroke. It is therefore important to have homemade food prepared with healthy ingredients. In your diet you must have fresh fruits, vegetables, egg, lean meat, fish and fiber rich foods. Some of the tips to make a healthy diet plan:
- Carry dry fruits like almond, walnut and raisins so that you can much on when your body crave for some quick snacks.
- Avoid soft drinks and junk foods as these make you feel bloated
- Cut down fatty foods and high calorie foods
- Avoid extra salt and too much sugar
- Do not skip meals. As skipping meals will increase your hunger and you will end up snacking on junk foods
- Drink in limits and quit smoking
Drink water
Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water every day is strongly recommended as it helps to wash away toxins from the body. Optimum level of body hydration is also maintained when we drink sufficient water which also helps with keeping the metabolism rate high.
Watch your weight
Main reason behind most of the lifestyle diseases is excessive weight. It is therefore important to maintain a healthy body weight. Know what your ideal BMI should be as per your age, height and weight. Check if your BMI is within that reference range, if it surpasses that mark then you are suffering from obesity. Therefore, try to control your weight with few changes in dietary habits. One of the easiest ways to not only control your weight, improve aerobic activity and muscle toning is to take a walk. Not only it is an exercise, choosing a place with greenery for a walk – with plants and trees can help improve your mood. When this becomes a daily habit, the plants and trees change with seasons and help you stay connected with nature.
Physical activities
You do not have to head to a gym for your daily exercises. There are many other forms to keep your body active. You can do swimming, yoga, zumba dance, aerobics or simply walk. Select one that fits your taste but you have to get involved in some form of exercise at least for 30 minutes on a daily basis. Also use steps instead of elevators, park your car a little further from office so that you have to walk and do your house chores. These extra exercises will help you to stay fit.
Take rest
Sleep is as much important for your body as any other physical activities. You have to sleep for 8 hours every day to keep your mind and body refreshed.
Lifestyle diseases are troublesome. So, it is high time to be alert and follow a healthy regimen.