Your Health
Healthy eating
A balanced and nutritious diet is the basis for good health. But sometimes our food choices are unwise, and this can lead to conditions that undermine our health. Over time, their effects can even add up to endangering our lives. This is especially the case with compounds known as saturated fats, which can lead to the buildup of plaque in our arteries and lead to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Certain foods are high in saturated fats, such as butter, cheese, whole milk, ice cream, and fatty meats. Unsaturated fats, on the other hand, can be good for you.
Here are some tips for a healthy diet:
Be sure to eat fruit every day.
Increase your portion size of vegetables.
If you drink whole milk, switch to a low-fat variety.
Opt for high-fiber foods, including cereal and whole-wheat bread.
If you're using butter as a spread, switch to a vegetable oil spread instead.
Eat lean cuts of meat instead of fatty ones like sausages and meatballs.
Choose fish over meat, especially oily or fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and wareou.
Avoid adding salt to your food, especially at your tableside meals.
Avoid fast food, especially high fat ones.
Stop drinking high-sugar soft drinks.
Don't drink.
Eating a healthy diet can help prevent serious diseases like cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and diabetes.
Regular training
Regular exercise is one of the best things you can do for mind and body health. Not only will it positively improve your health, but it will also help you prevent or alleviate a number of serious diseases. Regular physical activity has so many health benefits that it's more than just an option.
Usually get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day, 60 minutes if possible. Whether it's a brisk walk, a run, or a workout at the gym, make it a habit to incorporate at least a moderate amount of exercise into your daily routine. Regular training will help you:
Improve your mood and ward off depression.
Increase your energy and well-being.
Reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke and certain types of cancer.
Increase your "good" (HDL) cholesterol and decrease your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol.
Prevent metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Improve the strength and flexibility of your muscles.
Strengthen your bones and prevent arthritis.
Lower your blood pressure and heart rate.
Reduce your weight or prevent weight gain.
Reduce restlessness and improve your sleep.
Reduce your stress levels and help you relax.
Improve the quality and span of your life.
Regardless of your weight, age, or fitness level, you can reap the benefits of regular physical activity. To learn more, see the physical activity resources published by the Department of Health.
weight control
People with a high BMI had a 26% higher risk of developing ischemic heart disease. For every 4 point increase in BMI, this risk increased by 52%.
Do you know your own BMI? You can now calculate it with our BMI calculator.
The combination of a healthy diet and regular exercise is the best way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. If you do this, you can expect to be at a much lower risk of developing:
Type 2 diabetes.
High blood pressure.
Breathing problems, including sleep apnea.
Cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke.
Certain types of cancer, including breast, prostate, colon and endometrial cancer.
Dyslipidemia (high cholesterol and high fatty acids).
Liver and gallbladder disease and gout.
Arthrosis.
stress control
Stress is too much of a good thing. This means that the underlying causes of stress are beneficial to us in the right dose, but become harmful to us in overdose. The daily pressure we feel to perform, behave, or meet the demands of others usually spurs us on to actually perform, behave, and meet those demands, but sometimes that pressure can mount so much that that it does exactly the opposite - in other words, they become counterproductive. When that happens, we end up paying a heavy price for our health.
Stress that lasts for a long period of time (chronic stress) can cause a range of medical conditions, including depression, anxiety, stomach ulcers, digestive problems, heart disease and stroke. That's why it's important not to just let stress run free in our lives. You may not be able to control the source of your stress, but you can control the way you respond to it. Stress management means taking control of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, and your stress management resources, and taking the sting out of the effects of stress.
Here are some tips for managing stress:
Identify each cause of stress in your work and in your life.
Mentally list how you are currently responding to stress.
Plan your time allocation and get high-priority tasks done early.
Learn to say “no” when your responsibility is enough.
Practice avoiding people and situations that stress you out.
Learn how to “minimal relax” using techniques like deep breathing.
Learn how to “relax to the max” with plenty of time dedicated just to you.
Reduce stressors by taking a holistic perspective.
Talk to someone about it. Shared pain is half of the pain.
Instead of trying to control what you can't change, just accept it.
Keep your batteries full with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
Don't turn to unhealthy solutions to try and cope with stress.
Managing stress effectively is seen as an increasingly necessary skill in our busy and complex lives.
Regular checks
Regular medical check-ups are important for two reasons. First, they can identify risk factors that can lead to disease, and second, they can spot problems early, so correcting them is much easier. It is far better to prevent health problems or to recognize them when they are easily manageable than to deal with a serious illness.
The types of exams and tests that include regular check-ups may include:
your blood pressure.
Your weight and BMI.
A cardiovascular exam.
A prostate check for men.
your cholesterol level.
screening for diabetes.
A liver function test.
A thyroid function test.
A kidney function test.
A blood cell analysis.
If you're afraid to see your doctor, just think how much more scary it would be to have a life-threatening illness. If you haven't been to the check in a while, it's time to pick up the phone.