5 Health Tips That Will Change Your Life

Choosing a healthy lifestylecan lead to a longer, more fulfillinglife. Improving your physicaland mental health has a positiveeffect on everyone around you.You can teach your familyand friends better habits throughexample. There’s no need to beintimidated by the idea of livinghealthier. Make a few smallchanges and see big results.Get MovingThere are exercise programsout there that promise amazingbody transformations in a shortamount of time but they’re grueling.If you love that kind ofchallenge then go for it! To beginan exercise regimen that’sless extreme, start with walking.Walking is a great way to easeinto exercise and is less taxingon your joints than jogging orrunning. Even a 10 minute walkdown the street will increase yourstamina and boost your metabolism.When the weather doesn’tpermit walking outdoors, try thelocal gym. Elliptical machinesare kinder to your knees andwith their adjustable resistanceyou can increase the challenge asmuscles strengthen. A treadmillis a great way to get walking tooand with the adjustable inclineyou can experience the uniquechallenge of traversing hills.Hydrate ProperlyDrinking enough water isvital to your health. Proper hydrationaids in digestion, organfunction and protects jointhealth. Consuming the properamount of water daily keepsyour skin healthy and helps flushout any toxins in your system.You need to drink more waterwhen you’re exercising becauseyou sweat it out. Sports drinksare okay after a strenuous workoutbecause they replace electrolytesbut be aware that theycontain sugar and added caloriesthat you won’t find in water.Fruit juices are good hydrationtoo because they have vitaminsand minerals but even the mostnatural juices contain sugar andsometimes high amounts of sodium.Fresh Air and SunshineVenturing out into the sunlighthas many benefits, a majorone being that when your skin isexposed to sunlight, it producesVitamin D. Vitamin D helps yourbody absorb calcium which is vitalfor building and maintainingstrong, healthy bones. Low levelsof Vitamin D can lead to certaincancers, obesity, high bloodpressure, diabetes and depression.Vitamin D’s ability to aidin calcium absorption preventsbone diseases like osteoporosisand rickets. Sunlight isn’t theonly source of Vitamin D, it canalso be found in fortified dairyproducts, cod liver oil, eggs andfish like salmon and tuna.Rest and RelaxationNever underestimate theimportance of a good night’ssleep! As hectic as your life is,your body needs time to recharge.Insufficient sleep canlead to fatigue, depression andanxiety. Even just a few nightsof not enough sleep affect yourmood, judgment and memory.Longer bouts of inadequatesleep can lead to health problemslike depression, and heartdisease. You might be temptedto try and work through a problemby staying up all night butit’s better to sleep on it. Quite oftenthe right solution presents itselfin the morning after a goodnight’s rest.Eat NaturallyA good rule of thumb touse when grocery shopping isif you can’t pronounce the ingredientsthen you shouldn’t beputting it in your body. Freshfruits and vegetables, lean protein,and whole grain foods arebest for your body. Many breadsthat claim to be whole grain andnutritious are also full of preservativesand excess sugar. Takeeating healthy a step further bybaking as much food as you canfrom scratch. You’ll gain peaceof mind knowing exactly whatingredients went into the foodyou’re eating. Also, keep an eyeon eye on the nutritional labelsof the foods you ingest and eventhe meds or treatments you useon your body (toothpaste, bodywash,etc).