Your physical health is the key factor in dictating the quality of your
life. We all know that having a strict diet and hitting the gym five days a
week is the recipe for a healthy lifestyle, but it is so much more than that.
In order to eliminate risks of a heart disease, diabetes and various types of arthritis we've compiled a list of 9 habits that will improve your lifestyle in a matter
of weeks.
1. Meditation
Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and
redirect your thoughts. Even though it seems like a passing trend, there are
many health benefits which can be derived from meditating daily.
While helping with stress reduction, meditating 10 to 20 minutes daily
also lowers your blood pressure, improves your immunity and cardiovascular
functions. If you want to decrease your cortisol (stress hormone) levels which
contributes to accumulating fat, then meditation is one of the best ways to do so.
2. Get Enough
Sleep
Sleep deprivation is often linked to hard working people, there's no
secret in that, but it doesn't mean that it should be acceptable. Getting a
good night sleep is vital when it comes to being efficient and in top physical
form.
Insufficient sleep prevents our brain from flushing out toxins from the
body, which has a consequence in decreased brain function. Your body needs time
to rest to fully recover from daily challenges, so take the recommended 7-8
hours of sleep every night.
3. Train with
Weights
Weight training is a no brainer when mentioning ways to improve your
overall health. It helps you get rid of that annoying body fat and turns it
into pure muscle mass. The more muscle your body has, the more calories you
burn every day.
A resistance training routine has been shown to lower blood pressure as
effectively as taking medication in some cases.
A growing body of research shows that doing weight exercises prevents
bone loss, while decreasing the risk of osteoporosis and possible bone
fractures in near future. In the end, it is a proven stress relief tool used
commonly nowadays.
4. Take
Supplements
Adding supplements to your diet is a nice way to shave off some of that
extra weight that you just can't get rid of.
Supplements are concentrated doses of various nutrients you normally
take in smaller amounts through food.
Common supplements include vitamins, minerals, probiotics and botanicals
or more commonly known as herbal products. The bacteria in your gut affects
your immunity as well as mental health.
5. Add Fibers
High fibers food could be a nice addition to your diet if you prefer the
feeling of fullness, while eating healthy. Increasing your intake of high-fiber
foods protects you against fat accumulation and weight gain.
The feeling of fullness is achieved through soluble fiber absorbing
water and moving in your digestive tract slowly. For each 10-gram increase in
soluble fiber consummation, you will lose 3.7% of belly fat over a 5-year
period, without any change in diet or exercise.
6. Take Care
of Your Skin
Skin is your
largest organ, and people often underestimate the importance of protecting it.
Our skin is constantly exposed to the Sun's radiation which, when all
things are considered, is not that great. That's why applying sunscreen daily
and being picky about the skin products you use is super important.
In order to prevent skin hyperpigmentation and skin cancer, avoid being
in the Sun for too long without protection, and avoid products which contain
sulfates, as they can become highly toxic for your skin in periods of high UV
radiation.
7. Add More
Iron to Your Diet
Iron is an important mineral that has many vital functions in the body.
Low levels of iron are often linked with impaired thyroid function or a
disruption in distribution of thyroid hormones across your body.
Weakness, fatigue, weight gain and shortness of breath are common
symptoms of hypothyroidism (decreased thyroid function). By increasing iron
intake, you allow your body to work more efficiently, fight off fatigue which
in turn increases your activity level.
Meat, poultry, seafood, cereals, green vegetables and beans all contain
high doses of iron.
8. Drink Tea
Research suggests that all the benefits that come from drinking tea are
attributed to polyphenols and phytochemicals. They elevate metabolic rate and
increase fat oxidation.
One example is green tea, which contains catechin, a flavonoid which
optimizes the way your body breaks down excess fat. Others include: firing up
your metabolism, lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammatory agent-like effect.
If you were wondering on how to improve memory, green and black tea are also known to
boost your brain functions.
9. Consider
Intermittent Fasting
Cycling between periods of eating and fasting is called intermittent
fasting and it has proven to have some interestingly positive effects on your
overall health.
These are the changes which occur are: blood levels of insulin drop
significantly making your body burn fat faster, stimulates the growth hormone
which facilitates in muscle gain, induces cellular repair processes like
removing waste from cells, and reduces stress and inflammation in the body.
Conclusion
Healthy living does not necessarily have to be expensive, because
sometimes to most effective methods are the ones which are the easiest to
implement into daily life, which this article tends to outline and put focus
on.
Even when considering getting caught up in complex and/or expensive
methods of improving health, these are some of the most important aspects of
health which are done on a daily basis.
Remember, even minor changes to your lifestyle can have a huge effect on
your body!