Chronic diseases such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer represent some of the common causes of morbidity and mortality in today’s world. Therefore, making healthy lifestyle choices is one of the cheapest and convenient ways to reduce your chances of having preventable disease and illness. Imagine being able to prevent a disease before it actually occurs. This saves you time that would have been spent in bed or at the hospital. It reduces the number of visits to your doctor and also saves you money in treatment bills. This is in addition to avoiding the pain and generally reduced quality of life that comes with falling sick.
We will be looking at tips that can help you achieve a life free of common preventable illnesses:
- Drink adequate amounts of water
It is advised that you drink at least 8 glasses of water in a day. It is best if this quantity of water is spread across the full day to constantly keep the body well hydrated. Drinking adequate amounts of water each day helps with optimal performance of the kidneys in functions like excretion of waste products from the body. Staying hydrated also keeps your skin free from dryness and scaliness. This makes the skin environment not conducive to the growth of unwanted microorganisms that can cause skin infections.
- Eat Fruits and Vegetables
Asides from eating a healthy balanced diet daily, it is important to load up on vegetables and fruits. 5 servings of fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins and micronutrients that are also as important as the major classes of foods we eat. Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants that help with cell repair and the eradication of chemicals like oxygen radicals that damage cells and lead to cancer.
- Get enough sleep
Catching at least 6 -7 hours of sleep every day keeps you rejuvenated for the tasks of the day. There is scientific evidence to support the claims that having a good night’s rest can do the following:
- Boost your immunity
- Improve your mood
- Reduce your chances of gaining unneeded weight
- Help with memory as it is during deep sleep that short term memory information is converted to long term
- Reduce your blood pressure and improve cardiovascular health
- Improve your metabolism especially glucose, reducing your risk of having type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Exercise regularly
The American Heart Association recommends that exercising at least 30 minutes every day is good for the heart. Including exercise sessions in your daily routine increases strength, perseverance, and cardiovascular health. Either using the gym or formulating a routing at home that works for you can help achieve the same result. You could even make this fun and creative by including other persons as opposed to exercising alone. Exercise can be more fun if you look outside the routine of using an indoor gym. Climbing, cycling, jogging, and dancing are some of the fun options you can explore with friends and family.
- Don’t smoke or drink excessively
Smoking cigarette has a lot of negative effects on the individual’s health. Tobacco smoke is said to contain over 4000 chemicals that are toxic to the human body. And some of these chemicals can cause cancers. Asides from that, smoking puts you at risk of the following conditions:
- Early menopause
- Poor visual acuity
- Fertility challenges such as erectile dysfunction in men and miscarriage in women
- Diabetic complications especially in type 2 diabetes
- Reduced immune function
- Wrinkling and premature aging of the skin from dryness brought about by a reduction in blood flow to the skin
- Mood disturbance as nicotine can be addictive and an attempt to stop its consumption can cause withdrawal symptoms, one of which is mood changes like anxiety and irritability
- Saliva reduction and caries formation in the teeth. Also, the appearance of the teeth is affected, making them less aesthetically pleasing
- High risk for heart attack, chest inflammations, and lung cancer
- High cholesterol levels in the body. This in itself is dangerous in that it can clog blood vessels, leading to a reduced blood supply to the heart and the brain
Excessive consumption of alcohol, on the other hand, can destroy the cells of the liver which have to work overtime to break down and eliminate the alcohol in your body.
- Keep a clean environment
To reduce the presence of microbes that cause diseases to fester and grow, it is important to always keep your environment as clean as possible. Especially hotbeds for the growth of microorganisms such as bathrooms and kitchens can attract such growth. Early and effective disposal of wastes can also eliminate breeding grounds for germs.
- Keep regular health appointments
Paying regular visits to the family doctor for routine medical checks can help prevent other unwanted visits in the future. Regular checks help to monitor your health values, keep them in moderation, and easily notice when something is out of place early enough before they cause any serious damage and complications.
Keeping to these tips and adopting them into your daily lifestyle is an effective way to maintain your health and mostly stay in the clear. Do let us know in the comment section if this article was of help to you and if you have any questions.