Five Essential Habits for a Healthier Life

Thank you for investing your time in your health. The world is full of people suffering from chronic health problems. There are many ways to prevent, improve, or even cure them. 

Remember that prevention is much easier than all other routes in health. A healthy body begins with at least these 5 extremely important habits that we can develop, but no "medicine," natural or otherwise, can cure a body that doesn't include them. Consider asking a companion to join you in your new health journey. These 5 habits are:

1. Prioritize quality sleep at night: search for sleep hygiene tips online for more information. Nothing affects your health more than sleep for better or worse.

a. Research shows that people who sleep an average of 6 hours or less, compared to those who sleep 7 or 8 hours, have more body fat, less muscle, more glucose spikes, more tendency for high blood pressure, and higher cholesterol and triglycerides.

2. Drink water: There are many free apps that can tell you how often and how much water to drink, and how to tell if you are appropriately hydrated.

a. Drink water from the moment you wake up (before drinking coffee) and throughout the day.

b. A sign that you are sufficiently hydrated is urinating every 2-3 hours throughout the day. You can stop drinking water an hour before bedtime to avoid disrupting your sleep quality.

3. Move your body: At least 20 minutes of movement, feeling your heart rate increase and your breathing change.

a. Scientific studies show that 150 minutes per week is the minimum to keep a human body in a healthy state.

b. Increasing your heart rate and breathing allows oxygen to be delivered to your organs and muscles, helps balance your glucose and hormones, keeps your bones strong, and detoxifies your systems.

4. Eat at least one green vegetable and three other colored vegetables every day (white ones don’t count). This will provide your body with the range of macro, micro and phyto nutrients to build healthy cells, remove unhealthy cells, support healthy metabolism and immune responses.

a. It’s important to nourish the body, not just fill the belly. Food is the only way the body receives nutrients.

b. The color varieties of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, leaves, and more represent many different proteins, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fats, fiber and critical nutrients to maintain a healthy body and support recovery in healing.

i. For example – orange fruits and vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and squash help support the immune system, eyes, skin and heart. 

ii. Red fruits and vegetables such as beets, radishes, and tomatoes reduce the risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, and high cholesterol.

iii. Green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, arugula, and cabbage nourish and support nearly every aspect of your health. Strengthening bones, boosting the immune system, and promoting healthy skin for starters but its fiber content also aids digestion and supports our microbiome.

iv. Explore other colors, such as yellow and purple fruits and vegetables, don’t forget beans (white, black, red, chickpeas, lentils). Bell peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, mangoes, strawberries, bananas, papayas, and thousands more, are beneficial and important to include in your rotation. Beans and leafy greens are important sources of essential amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids to build healthy cells.

5. Stress Management: No modern human lives stress-free. Luckily there are tools to help. 10 minutes of daily screen-free quiet time to meditate, practice breathing, pray, practice gratitude, journal, yin yoga, or read something motivating and positive are some of the most common.

a. It's important to have several practices to engage in during stressful times and also to use as maintenance during less stressful times to give the mind and body moments of relaxation and peace. This is critical for healing or recovering from any illness and for prevention.