Take Charge Of Your Health This Year

It’s still early in this new year and you have plenty of time to make this year different. While your health care provider plays an important role in your health, he or she is only a guide to help you get healthier. The person with the most responsibility is you. Only you can take charge of your health and do the things that are important in keeping your body healthy. What you do every day makes a big difference in your overall health.

Eating healthier should be on your list of changes.

Eating healthy isn’t dieting, but making smarter choices when selecting food. Do you always get hungry mid-afternoon, so you grab a candy bar? Why not be prepared and have a piece of fruit ready. Increasing the amount of vegetables on your plate and eliminating or reducing the amount of highly processed food and food with added sugar is important. What you drink is also important. Cut out soft drinks and opt for water instead. Iced green tea without sugar is another good option.

We were meant to eat healthy and get plenty of exercise.

Consider how man lived hundreds of years ago, long before civilization. He ate off the earth, gathering berries, nuts and greens, plus hunted for game or fished if the village was on a waterway. Early man was constantly moving, since doing otherwise meant extinction, either from starvation or at the hands of an enemy. Fast forward to today. Most people barely move once they end their work day. They go home, eat a heat and serve meal or fast food and binge watch videos or TV. If they have a sedentary job, it means they get little or no exercise the entire day. The body doesn’t wear out, instead, it rusts out. It was made to function its best when it’s active. That was the only way early man survived.

So many illnesses are caused by stress, a bad diet and lack of exercise.

You may not being able to control the stressful situation around you, but you can control how you react to it. What you eat and regular exercise can be stress busters, plus improve your overall health. An anti-inflammatory diet with whole foods and few processed foods help reduce stress. Foods high in vitamin B, omega3 fatty acids, magnesium and protein are good. These foods include lean meats, eggs, avocados, walnuts, broccoli and other healthy whole foods. Probiotics, such as yogurt, which promote gut health also help reduce stress. When you kickbox, you punch away at stress.

• If you want a go-to food for those stressful moments, eat a snack that contains higher magnesium, such as a small amount of dark chocolate or pumpkin seeds. They help you sleep better too.
• De-stress your diet by cutting out food with added sugar. Not only does sugar add to stress and affect your body, so do soft drinks or drinks that contain alcohol or caffeine.
• Get adequate sleep to reduce stress. Set a schedule for sleeping. You should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day, even on weekends, can help you have better sleep.
• Only you can make these things happen. Others can recommend you do them, but you have to be willing to take action. Take control of your life and good health by making positive changes this year.

For more information, contact us today at One Love Chino