Finding time to commit to activities to promote a healthy lifestyle can be hard, especially if you have to juggle work, family and a social life. With these six quick tips that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be one less thing to worry about.
1) Give Me Five!
Whether they’re dried, roasted, fresh, juiced or in smoothies, getting your ‘five-a-day’ of fruit and vegetables is a sure fire way to give your body the boost of vitamins and nutrition it needs. Double up on vegetable portions in your main meals or if you’re not the biggest fan, sneak them into your favourite foods. Nothing beats a fresh fruit loaf from the bakers.
2) Grab A Morning Pint!
No, this isn’t an invitation to head to the pub before work for a pint of your favourite tipple! A pint of water first thing in the morning helps rejuvenate the body after it’s been in sleep-mode for the past 7 hours. Sleeping with a bottle of water next to the bed will remind you to take a few gulps as soon as you wake. If you’re not a fan of the taste, freeze some fresh fruit to use as ice cubes to add a bit of flavour.
3) Pump It Up
Recent studies have shown that 150 minutes of exercise a week is enough to keep the body at a constant healthy level. So, if you drive to work to just sit at your desk all day and feel guilty for not having the time or energy to go the gym in the evenings, don’t worry. Even one moderate (albeit long) session of exercise for two and a half hours at the weekend or any free time will give you the same health benefits as 20-25 minutes each day. For women, Dr Nigel Smith reports also that “every 2-hours of moderate exercise carried out each week, the risk of breast cancer may reduce by up to 2%.”
4) Get Smelly
Garlic may not be the ideal choice on a first date, but there are numerous health benefits associated with eating this smelly herb – Folk medicine even put it down as a cure for the plague. Nowadays, it’s known anti-oxidant properties make it a powerful tool for lowering cholesterol and keeping your heart healthy. The strong garlic odour is produced from the active sulphur-compound ingredient which means the smellier the clove better. Not a fan of the smelly herb? If you want to get rid of the bad smell, look at this helpful guide too.
5) Step Away From The Big Smoke
This is of course referring the cigarette smoking. What healthy lifestyle plan would be complete without mentioning them? Most people think of lung cancer as the major health risk associated with smoking but as well as affecting the lungs, it can narrow and clog the arteries increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
6) Keep The Steam In The Bedroom
A rejuvenating shower in the morning or a relaxing bath at night can sometimes be the best remedies to stressful days at work. But be sure to keep the temperature down. Having too hot a shower or bath can make you lethargic and will dry out and prematurely age the skin. To get that healthy glow, exfoliate as you wash and add moisturizer as soon as you step out to maximize absorption.
Contributing Author: Carlo Pandian is an Italian expat who lives in London. He enjoys gardening and loves to write about healthy living and well-being. Connect with him on Twitter @carlopandian.
