6 HEALTH TIPS FOR anyone

6 HEALTH TIPS FOR 2021

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6 health tips for 2021

The start of a new decade brings with it new resolutions to improve one’s life, including a healthier lifestyle. Here are 6 practical health tips to help you start off towards healthy living in 2021.

1. Eat a healthy diet

A healthy diet is a diet that helps maintain or improve overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients, micronutrients, and adequate food energy. 

Eat a combination of different foods, including fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains. Adults should eat at least five portions (400g) of fruit and vegetables per day. You can improve your intake of fruits and vegetables by always including veggies in your meal; eating fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks; eating a variety of fruits and vegetables; and eating them in season. By eating healthy, you will reduce your risk of malnutrition and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

2. Consume less salt and sugar

Salt in the diet can come from processed foods, either because they are particularly high in salt (such as ready meals, processed meats like bacon, ham and salami, cheese, salty snack foods, and instant noodles, among others) or because they are consumed frequently in large amounts (such as bread and processed cereal products). Salt is also added to food during cooking (bouillon and stock cubes) or at the table (soy sauce, fish sauce and table salt).

However, some manufacturers are reformulating recipes to reduce the salt content of their products and consumers should read food labels and choose products low in sodium

Filipinos consume twice the recommended amount of sodium, putting them at risk of high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Most people get their sodium through salt. Reduce your salt intake to 5g per day, equivalent to about one teaspoon. It’s easier to do this by limiting the amount of salt, soy sauce, fish sauce and other high-sodium condiments when preparing meals; removing salt, seasonings and condiments from your meal table; avoiding salty snacks; and choosing low-sodium products.

On the other hand, consuming excessive amounts of sugars increases the risk of tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain. In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake. This is equivalent to 50g or about 12 teaspoons for an adult. WHO recommends consuming less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits. You can reduce your sugar intake by limiting the consumption of sugary snacks, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages.

3. Reduce intake of harmful fats

Fats consumed should be less than 30% of your total energy intake. This will help prevent unhealthy weight gain and NCDs. There are different types of fats, but unsaturated fats are preferable over saturated fats and trans-fats. WHO recommends reducing saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy intake; reducing trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake; and replacing both saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats.

The preferable unsaturated fats are found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in sunflower, soybean, canola and olive oils; saturated fats are found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard; and trans-fats are found in baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods, such as frozen pizza, cookies, biscuits, and cooking oils and spreads.

4. Avoid harmful use of alcohol

There is no safe level for drinking alcohol Consuming alcohol can lead to health problems such as mental and behavioural disorders, including alcohol dependence, major NCDs such as liver cirrhosis, some cancers and heart diseases, as well as injuries resulting from violence and road clashes and collisions.

Choose not to drink too much yourself and help others not do it. If you choose to drink alcohol, follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans on moderate alcohol consumption (no more than one drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men).

5. Don’t smoke

Think positive

You might have tried to quit smoking before and not managed it, but don't let that put you off. 

Look back at the things your experience has taught you and think about how you're really going to do it this time.

Make a plan to quit smoking

Make a promise, set a date and stick to it. Sticking to the "not a drag" rule can really help.

Whenever you find yourself in difficulty, say to yourself, "I won't even have a single drag", and stick with this until the cravings pass.

Think ahead to times where it might be difficult (a party, for instance), and plan your actions and escape routes in advance.

Consider your diet

Is your after-dinner cigarette your favourite? A US study revealed that some foods, including meat, make cigarettes more satisfying.

Others, including cheese, fruit and vegetables, make cigarettes taste terrible. So swap your usual steak or burger for a veggie pizza instead.  

You may also want to change your routine at or after mealtimes. Getting up and doing the dishes straight away or settling down in a room where you don't smoke may help.

6. Be active

Be active

Have more energy, feel better and increase chances for a longer life.

You can… by being active. Doing any regular physical activity is better than doing none at all. Look for ways to add physical activity and limit sedentary behaviour in your day. Regular physical activity can:

• make you feel good
• improve your self-esteem and confidence
• help prevent unhealthy weight gain
• reduce the risk of developing, and help to manage both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease
• help to build strong bones, muscles and joints
• promote healthy growth and development.

Ways to be active

Most of us want to feel fitter and have more energy, but we’re so busy keeping up with everything that’s going on in our lives, that finding time for physical activity can sometimes be tricky.

But being active may well be the best investment we make for a healthier and longer life no matter how old we are – and even small changes can make a positive

WRITTEN BY:-

                           VIKASH CHOUDARY