To Your Health: Five Tips for Maintaining Good Health

Good health doesn’t start at the doctor’s office—it starts where we live, work, learn, and play. Here are five top tips that we’ve compiled on maintaining your health.

(Compiled from Internet resources)

1) Eat Healthy:

• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains every day.
• Raw foods are generally more nutritious, and cooked foods are generally easier to digest. Find a good balance that provides the nutrition and energy your body needs.
• Limit processed and commercialized foods and drinks. Foods and drinks that contain added sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, preservatives and flavor enhancers should be limited or avoided. Limit caffeine and alcohol.
• Drink lots of fresh, pure water.
• In some parts of the world, food—particularly produce—is not as nutritious as it used to be, due to the commercialization of the farming process. You may want to consider supplementing your healthy diet with a good quality multivitamin that provides the extra nutrients needed to maintain health.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight raises many health risks. Eat healthy foods and maintain an active lifestyle to keep your weight in check.

2) Be active:

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health.

• Incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Include exercises and activities that raise your breathing and heart rates and that strengthen your muscles.
• Help kids and teens exercise for at least one hour a day. Include activities that raise their breathing and heart rates and that strengthen their muscles and bones.

3) Protect yourself:

• Wash hands frequently, habitually, consistently, with soap and water, to stop the spread of germs.
• Wear helmets, seat belts, and insect repellent when appropriate.
• Protect yourself from the sun. In addition to wearing appropriate clothing and hats, and sunscreen when necessary, don’t stay in the sun for too long.
• Avoid smoking and breathing second-hand smoke.
• Build healthy and loving relationships with family and friends.
• Be ready for emergencies. Make a supply kit. Make a plan. Be informed.

4) Manage stress:

• Balance work, home, spiritual life, and play.
• Get support from family and friends.
• Stay positive.
• Take time to relax.
• Make love. People who have sex at least twice a week get a protective boost in their immune systems.
• Get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Make sure kids get more, based on their age.
• Get help or counseling if needed.

5) Get medical checkups when needed:

• Seek medical counsel if you have persistent pain, ongoing sickness, notice worrisome changes in your body, or have problems with medicine. Listen to your body; don’t just let things go.
• Know your family’s medical histories.
• Research or ask your doctor how you can lower your chances for health problems, based on your lifestyle and personal and family health histories.
• Be informed of what exams and tests you need and when to get them. This includes regular dental, eye, and general physical checkups.