10 Tips for a Healthier Life

1. Quench Your Thirst for Good Health:⁠

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Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day is essential for maintaining good health.⁠

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Water plays a vital role in many bodily functions, including regulating body temperature, transporting nutrients and oxygen to cells, and flushing waste products out of the body. Dehydration can lead to a range of health problems, such as headaches, fatigue, and even kidney damage.⁠

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The amount of water a person needs can vary based on their age, gender, activity level, and other factors, but as a general rule, experts recommend drinking at least 2 litres of water per day.⁠

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It's important to listen to your body and drink water when you feel thirsty, especially during times of increased physical activity or hot weather. By staying hydrated, you can help keep your body functioning at its best.⁠

2. Pump Up Your Heart Rate and Boost Your Health.⁠

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Regular exercise has numerous benefits, such as improving cardiovascular health, building muscle and bone strength, and reducing the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. ⁠

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Aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week, as recommended by health experts.⁠

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You don't have to go to a gym or do anything overly strenuous to get the benefits of exercise. Simple activities like brisk walking, gardening, or even household chores can help increase your heart rate and improve your overall fitness level. Remember to start slowly and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts to avoid injury.⁠

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By making physical activity a regular part of your routine, you can improve your health and feel better both physically and mentally.⁠

3. The Bitter Sweet Truth:⁠

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One could argue that we've evolved to crave sugar in order to store and use it when needed. The problem now is that sugar is more readily available and most of us tend to consume a lot more than we need so we’re never short in supply. If we’re eating more sugar than we use, then it gets stored as fat.⁠

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Sugar can come in many different forms, it’s not just the white, refined stuff that we associate with foods like cakes, biscuits and pastries. We need to take into account how many portions of fruit we’re having, dried fruit, sugar found in condiments and sauces and also seemingly healthy products like snack bars and bread.⁠

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Always remember to read labels on products and if it contains more than 22.5g of sugar per 100g or if one of the first ingredients on the ingredient list is sugar (or sugar alternative, i.e. anything ending in -ol), then it’s probably not the best option.⁠

4. Nutrition vs Calories:⁠

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Just because a food is lower in calories doesn’t always make it better for your health.⁠

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We live in a society where we want to count calories but very often that can make people miss the point of whether a food or product is promoting better health or not.⁠

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Try to weigh up the nutritional content of food in relation to the food’s calories. If it’s mostly made up of sugar and preservatives for example, then it’s unlikely to be nutritious and bursting with vitamins and minerals.⁠

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A great example is a low calorie snack bar vs a handful of nuts; although the nuts will be higher in calories, they also contain vitamin E, healthy fats and some protein too compared to a snack bar which will be low in calories as well as vitamins and minerals but higher in sugars.⁠

5. Get Personal:⁠

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One of the wonderful things about life and us as a human race is that we’re all totally unique! We may all look similar in form but the way in which we’re chemically and metabolically made up can vary so much from one person to another.⁠

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Therefore just because a friend is following a new fad diet, doesn’t mean it’s right for you.⁠

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For example, many people are turning to veganism for dietary or ethical reasons but a strict vegan diet can leave other people feeling depleted and drained.⁠

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Don’t do anyone else, just do what makes you feel good.⁠

6. Prioritise Sleep:⁠

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Sleep is quite possibly one of our most valuable commodities in modern living, which most of us don’t tend to prioritise.⁠

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Poor sleep is linked to all kinds of negative health effects such as blood sugar imbalances, increased production of stress hormones and inflammation.⁠

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To function at your absolute best and to help your body and mind recover then sleep needs to come back to the top of your agenda.⁠

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Make your room a sanctuary of calm, don’t spend too much time in front of screens before bed and avoid stimulants before bed too.⁠

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Small changes can have a big effect when it comes to sleep.⁠

7. Spice Up Your Life:⁠

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And also herb up your life! Incorporating herbs and spices into your diet can be a highly beneficial way to enhance your nutrition, as these ingredients are packed with a diverse range of health-boosting nutrients and antioxidants.⁠

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Along with their nutritional value, herbs and spices can also add a dynamic range of flavour to your meals, so don't hesitate to try out different combinations.⁠

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Fresh and dried herbs and spices can both be used, but many people find that the dried varieties are more convenient for use in cooking.⁠

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By experimenting with herbs and spices, you can not only elevate the nutritional quality of your meals, but also add an exciting element of taste to your culinary creations.⁠

8. Good Health Begins In The Gut:⁠

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Even Hippocrates is known for saying “death begins in the colon”, which is incredible given we’re only just beginning to get a better understanding of what a huge effect the gut has on many aspects of our health.⁠

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Although we’re not even nearly close to understanding the gut and it’s importance of health maintenance fully, poor digestive health has been linked to high inflammation in the body, issues around mental health and poor immunity.⁠

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By looking after your digestive health through improving the quality of your diet, it may also have a knock on effect with other health concerns.⁠

9. Sprinkle Some Laughter Into Your Life, Daily:⁠

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Sometimes, we become so consumed with the challenges and stress of everyday life that we overlook the importance of taking a break and finding happiness in simple things.⁠

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Laughing and enjoying the little things can make a significant difference in our overall well-being. Laughter, in particular, has been found to alleviate the impact of stress by reducing the production of cortisol.⁠

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This demonstrates the power of laughter as a tool to improve our physical and emotional health. Truly, laughter is one of the most effective and natural forms of medicine that we can benefit from. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27439375/).⁠

10. Relaxation Is As Important As Exercise:⁠

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For the majority of us living busy lives, we often forget that taking a step back and relaxing is just as important as exercise.⁠

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If we’re not busy or we haven’t exercised then this can lead to feelings of guilt but actually relaxing plays an important part in reducing stress hormones and promoting repair in the body.⁠

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Relaxation helps to slow our heart rate as well as helping to relieve tension and reduce our blood pressure. It also helps to calm the mind, which can contribute to positive thinking, concentration, memory and decision making.⁠

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In the same way we say ‘what goes up, must come down’, by stimulating our bodies in our everyday environments and through exercise we also need to ensure our bodies have time to slow down too.⁠

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Make relaxation, whatever that may look like to you, part of your routine as it’s fundamental to your overall well-being.⁠