Healthy living doesn’t have to mean dieting, crazy exercise regimes, or only eating superfoods. Healthy living can start today, and you might not have to make such a drastic change in your lifestyle. Here are some ways you can lead a healthier lifestyle:
- Regular physical activity
Why it’s important?
– Helps to improve strength, balance, flexibility, endurance which aids to prevent the risk of falls in the elderly.
– Helps to prevent obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
What should you do?
– Having a regular physical activity of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity/week. (Moderate physical activity: one way to know that you are working out at a moderate intensity is that you are able to speak but can’t sing!) - Food/Diet
Why it’s important?
– What you put into your body can contribute to health issues such as obesity, heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, etc.
What should you do?
– Have 3 meals/day
– The bulk of your consumption should be: fruits, vegetables, and whole grain (Tips: follow HPB’s My Healthy Plate!)
– Choose lean meat, poultry, fish, nuts, eggs, beans
– Avoid foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, and salt (mostly found in red meats!)
– Avoid sugary drinks (eg soda) and choose plain water instead.
- Mental health
Why it’s important?
– It affects how you think, feel, act; how you cope with stress and how you relate with others.
What should you do?
– Get enough sleep! Sleep at least 7hrs/day.
– Learn something new (maybe you’ve always wanted to learn how to juggle?)
– Keep your brain active (play some mind sports such as chess or sudoku!) - Avoid
Tobacco use
– Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke.
– Quit smoking!
Excessive alcohol intake
– Chronic heavy drinking increases the risk of liver disease, pancreatitis, cancer, gastrointestinal problems, and heart disease.
– Women should drink no more than 1 standard drink/day, and men no more than 2 standard drinks/day.
– Standard drinks: 1 can (330ml) of beer, half glass (100ml) of wine, 1 nip (30ml) of spirit
