The relationship between body weight and blood pressure
/Adopting healthy lifestyle habits is a must if any one of us expects to reduce our risk of common chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or hypertension.
Read MoreAdopting healthy lifestyle habits is a must if any one of us expects to reduce our risk of common chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or hypertension.
Read MoreApproximately 69% of adults living in the United States age 20 years and over are considered either overweight to obese. That is a lot of people walking around in pain due to excess weight.
Read MoreFlossing is important as it sweeps away the sticky film between teeth that can lead to plaque buildup
Read MoreBehavior change is harder than it looks. You may have a list of behaviors you’d like to modify but attempts at doing so, sometimes hits a snag.
Read MoreHave you ever found yourself experiencing lower back or leg pain when walking or when standing up tall? Do you find that your back pain feels better if you lean forward on a shopping cart, your kitchen counter, or when sitting?
Read More25 excellent ways to improve your health today
Each day is an opportunity to do at least one thing to improve upon your health. It doesn’t have to be anything major – unless you want it to be. But just little things you can work into your everyday life that sooner or later, will become a habit, sort of like automatically brushing your teeth at night before you go to bed without even thinking about it.
Below are just a few ideas that incorporate different aspects of achieving overall health – physical, mental, and dietary habits. Try a new one out each day and eventually they can become your new healthy habits and a permanent part your daily life.
1. Pay attention to your posture. Pull your shoulder blades back holding the position for a few seconds. Do this several times a day to become more aware of how you are standing or sitting.
2. Add healthy fats to your diet. Have a handful of almonds, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts or cashews. Add sliced avocado to a salad. Drizzle olive oil over veggies such as Brussel sprouts, broccoli or asparagus and roast them in the oven.
3. Take breaks from sitting at the computer. Every 30 to 45 minutes, get up, walk around, stretch, or go outside for fresh air.
4. Make your love life a priority. Being intimate has both physical and emotional benefits.
5. If possible, use generic medications which are cheaper than brand-name drugs and are just as effective.
6. Do Kegel exercises every day. Kegels help strengthen weak pelvic floor muscles along with reducing urinary incontinence.
7. Don’t ignore signs of sudden cardiac arrest – chest pain, breathlessness, or palpitations. Seek medical help immediately if any of these occur.
8. Add spice to your meals – doing so may help fight inflammation, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Try out turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon or ginger.
9. Practice yoga or Pilates to help improve range of motion, joint mobility, and for relaxation.
10. If you want to buy organic, focus on fruits and veggies. Produce such as peaches or tomatoes with thin skin may have more pesticide residue than produce with thicker skin.
11. Maintain a healthy back by keeping it feeling young. Do exercises to strengthen, lengthen, and stretch the muscles that support your spine.
12. Get a yearly flu shot along with checking on updating other important vaccinations such as the Tdap vaccine (Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis).
13. Invest in a good pair of walking shoes for proper support for your feet and knees.
14. Use those walking shoes several times a week – preferably daily – to get in a brisk walk.
15. Have a fruit and or vegetable at each meal every day.
16. Practice mindful eating by having few distractions at a meal. Allow no computer, iPad, or cell phones when eating. Pace yourself paying attention to the first sign of fullness you feel and stop eating soon after that to prevent overeating.
17. Make water your main beverage of choice.
18. Always wear a seatbelt when driving or as a passenger.
19. Wear sunscreen with a SPF of at least 30 every day year round to prevent skin cancer.
20. Maintain muscle mass by lifting free weights 2-3 times a week.
21. Get out in nature. Most of us underestimate how important this is. Being in nature reduces stress, makes you more creative, improves your memory, and makes you a better person.
22. Spend time with family and friends. Relationships are one of our biggest sources of happiness and health. The longest live people on earth place a strong emphasis on social engagement with others.
23. Laugh every day. Humor helps us cope better with stress, pain and may reduce risk of heart attack or strokes.
24. Challenge yourself by learning something new each day. Whether it’s learning a new language, taking music lessons, or reading a book, anytime we absorb new knowledge, we sharpen our mind and increase our intelligence.
25. Meditate – it increases our happiness and attention span while reducing anger, anxiety, depression and fatigue.
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Read MoreIf not treated or dealt with, panic attacks can worsen leading to a panic disorder possibly causing a person to withdraw from normal activities.
Read MoreAnytime you are having sex, there is always the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Of course, the very best way to avoid this scenario is to remain abstinent. However, this is a choice very few people opt for and are willing to make.
Read MoreIn a perfect world, women and men would visit their dentist every 6 months or twice a year for regular cleanings and checkups. Granted, our world is not perfect and men are more likely to neglect their oral health than women.
Read MoreEvery single day there will be people across our nation receiving a diagnosis of a serious health condition. Hearing “you have…” can be very scary and unsettling feeling like your world has stopped.
Read MoreThese changes could include noticing blood in your urine, incontinence, overactive bladder, or painful urination. In order to determine the cause and how to treat it, your doctor may need to do a procedure called cystoscopy.
Read MoreWhat causes healthy kidneys to start working abnormally? Were you even aware you were at risk for this condition?
Read MoreTalking about bowel movements may not be discussed much in polite conversations but nonetheless, taking a quick peek before you flush can reveal clues about your health.
Read MoreThere are two type of polyps– One is a called a pedunculated polyp meaning it hangs down from a stalk. The second type of polyp is called sessile and is flat growing directly out of the tissue around it.
Read MoreA U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee voted last week to recommend, for a second time, FluMist, a nasal spray version of the influenza vaccine for use during the 2018-2019 flu season.
Read MoreEven though surgery can have good results, with any surgery there is always a certain level of risks - anesthesia complications, bleeding, blood clots, infections, delayed healing, severe scarring or injury from the surgery.
Read MoreSilent heart attacks, also known as silent myocardial infaction (SMI), account for almost half (45%) of heart attacks according to research from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
Read MoreYou are the one living in your body so you know it best – or do you? Next time you visit your health care provider, be sure to ask for your critical health numbers to be screened and to develop a plan to manage them.
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