Everyone has advice on living better and longer. Sometimes the advice is complex, sometimes someone is just trying to sell you something, and in a recent StarTribune issue, there was some simple practical advice. The information is from a study of 100,000 people published originally by the American Heart Association. It lists five habits to adopt to live better and longer. It is the straightforward approach to life.
The Five Habits
The first habit for good health is to avoid smoking. The best habit is to never smoke. The dangers of smoking have been known since the early 1960’s. Everything from vascular disease, to lung problems and cancer result from smoking. Quitting smoking does help, never starting is even better as far as the risk is concerned.
The next habit is maintaining a healthy weight. The easiest tool is based on having a body mass index (BMI) that is between 18.5 to 24.9. The formula for is: BMI=703x[(weight in lbs)/(height in inches)(height in inches)]. The number can be looked up in charts. Unfortunately this is a rough guide, and if you are muscular, or have a larger build with “big bone” structure, you may fall into the category of obese. For instance my BMI is 24.3, it is borderline since I have relatively more muscle than fat but I am pretty healthy from a cardiovascular standpoint due to an active lifestyle.
The third habit to increase life is to exercise moderately for 30 minutes a day. This is to walk, swim or work out in any sort of way every day if at all possible. The 30 minutes does not have to be all at once. If you take three ten-minute walks a day, that adds up to the correct amount of time. In addition to the above aerobic conditioning, most health advocates recommend a general strengthening program three times a week to maintain muscle tone. A daily stretching program to reduce muscle tightness and pain is also helpful.
The fourth habit is to drink only a moderate amount of alcoholic beverages. That is on average only 1 to 2 drinks a day. Drinking wine is often better than mixed drinks or beer due to some of the compounds from grapes that have positive health benefits. All alcohol contains carbohydrate-type calories and this needs to be remembered as part of your overall food intake. Excessive intake of alcohol, binge drinking and then averaging out the intake over time does not count. Binge drinking is dangerous.
The last healthy habit is to try to maintain a healthy diet. A healthy diet includes higher intakes of vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, fibers, and stick to fats that are polyunsaturated or long-chain fatty acids. The best meats are fish and poultry as well as white meat (low fat pork). Obtaining protein from vegetable sources like beans and legumes once a week is also highly recommended. Try to reduce the intake of red meat, sugar and fructose sweetened beverages, trans fats, and high sodium salty food. Part of eating healthy is also controlling portion size and avoiding excessive snacking.
Better living is a goal in life. To reach the destination, one must take steps to change if you are not where you want to be. Setting realistic goals and changing one aspect of your life at a time is the best. Furthermore, be accountable to yourself and one another, as that will help you reach your goal. If you need help, work with appropriate experts to reach your goals. Help may be from dieticians, physicians, physical therapists, trainers to even psychologists. Change is difficult, and better health is a life long goal.