How Can a Healthy Lifestyle Reduce Health Problems?

How Can a Healthy Lifestyle Reduce Health Problems?
Photo Credit woman jogging image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com

A healthy lifestyle can help you enjoy a better quality of life and help you live longer. Heart disease is America's leading cause of death. Living a healthy lifestyle can help you beat these statistics so you can enjoy time with your family.

Diet

Avoiding fatty foods such as deep fried dishes and pastries can help keep your cholesterol within a healthy range and prevent unnecessary weight gain. By eating healthy foods such as lean cuts of meat, vegetables and fruits, you can help keep your cholesterol low and avoid excess weight gain. Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients such as vitamins A, C, E and K and minerals such as potassium. Meat offers a great source of protein and iron. Keeping a food journal of what you consume can help you avoid overeating and keep track of exactly what you're putting into your body. How you prepare your food is important as well. Avoid frying and cooking with unnecessary oils or fats. Stick to grilling, boiling, broiling and baking. Use healthy oils such as olive oil, canola oil or sunflower oil.

Exercise

Exercising can help keep your weight in control and it can provide many other benefits such as improving your stamina, strength, endurance and cardiovascular system. Your cardiovascular system helps deliver blood, oxygen and nutrients to the cells, tissues and organs throughout your entire body. Exercise can also help lower your cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. Having strong bones and muscles can help prevent certain conditions such as osteoporosis and muscle atrophy as you begin to age.

Lifestyle Habits

Avoiding cigarettes and alcohol helps preserve vital organs such as your lungs and liver. If you smoke cigarettes, you can develop conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and asthma or emphysema. These conditions can make it very hard or impossible to breathe at times. Drinking alcohol can spike your glucose, or blood sugar, levels and it can cause fatty tissues to build in your liver. Alcohol can break your liver down and you can develop diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver or liver disease.

Avoiding Obesity-Related Conditions

Certain conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, gallbladder disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and stroke are all linked to obesity. By maintaining a healthy weight and healthy organs, you can help prevent these conditions. Diet and exercise are key to avoiding these conditions by keeping your organs healthy and strong and by avoiding the buildup of fatty tissue such as visceral fat in your abdomen.

References

Article reviewed by David Fisher Last updated on: Jan 29, 2011

Must see: Photo Galleries

Member Comments