HealthyLife Articles

Tag: habits

  • Mindful Eating Can Boost Your Health

    HEALTHY EATING

    Women eating with friends.

    If you want to eat healthier without a strict diet, try mindful eating. Mindful eating is a way to fully focus on your food as you eat. When you eat mindfully, you may:

    *  Eat less

    *  Avoid eating when you’re bored or stressed

    *  Stop when you feel full

    When you practice mindful eating, you eat more slowly. You’ll enjoy your food more without overeating.

    How to do it

    You don’t need any special equipment or classes to practice mindful eating. Take these steps at your next meal:

    *Avoid distractions:Make your meals an event. Don’t eat while driving, working, watching TV or doing other activities.

    *Ask yourself how you feel:Are you actually hungry? Or are you thirsty, bored, stressed or lonely?

    *Leave some space:If you’re used to filling your plate, leave about a quarter of your plate empty for now. You can always go back for seconds if you are still truly hungry.

    *Chew slowly:Take small bites. Put your fork, spoon and knife down between every bite.

    *Enjoy:Experience the smell, taste and texture of your food with each bite.

    *Watch the time:Wait at least 20 minutes before you get another helping. By then, your stomach may realize it’s full.

    *Know when to stop:When you’re full, stop eating. You don’t need to clean your plate.

    Sources: American Heart Association, Veterans Health Administration

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Small Changes Your Heart Will Love

    MEDICAL NEWS

    Image of a basket filled with fruits and vegetables.

    You may know the basics of heart health that include a healthy diet, exercise, healthy weight, and avoiding tobacco. But, don’t let these major goals overwhelm you. Instead, take small steps each day that add up to big heart-healthy benefits.

    Say bye-bye to beige and eat the rainbow.

    Look at your plate’s color before you eat a meal. If it’s mostly browns, such as breads, pasta and meat, see if you can brighten it up with fruits and vegetables. Leafy greens, yellow peppers, carrots, blueberries and strawberries are just a few of the brightly colored foods that are great for your heart.

    Cut back on sodium when you can.

    If you’ve been eating salt for years, it can be hard to cut it out completely. But you may not taste the difference if you gradually replace some of the salt in your diet with herbs and spices without sodium. Cutting back on sodium can reduce your risk of heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. Many processed foods already contain high amounts of sodium, and adding salt to food greatly increases sodium intake for many people.

    Walk, if you can’t run.

    For many people, jogging, running, or other high-intensity workouts aren’t possible. Fortunately, you don’t have to choose a tough workout to get heart benefits. Start walking just a few minutes a day. Increase the amount of time you walk when you can until you are walking 30 minutes a day most days of the week. Brisk walking can be just as beneficial to your heart as running.

    If you use tobacco, keep trying to quit.

    Quitting tobacco is hard, and many people struggle to succeed. You may have strong urges to use tobacco or you may slip up and start again after you’ve quit. When this happens, be patient with yourself. Understand that many people have to quit several times before they’ve quit for good. When you quit, your heart – and your entire body – will start to heal. You’ll reduce your risk of heart disease, lung cancer, and many other serious diseases. Talk with your health care provider about prescription medication or nicotine replacement therapy.  Many of these treatments are now covered by insurance.

    Source: American Heart Association

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • 5 Ways To Protect Against Infections

    General Health Conditions

    Parents with child all smiling showing upper arm with vaccine bandage.

    As part of your community, be responsible to prevent getting and spreading infections.

    1.  Wash your hands often.

    2.  Get a yearly flu vaccine. Stay up to date with COVID-19 booster shots. Get complete lists of vaccines at cdc.gov/vaccines that you and your children need. Follow your doctor’s advice for vaccines. Getting recommended vaccines save millions of lives and prevent millions of illnesses.

    3.  Stay home when you are sick.

    4.  Keep foods safe to eat. Use clean hands, surfaces, and utensils. Store food that can spoil below 40° F and higher than 140° F.

    5.  Practice safer sex to help prevent sexually transmitted infections.

    Take Action: Proper Handwashing

    1.  Use clean water and soap. Lather your hands all over and under your nails.

    2.  Spend 20 seconds each time. (Hum “Happy Birthday” twice.)

    3.  Rinse your hands with clean running water.

    4.  Dry your hands with an air drier or clean towel.

    Health at Home Lifetime book by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. www.HealthyLife.com. All rights reserved.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • 7 Daily Health Habits

    General Health Conditions

    A wooden bowl filled with berries.

    1.  Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water or other unsweetened fluids.

    2.  Spend 2 hours or less of non-work screen time (laptops, video games, cell phones, etc.).

    3.  Be physically active for 30 or more minutes.

    4.  Wash your hands often to lower your risk of picking up and spreading germs.

    5.  Eat 5 or more servings of vegetables and fruits. Fill half of your plate with these foods.

    6.  Limit sodium from salt and foods to 2,300 mg per day. Omit salt at the table. Eat less processed foods. Read food labels.

    7.  Sleep 7 to 9 hours a night.

    Take Action: Fight Decay the 2-1-2 Way

    *  2 times a day, brush your teeth

    *  1 time a day, floss your teeth

    *  2 times a year, get a dental cleaning and checkup

    Health at Home Lifetime book by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. www.HealthyLife.com. All rights reserved.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Surprisingly Simple Ways To Prevent Disease

    MEDICAL NEWS

    Image of happy man with thumbs up as he weighs himself.

    Five new studies support simple steps to prevent illness and improve overall health. The American Journal of Medicine reports the following based on multiple studies in several countries:

    *  Eating fresh fish regularly may reduce your risk of colorectal cancer.

    *  Still trying to stop smoking? Try acupuncture and hypnosis. Several studies found smokers had good success.

    *  Have your teeth cleaned regularly. Scaling removes harmful bacteria. You can reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke.

    *  Talk to your doctor about weight loss. People who were moderately obese, followed a diet plan from their doctors (not a weight loss clinic), and stuck with it at least 12 weeks, lost over 10% of their body weight.

    *  Low-dose aspirin, for people who can take it, offers preventive cancer benefits along with heart healthy help.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • See The Light In Healthy Ways

    Eye Conditions

    Women wearing sunglasses with a huge smile.

    *  Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) uses 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, but contain tiny amounts of mercury. Recycle them according to your state’s guidelines. To safely dispose of a broken CFL, follow EPA guidelines fromepa.gov/hg.

    *  Wear eyewear that protects your eyes from ultraviolet (UV) light when it is sunny and even on cloudy days. Choose sunglasses that block 99 to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays.

    *  Wear a wide-brimmed hat during outdoor activities.

    *  Open blinds and curtains to let daylight fill rooms during the day.

    *  Install a skylight or solar panels for light and warmth and to save on cooling, heating, and lighting costs.

    *  Turn off lights when not in use. Install motion sensors, timers, and task lighting to save on light usage. One to two hours before bedtime, dim the lights.

    *  Wear protective eyewear during sporting events. Before mowing the lawn, look for and remove debris.

    Health at Home Lifetime book by the American Institute for Preventive Medicine. www.HealthyLife.com. All rights reserved.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Thinking About Changing

    WELL-BEING

    Image of young man working at a warehouse.

    Do you want to lose weight, quit smoking, eat healthier, get fit, manage stress, drink less alcohol? First, ask yourself:  Are you ready to change?

    Meg Baker, director of Employee Wellness at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, says while the focus on self-improvement is good, you must be ready to make a change in order to actually do so. To help prepare for any lifestyle change, Baker offers some tips:

    *  Develop small, short-term goals that will fit into your schedule. Make them realistic.

    *  Consider the benefits and reasons for the change.

    *  Talk to a family member, friend, or coworker about goals. Sharing your goals with others will increase the likelihood of your staying committed to a new gym regimen or stop smoking plan, and they may want to join you.

    “If the new behavior has lost its luster, switch things up,” Baker said. “Variety is the key to life and can keep you from getting burned out. Spice things up by changing your normal exercise routine, finding new healthy recipes online, or joining a new exercise class.”

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Be Persistent

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 7

    Man at gym holding a water bottle and apple.

    You may be reading this page well before you reach your goal. That’s okay. Understand that weight loss takes time. Continue to build on what you do each day. Remember, it isn’t a single healthy meal or workout that will get you to your goal. It’s also not a single poor choice or skipped workout that will derail you.

    *  Build trends of healthy choices.

    *  Know and live your values.

    *  Treat your thoughts and actions with compassion.

    *  Don’t settle with just what you know now. Keep learning.

    *  Create a web of support.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • Tips For Keeping A Food Diary

    HEALTHY EATING

    Image of young man writing in a journal.

    If you’re trying to lose weight or simply want to eat healthier, keeping a food diary can help. Often times, we eat little bites here and there that don’t seem like much, but calories from them can add up quickly. A food diary will help you see everything you eat and drink so you can be more aware of extra calories or unhealthy choices. It can also help you see if you are eating because of stress or emotions. Then, you can find ways to stop these habits.

    A food diary doesn’t have to be complicated. Food diary apps are available, but they’re not necessary. The American Academy of Family Physicians and the CDC say you should write down these things:

    *  What you ate and drank

    *  The time you ate meals and snacks

    *  Where you ate and any other activity you were doing (watching TV, checking emails, etc.)

    *  Who you were with

    *  How you were feeling (before, during, and after eating)

    Don’t rely on your memory at the end of the day. It’s too difficult to remember every bite or sip. Instead, have the diary with you and write things down as soon as you can. Being honest and taking note of everything you eat and drink can help you see your eating patterns and pinpoint ways you can make healthy changes.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine