‘Health is wealth’ but often people consider it luck to enjoy better health. Well, it is not about luck. Simple lifestyle changes can do wonders for your body. There are certain easy ways that can help maintain a balance within your body and keep illnesses at bay.
Here are the top 10 secrets of people who never get sick.
1. Exercise
It has been found that those who spend at least a half an hour daily doing physical exercise do not get sick often. Exercise boosts your immune system and provides many other health benefits. If you do not have time or money to go to a gym, then try walking, running, jogging or cycling for about half an hour daily.
For better health, aerobic exercise is the best option because it gets your heart rate up and pushes nutrient-rich blood throughout the body. It also helps reduce the number of molecules in the body that lead to inflammatory conditions that weaken the immune system.
Studies also have found that exercise reduces the risk of health problems like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia and depression. Exercise also slows down the aging process.
2. Eat Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
One of the most important aspects of a healthy diet is eating a variety of fruits and vegetables in their natural, uncooked state. Brightly colored fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals along with antioxidants that boost your immune system to fight off diseases and keep you fit.
Try to eat as many foods as possible in their unprocessed state and opt for organic, bio-dynamic foods that have been grown locally, and are therefore in season.
Some of the fruits and vegetables that you can eat in their natural form are cabbage, apples, yellow and red peppers, papayas, spinach, tomatoes and many others.
3. Keep a Positive Attitude
Another secret to living a healthy life is feeling positive about your life, your surroundings and different situations that we all face in life. Having a positive attitude toward life will help you feel more happy, enthusiastic, and calm.
Research done at Carnegie Mellon University found that those with positive outlooks become less sick and are more resistant to developing upper respiratory illnesses. Also, those who don’t always think positively and have a negative attitude toward things suffer from more stress and tension.
Too much tension and stress are factors that contribute to many life-threatening diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart problems and others.
4. Follow Proper Sanitizing Habits
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that proper hand washing is one of the easiest ways to avoid becoming sick often.
Try to wash your hands with regular soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. This simple habit lowers your chances of contracting serious colds and the common flu.
Take a bath daily and clean all parts of your body well. Regularly check your fingernails for trapped dirt. Also, keep your home and surrounding area clean and free of germs.
5. Have an Active Social Life
Studies show that people who are active socially tend to have more robust immune systems and are less likely to suffer from infectious diseases. Harvard University did a study in 2008 that found that positive social attachments might protect against memory loss and other cognitive disorders.
Also, those with few friends were more likely to suffer from heart disease, depression and anxiety. So, to remain healthy you need to take time out of your busy schedule and see your family members or friends. If your friends live far away, you can call them up or chat online with them.
6. Keep a Balanced pH Level
The body remains healthy when its systems are functioning midway between completely acidic and completely alkaline. In simple terms, it means a balanced pH level.
When pH levels fall below the midpoint, the body suffers from a condition called acidosis, which can cause fatigue, rapid breathing, stomach problems and confusion. Acidosis can happen when you consume more meat and sugar. But eating more vegetables and fruits with alkalizing properties can resolve the imbalance.
Include a lot of dark leafy greens, green beans, asparagus, carrots, cucumbers, coconuts and avocados in your diet. Also, avoid eating processed foods as much as possible.
7. Manage Stress
Happy people who can easily manage stress very rarely get sick. A Duke University study showed that stress damages the immune system and the heart.
Other studies also suggest that too much stress increases your chances of contracting bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis. Hence, it is essential to learn relaxation techniques from early childhood and try to manage stress as much as possible.
Whenever you are tense or stressed, take a vigorous walk for about a half an hour. This will help you feel more relaxed. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables and sleeping seven to eight hours at night also helps. Finally, laughing often helps release endorphins in the body that act as natural stress busters.
8. Get Enough Rest and Sleep
Proper rest and sleep can do wonders for your body. When you enjoy at least eight hours of peaceful sleep every night, your body will reach a perfect harmonious balance and you will feel your best. Ample sleep and rest is one of the first steps to staying healthy. Sleep deprivation can have a degenerative effect on your mental as well as physical health.
A sound sleep of six to eight hours allows you to handle the day’s stress easier, boosts your memory power, helps keep blood pressure and cholesterol levels in normal ranges, helps reduce inflammation, prevents depression, helps manage body weight and more. It also boosts your immune system to ward off viruses and bacteria that make you ill.
9. Stay Hydrated
As the human body is made up of 60% water, it is true that staying well hydrated can immensely minimize your risk of becoming ill frequently.
Staying hydrated helps your body maintain the proper harmony in cellular functioning, which plays a key role in transferring nutrients to different parts of the body. It also helps flush out excess toxins that enter our systems through pores and the blood stream.
The easiest way to keep your body hydrated is to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Try to drink 10 to 12 glasses of water daily to avoid dehydration.
Also, eat more fruits and vegetables that are high in water content. Experts also recommend limiting your alcohol consumption because alcohol weakens the immune system and can cause dehydration.
10. Strive for a Well-Balanced Diet
A properly designed diet plan can lower your risk of becoming sick often. Food provides substances that keep us strong and healthy. Eat foods high in nutrients such as vitamin A and C, protein, carbohydrates, iron, essential fatty acids and so on. Eat fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables and avoid processed food items.
Research also suggests that onions, garlic, ginger and honey have antimicrobial and antiviral effects which can help prevent illness.
Also, lowering your daily calorie intake can help you stay healthy and lower your risk of aging-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and possibly even Alzheimer’s disease.
These tips can make a huge difference for your body to stay healthy. They are very easy to incorporate into your lifestyle to enjoy a healthier and disease-free life.
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