5 Tips for How to Be as Healthy as Possible*

Many people think that it’s difficult to live a healthy lifestyle. No matter where you look, it seems experts and advertisements are giving conflicting advice on the best tips for being healthy.

The truth is creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself does not have to be difficult. There are five basic tips to put into action that can help you lose weight, be healthier and feel better every day:

1. Don’t Put Toxic Stuff in Your Body
A lot of the things people put into their bodies are toxic. Things such as alcohol, cigarettes and abusive drugs are not only bad for your body, but they are highly addictive and difficult to give up or avoid. For people who have problems with these types of substances, exercise and diet are the least of their problems. Before implementing other healthy tips into your life, it is important to get your addiction under control. Once you’ve found a suitable option, make the important step of reaching out for help.

2. Stay Active and Use Your Muscles
To achieve optimal health, you must use your muscles. Exercising and lifting weights will help you look better, feel better and improve your overall appearance. There are added benefits to exercise such as ensuring your brain, body, and hormones are working properly. Adding a little bit of weight lifting into your weekly routine can help lower your blood sugar and insulin levels, lower triglycerides and improve your cholesterol levels. Another benefit beyond losing weight includes reducing your risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

3. Improve Quality of Sleep
Getting quality sleep is good for your overall health and a lack of it can lead to many diseases such as heart disease and obesity. To ensure you get quality sleep, consider some of the following tips:

•Try to wake up and go to bed around the same time each day.

•Sleep in a completely dark room with no artificial lighting on.

•Do not drink coffee or caffeinated beverages late in the day.

•Dim the lights around your home a couple of hours before you head to bed.

Helping ensure you have a quality sleep routine can improve your health and make you feel better both mentally and physically. If you find you still have trouble getting quality sleep, consider speaking with your doctor to investigate if you have a sleep disorder.

4. Keep Stress Levels Low
Living a stressful lifestyle can be a recipe for disaster. The way you feel can be just as important to a healthy lifestyle as regular exercise, quality of sleep and a wholesome diet. Allowing too much stress into your life can raise cortisol levels in your body. This can decrease your metabolism and increase your cravings for junk food. You will also be at a higher risk of developing various diseases and mental health issues. Reducing the stress in your life can be as easy as finding ways to simplify it. Other methods of reducing stress can include taking long walks, exercising, therapy and deep breathing techniques.

5. Give Your Body the Nourishment it Needs
The easiest and most effective way to eat healthier is by focusing on real foods. Whole foods are foods that resemble what they look like in nature and are unprocessed. Combine a healthy mix of plants and animals such as fish, meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, healthy oils, fats, and high-fat dairy products. If you’re fairly active, adding unrefined carbs such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, and legumes are fine as well.