3 Benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle
If you’re not at your healthiest, you can most probably tell. You might simply feel “off.” You might find that you feel fatigued, your digestive system isn’t functioning as efficiently as it normally does, and you appear to catch colds often. Mentally, you may find you can’t focus and feel nervous or depressed.
The good news is, however, that a healthy lifestyle can help
you feel much better. Even better, you don’t have to overhaul your whole life
overnight. It’s very easy to make a couple of small changes that can steer you
in the right direction of greater well-being. And once you make one alteration,
that success can motivate you to continue to make even more positive changes.
What exactly is a “healthy lifestyle”?
Ask 100 people to define what a “healthy lifestyle” is, and
you’ll likely get 100 quite different answers. That’s simply because there’s no
one way to be healthy. A healthy lifestyle basically means doing things that
make you happy and feel good.
For one individual, that might mean walking a couple of miles
five times a week, eating fast food only once a week, and spending virtual or
in-person quality time with loved ones every other day. For someone else, a
healthy lifestyle might be training and running two marathons a year, adhering
to a keto diet, and never ever having a sip of alcohol.
Neither of these is inherently better than the other. Both
are perfect for that individual. You are the one who gets to decide what your
healthy lifestyle looks like.
And now how is it beneficial?
Making changes to better your health can lead to benefits
for your body, your mind, your wallet, as well as even the environment.
1. Disease Prevention
Healthy habits can decrease the risk of various diseases,
including those that might run in your family.
For example, in a recent research study, adults who followed
a standard diet (rich in fruits and vegetables) for 8 weeks had a decreased
risk of cardiovascular disease.
In another 2020 study, researchers showed that every 66-gram
increase in daily fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 25 percent
lower risk of having type 2 diabetes.
2. Saving money
It’s always a good idea to see your primary care physician
for an annual comprehensive physical exam. This is especially true seeing how
some health conditions, such as high blood pressure, are as we call it “silent.”
This means they don’t have any symptoms, so if you are not checked, you usually
don’t know you have these conditions.
However, the healthier you are, the less likely you may have
to go to a doctor. This could save money by reducing co-pays, the need for
prescriptions, and other many other treatments.
3. Longer lifespan
Basic healthy habits are connected with living a significantly
longer life. If, at the age of 50, you’ve never smoked, can maintain a healthy
weight, are regularly active, have a healthy diet, you could well live up to 14
years longer. Making even a few of these small changes could really lengthen
your lifespan.
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