Staying on top of your overall wellness is one of the most powerful things you can do to optimize your health to prevent chronic illness and disease. More often than not, the simplest lifestyle changes can assist in accomplishing this. Here are five ways to start optimizing your health today.
1. Eat a well-balanced diet
What you eat has a major effect on your health, so it’s important to introduce a variety of wholesome foods into your diet, like fruits, vegetables, proteins, whole grains, and dairy products to get essential nutrients for your body.
While boosting your nutrition, cutting back on ingredients like salt and sugar is vital.
Foods with too much sodium or salt can raise your blood pressure and lead to health problems such as heart disease and stroke. It’s best to limit your consumption of salty foods to no more than 1200 to 1500mg daily.
Sugar, on the other hand, can cause weight gain, increasing your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain cancers. Instead, try to eat foods with more nutrient-dense ingredients that are lower in calories or foods with naturally-occurring sugars (like fruit).
2. Exercise for at least 30 minutes per day
Exercise helps strengthen and improve blood flow to your heart and lungs, which can help with disease prevention. However, this doesn’t mean you need to have an intense workout session at the gym. You can go for a walk, swim, or even dance! Whatever you choose, maintaining a healthy lifestyle by incorporating at least 30 minutes of exercise per day is beneficial for your overall health.
3. Get plenty of rest
Not getting enough sleep doesn’t just make you tired the next day, it can put you at risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, mental health issues, and more. Sleeping for the recommended amount of time can help your mind and body get the rest it needs to stay healthy. To get the ideal seven to nine hours of sleep per night, try going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, and avoid drinking caffeinated beverages at least four hours before bedtime.
4. Limit alcohol consumption
Any amount of alcohol you drink can negatively affect your health. But, if you do consume alcoholic beverages, the newly proposed Canadian guidelines for alcohol consumption recommend no more than two drinks per week for both men and women.
If you don’t want to remove alcohol from your life, try to follow the recommended consumption guidelines. Even better, if you can’t resist a fun cocktail, try alcohol-free drinks. — just remember to watch the added sugar!
5. Schedule a Virtual Call with a Canadian-licensed doctor
Being proactive about your health also means checking in with a doctor so that any existing health issues don’t worsen. As an Advica member, you have access to unlimited general practitioner visits on Maple, 24/7, at any time. This means if you have any health concerns — even something as simple as needing a prescription — you can get care online in a timely manner, no matter where you are. Take control of your health by creating your Maple account today.
Contact navigation@advicahealth.com for further resources to help you in your health prevention journey or to set up your Maple account.
This blog was provided by Maple.
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