Remember the saying, “health is wealth”? What does this mean to you?
Health is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being”.
A healthy person is someone who doesn’t smoke, is at a healthy weight, eats a balanced healthy diet, exercises regularly, and thinks positively.
Below I will list the 10 habits that show healthy living, and they are:
- Regular exercise is important for heart health.
- Eat more whole foods and less processed foods.
- If you smoke, try to quit.
- Make sleep a priority.
- Stay hydrated.
- If you drink alcohol, do so responsibly.
- Make preventative care a priority.
- Know your numbers (blood pressure, body mass index, fasting blood glucose).
- Practice safe sex.
- Manage stress in a healthy way.
From the above list, many of us fail at living a healthy life and some of us may not even know it yet.
Quitting an unhealthy behavior, like smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol is very difficult for some people and oftentimes leads to chronic disease or even death.
Beginning a healthy behavior may not be easy but oftentimes the results can be seen immediately in your body.
For me and many others, eating healthy is probably one of my biggest unhealthy habits.
Being a mother and working full-time, I buy a lot of take-out, which isn’t the healthiest, but I also like eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
With today’s economy, it’s difficult for some people to eat healthier as healthy food choices cost more and many people are struggling to make ends meet.
If we want to encourage healthier lifestyles, we must first make healthier options more widespread and affordable.
Many neighborhoods do not have safe drinking water either, and we need water for our bodies and brains to function.
So, making healthy choices is easy for some, while others do not have the ability to access or afford healthy choice options.
The CDC recommends an adult gets 7 hours or more of sleep each night.
Women should drink at least 9 cups of water each day, while men should drink 13 cups of water per day.
Smoking is very dangerous to a person’s health and causes heart disease, stroke, lung and other cancers, and respiratory diseases.
COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is the primary disease caused by smoking that damages air sacs in the lungs making it hard to breathe.
To increase healthiness in Georgia, all individuals need to have access to healthy houses, schools, and public health.
Youth in Georgia are experimenting more with drugs and alcohol at younger age.
Many young people also struggle with depressive disorders and episodes.
It’s perfectly clear healthy living is more of a choice than an option for most.
We must realize that minorities and those living in poverty often don’t have options for healthy choices and living.
Making changes in state and federal government policies is an option to ensure that every person has an equal opportunity to receive healthy meals or healthy living resources.