Do what I can to stay healthy

Being healthy doesn’t have to mean overhauling your entire lifestyle. Sometimes all it takes is a few simple changes:

Eat a healthy diet

Aim to eat 8 to 10 portion of fruit and vegetables every day! Make organic choices where you can. Easy ways of packing in fruits and vegetables is making daily smoothies and soups, and always serve your dinner with a bowl of lightly steam dark green leafy vegetables. ‘Green’ powders loaded with vegetables, grasses and other magical superfoods are another great way of upping your daily intake.

Make movement a priority

Our sedentary lives are at the root cause of society’s biggest killers. If you spend all day at a desk set an alarm to go off every hour to remind you to get up and stretch your legs. Standing desks are becoming popular options as recent studies show chair time is life shortening.

If you struggle with motivation, join a club or class and commit to training with a friend. Break it up into small chunks, starting with something that seems achievable for you such 20 minutes walking in the morning and evening, then slowly build up over time. Getting off the bus a stop earlier, or parking the other end of the car park furthest away from your exit are other little lifestyle changes you can make to increase your daily movement.

Get enough sleep

Sleep is all about recovery – physical, emotional and energetic. In order to function fully whilst waking, we rely on the immune facilities, detoxification, tissue and muscle healing and emotional processing that occur during the wee small hours. If this downtime isn’t respected, we may quickly see symptoms like fatigue, irritability, poor concentration and poor recovery from stress, injury and skin complaints. Aim for 6-8 hours per night, trying to get in a good few before midnight as this has been shown to be most restorative sleep.

Limit your intake of stimulants sugar, caffeine and alcohol.

Excessive alcohol intake has been shown to reduce life expectancy as well as put you at an increased risk for developing many different potentially life threatening illnesses. Sugar and caffeine should be enjoyed in moderation so as not to promote inflammation, nutrient depletions, weight gain or adrenal stress and encouraging insulin sensitivity.

Develop a self-care routine that supports your emotional wellbeing and stress levels.

This can involve taking some ‘me’ time and developing techniques to help manage your stress. Stress is a secret killer and affects us all in very different ways. It’s only natural then that we each have our own way of dealing with it, and what’s important is finding techniques that work for you. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness and walking in nature are popular choices.

Stop smoking

Stopping smoking is often the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your risk of future illness. The benefits to your health occur rapidly, although it takes a few years before the increased risks reduce completely. Contact your local pharmacy or health care provider for advice on quitting smoking.