Healthy Eating Lifestyle

Healthy Eating Lifestyle
Eat for variety
Foods from all food groups are important. Eat foods from all the food groups every day and choose a variety of foods within each food group. For optimum nutrition, eat more foods from the grain, fruits, and vegetables.

Eat fruits and vegetables at every meal and snack
Fruit and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; plus they provide fiber to help keep our bowels regular. We should get at least five servings of fruit and vegetables combined each day. Fruits and vegetable that are deep green or orange or red pack the most vitamin and minerals. It is important to select fruits and vegetables of different colors to get all of their beneficial nutrients.

Go for whole grains
Whole grains contain more nutrients and fiber than processed or refined grains because the milling process removes the nutritional part of the grain. Aim to make half of all the grain foods that you eat the whole grain.

Limit foods and beverages with added sugar
Sweet drinks such as soda, fruit punch, lemonade, iced tea, and sport drinks have a lot of sugar but no vitamins or minerals. Consuming too much sweet drinks makes it hard to get all of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Soft drinks and sweets such as candy, cake, cookies and donuts can cause dental cavities, and they add to calorie intake, which makes it hard to keep a healthy weight.

Choose foods with healthy fat
The fat on our bodies serves several purposes: it protects our organs, keeps us warm, and stores our energy. Fat in food provides a feeling of fullness and it adds flavor. Some fat – namely unsaturated fat – is healthy for the heart, but other fat – the saturated fat – can damage arteries and lead to heart disease over time. Trans fat does the most damage and should be avoided.
Healthy Eating Lifestyle

Exercise for Fun and Fitness

Exercise for Fun and Fitness
Regular exercise and physical activity are vital to your physical emotional health and can bring you fun and fitness at the same time. Having chronic illness and growing older can maker an active lifestyle seem far away. Some people have never been active and others have given up leisure activities because of illness.

Unfortunately, long periods of inactivity in anyone can lead to weakness, stiffness, fatigue, poor appetite, high blood pressure, obesity osteoporosis, constipation, and increased sensitivity to pain, anxiety and depression. These problems occur from chronic illness as well. So, it can be difficult to tell whether it is the illness, inactivity or combination of the two that is responsible for these problems. Although we don’t have cures for many of these illnesses, yet, we do know the cure for inactivity – exercise.

Most people have a sense that exercising and being active is healthier and more satisfying than being inactive, but often have a hard time finding information and support to get started on a more active way of life.

Regular exercise benefits everyone, especially people with chronic health problems. Regular exercise improves levels of strength, energy, and self confidence and less anxiety and depression. Exercise can help maintain a good weight, which takes stress off weight- bearing joints and improves blood pressure, blood sugar and blood fat levels. There is evidence that regular exercise can help to “thin” the blood, or prevent blood clots, which is one of the reasons exercise can be particular benefit to people with heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease.

In addition, strong muscles can help people with arthritis to protect their joints by improving stability and absorbing shock. Regular exercise also can help nourish joints and keep cartilage and bone healthy. Regular exercise has been shown to help people with chronic lung disease, improve endurance, and reduce shortness of breath. Many people with claudication (leg pain from severe arthrosclerosis blockages in the arteries of the lower extremities) can walk farther without leg pain after undertaking a regular exercise program. It also suggested that exercise may even increase life expectancy. Regular exercise is an important part of controlling blood sugar levels, losing weight, and reducing the risks of cardiovascular complications for people with diabetes.
Exercise for Fun and Fitness