5 Tips for a Healthy New Year
As the first month of the new year comes to a close, Premier Patient Housing has a few tips for you and your loved ones to have a healthy year. Here’s our list of 5 tips to get your new year off to a healthy start.
Get Active
Exercising can help you lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases. Exercising regularly lowers your risk of developing some diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Exercise also can help keep your body at a healthy weight.
Having trouble getting started? Getting active doesn’t have to be a challenging task, start with a light walk everyday or a small workout video at home. Need help sticking to your workout routine? Ask a friend or family member to be your workout partner and start getting active with you and help with accountability.
Consume Less Salt and Sugar
Too many people eat too much saturated fat, added salt, and added sugars. Even reducing these by small amounts can make you healthier. It can help you manage your weight and reduce your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers and chronic kidney disease. According to the American Heart Association, the maximum amount of added sugars you should eat in a day is dependent on your gender. Men should only eat 15o calories of sugar (or 9 teaspoons) while women should only eat 100 calories of sugar (or 6 teaspoons) a day.
According to the World Health Organization, Salt intake of less than 5 grams per day for adults helps to reduce blood pressure and risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart attack. To help reduce your salt intake, buy fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables with no salt or sauce added. Choose packaged foods labeled “low sodium,” “reduced sodium,” or “no salt added” when available. Read food labels and compare the amount of sodium in different products, then choose the options with the lowest amounts of sodium.
Avoid Large Amounts of Alcohol
According to the CDC, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking is considered to be in the moderate or low-risk range for women at no more than three drinks in any one day and no more than seven drinks per week. For men, it is no more than four drinks a day and no more than 14 drinks per week.
Stay Away from Smoking
Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs found in your lungs. Lung diseases caused by smoking include COPD, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Cigarette smoking causes most cases of lung cancer. If you currently smoke, consider cutting back on the amount that you smoke by day or by week. Don’t face this challenge alone, there’s several resources at your disposal to help you cut back and even quit. You can find them HERE provided by the CDC.
Take Precautions: Get Tested and Screenings
By taking health precautions and getting annual tests and screenings done, diseases can be found earlier and can be easier to treat. You can get some screenings in your doctor’s office. Others need special equipment, so you may need to go to a different office or clinic. Which tests you need depends on your age, your sex, your family history, and whether you have risk factors for certain diseases so consult with your doctor before scheduling any tests or screenings.
Premier Patient Housing hopes you and your loved ones a healthy, happy and safe new year. We hope these tips help you get your year off to a great start and let us know if any of these tips helped you and your family start the new year off on a healthy foot!