7 simple changes that will immediately boost your health
Eating and following habits that are healthy can be challenging.
From fad diets to exercises that claim to be a ‘silver bullets’, it can be hard to cut through what to do to boost health.
MailOnline has spoken to diet, exercise and mental health experts, to gather the best advice you can implement straight away to feel healthier.
Here are 7 simple changes that will immediately boost your health
Add more plants to your diet
Including more plant ingredients in your diet is the advice from one top nutrition expert. While it seems daunting, this ‘magic number’ includes nuts, seeds, beans, pulses, wholegrains, herbs, spices and even coffee — as well as fruit and vegetables.
Enjoy your food
Eating healthily conjures up images of bland salads and soups. But enjoying what you eat is the key to staying healthy. For many of us, food is something much bigger than just a way of getting energy, it’s part of our culture and family life, it’s a huge part of socialising, and it’s often tightly bound with our emotions.
Only eat when you are hungry
Most people have a routine for when and how much they eat each day. But avoiding consuming food on autopilot and not always clearing your plate can boost health.Learning to listen to our body’s hunger cues is one of the best ways to help our metabolism.
Take a break from social media
It is well known that too much screen time isn’t good for mental or physical health. Simply deleting certain apps from your phone or putting your phone out of reach for parts of the day can help. Studies have laid bare the impact of social media on health. The findings, published in the journal Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, show that those who quit the apps for one week self-reported improvements in wellbeing, depression and anxiety, compared to those who kept using social media.
Walk for an extra 10 minutes
Many might avoid exercise as they can’t bare to sweat it out in gym. But even just a 10 minute walk — which requires no gym membership — is enough to feel the benefits of exercise and boost mental health. People who regularly exercise are at lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, depression and dementia, studies show.
Only make sustainable changes
Those who have turned to crash diets or intensive workout routines in the past have likely faced the reality that there is no quick fix for achieving long-term health. So the best piece of advice to stay healthy for years to come is to make changes that you can stick to.
10 minutes of strength training twice a week
Many have no idea that everyone is advised to do some weight-lifting every few days — not just those trying to bulk up. Making time for strength training twice a week will build and improve strength to keep muscles, bones and joints strong and healthy. Strengthening muscles has also been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Meanwhile, a lack of strength means daily exercises become more difficult as the body ages.