5 Tips For A Healthier You in 2018

5 Tips For A Healthier You

It’s a new year and time to think about your health. There are certain things you should be doing to take care of yourself. If you aren’t, then it’s time to start!

Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. If you don’t stay hydrated then your body can’t function as well. For years my doctor and my chiropractor encouraged me to drink more water and I always responded, “But I don’t like it.” Truthfully, it’s still not my favorite thing to drink, but I keep a bottle of water in my hand almost constantly now because I have finally learned that I do feel better when I drink water. I cut back on coffee and eliminated diet soda and sweet tea. It wasn’t easy but it made a big difference for me and it will for you too.
Walking. There are so many good reasons to go for a walk. It’s a great way to handle stress. It helps you physically and is good for your heart. And if you are trying to lose weight, it’s good for that too. If you need an excuse to go for a walk, get a dog. They need exercise and so do you! For more reasons you should go walking you can click here.

Get a pet. If you don’t want a dog, then get a cat or a gerbil or something. Before you skip this recommendation with the excuse that you don’t have the time or energy, read this: Karen Allen, PhD, a researcher at the University of Buffalo conducted a study involving 48 stockbrokers who were all on medication for hypertension. 24 were given their choice of a dog or a cat to take home and care for.  After caring for the pets for a while; blood pressure and heart rates were checked on all . Those with a pet had lower heart rates and had drops in their blood pressure versus the group without pets. Once those without pets learned the results many went out and got a pet. (Reasons to own a Pet)

Health screenings. If you are a regular visitor to NanaHood then you know that my mother died of colon cancer at the age of 51. My best friend and cousin Martha died of breast cancer just two years ago. She was 58. Because of them and because I have so many friends and church family members fighting cancer I don’t understand NOT going to get tested. I’ve heard reasons like, “I’d rather not know,” and “We are all going to die of something,” and I try to understand where they are coming from–but I don’t. You see, colon cancer is one of the most curable types of cancer there is IF it is caught early. Screening for colon cancer isn’t even recommended until age 50 and by the time my mother was 50 it was already too late for her. Don’t be the person who finds out they have advanced cancer and has to face the fact that if they had gone for regular checkups they would have a good shot at being cancer free after treatment. Too late, means too late. Please friends….go get your screenings. If you know someone who isn’t going, take them with you. You might just save a life. Here’s a good checklist for the women over 40 in your life to print out and put on their refrigerator and refer to. If you haven’t had these tests….make your appointments NOW!

I also want to remind you about an article I wrote back in October about breast cancer and the environment. If you missed it, or if you don’t remember it, please go back and re-read it. There’s a great toolkit for mothers and daughters to help get a discussion going. It’s up to Nanas and Moms to teach the next generation about the importance of their health and things to watch out for. Then after you read the article I hope you will join me in trying to be a better example for my children and grandchildren when it comes to being aware about how the environment can effect our health.

Watch what you eat. Our bodies need fruits (eat more blueberries) and vegetables along with water to stay healthy. There are so many studies out there about the benefits of a good diet that I could share literally thousands of them with you, but I won’t. Here’s one of the best ones I found and the one I hope you will take time to read. 17 Health Tips.

No one can make you take these 5 tips to a healthier you—except yourself. Why should we take care of ourselves? Because we have a whole lot of people depending on us. We have people who love us. And we need to do it for ourselves.

If you are like me and you get sick for a week you are more than ready to be well. There are consequences to not taking care of ourselves that can result in being sick much longer than a week.

Be proactive when it comes to your health. You will be glad you did.

What’s your number one health tip for your friends and family?