Healthy Lifestyle

This lesson allows you to infer how one’s lifestyle can affect the functioning of
respiratory and circulatory system. Eating nutritious foods, doing regular exercise and
gaining adequate sleep daily can keep your respiratory system, cardiovascular or
circulatory system and immune system stronger. These activities will give your body
enough knowledge, skills and attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle.
To have a healthy lifestyle, we must be conscious of what we are doing, like monitoring
the amount of sleep we have daily, how we move in our position when doing something
like working in front of the computer, eating the nutritious food and avoiding what is not
necessary in our body. Science can reveal that healthy body, eating correct food for our
age and body and having fitness routines can help prevent diseases like hypertension,
stress, high cholesterol, diabetes, and even simple respiratory tract diseases like cough,
colds, asthma, sinusitis and allergies. Also, preventing the corona virus to enter our
systems can be learned.
In the succeeding activities, you will experience cardiovascular exercise that will help
you to strengthen the heart muscles and make the respiratory tract clear and free from
particulates in the environment. Doing the breathing exercise and stretching the
muscles in our body can reverse our tendency to ex-perience diseases.
You do not need to go to the gym or drink expensive medicines to make your body
healthy, just monitor your attitude towards a healthy lifestyle. “Having a healthy lifestyle
making your body on style” - Vier Nama.

Health Tips for Healthy Living

What is healthy living?

This article is designed to give tips to readers about how they can improve or augment
actions in their life to have a healthy lifestyle; it is not meant to be all inclusive but will
include major components that are considered to be parts of a lifestyle that lead to good
health. In addition to the tips about what people should do for healthy living, the article
will mention some of the tips about avoiding actions (the don'ts) that lead to unhealthy
living.

"Healthy living" to most people means both physical and mental health are in balance or
functioning well together in a person. In many instances, physical and mental health are
closely linked, so that a change (good or bad) in one directly affects the other.
Consequently, some of the tips will include suggestions for emotional and mental
"healthy living."
Healthy eating (diet and nutrition)
All humans have to eat food for growth and maintenance of a healthy body, but we
humans have different nutrition requirements as infants, children (kids), teenagers,
young adults, adults, and seniors. For example, infants may require feeding every 4
hours until they gradually age and begin to take in more solid foods. Eventually they
develop into the more normal pattern of eating three times per day as young kids.
However, as most parents know, kids, teenagers, and young adults often snack
between meals. Snacking is often not limited to these age groups because adults and
seniors often do the same.

 Eat three healthy meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); it is important
to remember that dinner does not have to be the largest meal.
 The bulk of food consumption should consist of healthy foods, such as
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products.
 Incorporate lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts (with
emphasis on beans and nuts) into a healthy diet.
 Choose foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt
(sodium), and added sugars; look at the labels because the first listed
items on the labels comprise the highest concentrations of ingredients.
 Control portion sizes; eat the smallest portion that can satisfy hunger and
then stop eating.
 Healthy snacks are OK in moderation and should consist of items like fruit,
whole grains, or nuts to satisfy hunger and not cause excessive weight
gain.
 Avoid sodas and sugar-enhanced drinks because of the excessive calories
in the sodas and sugar drinks; diet drinks may not be a good choice as
they make some people hungrier and increase food consumption.
 Avoid eating a large meal before sleeping to decrease gastroesophageal
reflux and weight gain.
 If a person is angry or depressed, eating will not solve these situations and
may make the underlying problems worse.
 Avoid rewarding children with sugary snacks; such a pattern may become
a lifelong habit for people.
 Avoid heavy meals in the summer months, especially during hot days.
  A vegetarian lifestyle has been promoted for a healthy lifestyle and weight
loss; vegetarians should check with their physicians to be sure they are
getting enough vitamins, minerals, and iron in their diet.
 Cooking foods (above 165 F) destroys most harmful bacteria and other
pathogens; if you choose to eat uncooked foods like fruits or vegetables,
they should be thoroughly washed with running treated (safe to drink) tap
water right before eating.
 Avoid eating raw or undercooked meats of any type.

Physical activity and exercise

Physical activity and exercise are a major contributor to a healthy lifestyle; people are
made to use their bodies, and disuse leads to unhealthy living. Unhealthy living may
manifest itself in obesity, weakness, lack of endurance, and overall poor health that may
foster disease development.
 Regular exercise can prevent and reverse age-related decreases in muscle
mass and strength, improve balance, flexibility, and endurance, and decrease the
risk of falls in the elderly. Regular exercise can help prevent coronary heart
disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Regular, weight-
bearing exercise can also help prevent osteoporosis by building bone strength.
 Regular fitness can help chronic arthritis sufferers improve their capacity to
perform daily activities such as driving, climbing stairs, and opening jars.
 Regular exercise can prevent and reverse age-related decreases in muscle mass
and strength, improve balance, flexibility, and endurance, and decrease the risk
of falls in the elderly. Regular exercise can help prevent coronary heart disease,
stroke, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Regular, weight-bearing
exercise can also help prevent osteoporosis by building bone strength.
 Regular fitness can help chronic arthritis sufferers improve their capacity to
perform daily activities such as driving, climbing stairs, and opening jars.
 Regular exercise can help increase self-esteem and self-confidence, decrease
stress and anxiety, enhance mood, and improve general mental health.
 Regular exercise can help control body weight and in some people cause loss of
fat.
 Thirty minutes of modest exercise (walking is OK) at least 3 to 5 days a week is
recommended, but the greatest health benefits come from exercising most days
of the week.
 Exercise can be broken up into smaller 10-minute sessions.
  Start slowly and progress gradually to avoid injury or excessive soreness or
fatigue. Over time, build up to 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise
every day.
 People are never too old to start exercising. Even frail, elderly individuals (70-90
years of age) can improve their strength and balance with exercise.
 Almost any type of exercise (resistance, water aerobics, walking, swimming,
weights, yoga, and many others) is helpful for everybody.
 Children need exercise; play outside of the home is a good beginning.
 Sports for children may provide excellent opportunities for exercise, but care
must be taken not to overdo certain exercises (for example, throwing too many
pitches in baseball may harm a joint like the elbow or shoulder).
 Exertion during strenuous exercise may make a person tired and sore, but if pain
occurs, stop the exercise until the pain source is discovered; the person may
need to seek medical help and advice about continuation of such exercise.

Mental health
Healthy living involves more than physical health, it also includes emotional or mental
health. The following are some ways people can support their mental health and well-
being.

 Get enough sleep daily; the CDC recommends the following by age group (naps
inclusive); 12-18 hours from birth to 2 months, 14-15 hours from 3-11 months of
age, 12-18 hours for 1-3 years of age, 11-13 hours for 3-5 years of age, 10-11
hours for 5-10 years of age, 8.5-9.5 hours for 10-17 years of age and those 18
and above need 7-9 hours of sleep. Elderly people need about 7-9 hours but do
not sleep as deeply and may awaken at night or wake early, so naps (like kids
need) allow them to accumulate the total of 7-9 hours of sleep.
 Take a walk and reflect on what you see and hear at least several times per
week.
 Try something new and often (eat a new food, try a different route to work, go to
a new museum display).
 Do some mind exercises (read, do a puzzle occasionally during the week).
 Try to focus on a process intensely and complete a segment of it over 1 to
several hours, then take a break and do something relaxing (walk, exercise, short
nap).
 Plan to spend some time talking with other people about different subjects.

Avoid excessive alcohol consumption

  Chronic, excess alcohol consumption is the major cause
of liver cirrhosis in the U.S.
 Liver cirrhosis can cause internal hemorrhage, fluid accumulation in the
abdomen, easy bleeding and bruising, muscle wasting,
mental confusion, infections, and in advanced cases, coma, and kidney
failure.
 Liver cirrhosis can lead to liver cancer.
 Alcohol accounts for 40%-50% of deaths from automobile accidents in the
U.S.
 Alcohol use is a significant cause of injury and death from home accidents,
drowning, and burns.

Avoid tobacco use

 Tobacco use causes or contributes to a large number of cancers in the

U.S. In men, 90% of lung cancer deaths are attributable to smoking; 80%
in women. Tobacco use causes cancers of the lung, mouth, lip,
tongue, esophagus, kidney, and bladder. It also further increases the risk
of bladder cancer in subjects occupationally exposed to certain organic
chemicals found in the textile, leather, rubber, dye, paint, and other organic
chemical industries, and further increases the risk of lung cancer among
subjects exposed to asbestos.
 Tobacco use causes atherosclerotic arterial disease (hardening and
narrowing of the arteries) that can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and lack
of blood flow to the lower extremities. Tobacco use causes an estimated
20%-30% of coronary heart disease in the U.S. It also further increases the
risk of heart attacks among subjects with elevated cholesterol,
uncontrolled hypertension, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle.
 Tobacco use causes an estimated 20% of chronic lung diseases in the
U.S., such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and
causes pneumonia in those with chronic lung disease. The CDC, in 2011,
estimated that 90% of deaths from chronic obstructive lung
disease (COPD) were due to smoking.
 Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to deliver babies with low
birth weight.
  Secondhand smoke can cause middle-ear infections (otitis
media), coughing, wheezing, bronchitis, and pneumonia in babies, and
aggravate asthma in children. Secondhand smoke (sometimes referred
to as passive smoking) can also cause lung cancer.

Quit Smoking

Set a date for quitting. If possible, plan to have a friend quit smoking with you. It's
best to pick a day within the next month. A date too far off in the future will give
you a chance to procrastinate and postpone, while a date too soon may not allow
you to make a plan for medications or support systems.

Notice when and why you smoke. Try to find the things in your daily life that you
often do while smoking (such as drinking your morning cup of coffee or driving a
car).

Change your smoking routines: Keep your cigarettes in a different place. Smoke
with your other hand. Don't do anything else when you are smoking. Think about
how you feel when you smoke.

Source: https://www.medicinenet.com/healthy_living/article.htm