Definitely if we look back, our grandparents led a calm and healthy lifestyle and if we want to reach their age we must have healthy habits.
Our life today is too sedentary and while our grandparents went for firewood, climbed mountains and went to wash in the river, we don’t even try to walk.
There is no magic recipe to improve our health overnight, but small habits adapted to this frenetic pace can be integrated into our day-to-day life to help us live better and healthier. Giuseppe Russolillodirector of the World Conference on Dietetics and President of the Spanish Foundation of Dieticians and Nutritionistscompiled eight small and simple actions that we can turn into everyday patterns.
Healthy habits that will change your life
1. Eat at least one fruit for breakfast
In addition to the flavor and vitamins, you will have consumed one of the five recommended servings of vegetables and fruit each day. “A juice and two pieces of fruit is a perfect portion for breakfast. Fruits provide plant cytochemicals, also called bioactive compounds, which prevent numerous diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity or cancer”.
And he gives us one more piece of advice. To solve the problems of lack of time (some afternoon you may not have time to go to the market), it is best to use frozen or preserved fruits and vegetables in glass jars (you will find them in supermarkets and organic stores), in syrup or homemade. If, on the other hand, we opt for its fresh variety, the best thing, according to the specialist, is to keep them at room temperature in a cool place in the house.
2. Plan to eat healthy
“It is very convenient to spend five minutes planning the menus for the week”advise mercedes sanchisresearcher at Institute of Biomechanics of Valencia and coordinator of the area of application of knowledge of health promotion. “This way we can organize the food according to the week we are going to have. If it’s more stressful, for example, we’ll introduce more carbohydrates,” she adds. The higher the energy expenditure (either physical or mental), the more carbohydrates the body will require. On the other hand, people with sedentary or low-stress jobs, burning fewer calories, should discard carbohydrates. Red meat is also a great ally for especially hard days.
3. Learn to buy at the supermarket
Russolillo gives us some healthy ideas that we can make staples on our table. The first is to buy whole wheat bread instead of white. “Because it is richer in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Fiber is digested more slowly and this means that glucose reaches the blood more slowly and the energy supply is constant. And, in addition, it is good for intestinal transit, helps reduce cholesterol and satisfies much more”.
“One or two glasses of red wine a day are also healthy”Sanchis adds. Huge amounts of studies have been published on the benefits of red wine for health. Among the recent investigations that recommend a glass of red wine daily, in addition to the well-known ones that refer to its cardiovascular benefits, we highlight one published in the journal Cancer Science, which guarantees that resveratrol (the antimicrobial compound in grapes) improves the effectiveness of prostate cancer treatments; and another from the Food Sciences Research Institute of the Autonomous University of Madrid, published by the magazine Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistrywhich reveals that red wine is good for preventing cavities and improving dental health thanks to polyphenols, which serve to slow down the growth of bacterial flora in teeth and gums.
4. Move
But what can we do in five minutes? Sanchis and Russolillo give us several ideas. From a series of daily sit-ups at home to always going up the stairs, getting off the subway or bus one stop before and finishing the journey on foot. We can also invest more time in health, traveling by bicycle or on foot. «The levels of sedentary lifestyle are so high that this would be enough,» says Russolillo. Although in this case, perhaps, the ideal would be to scratch a little longer. «It is recommended to do between 30 and 35 minutes of exercise, three or four times a week,» experts agree.
5. Stretch
Most of us spend the day sitting in front of the computer out of obligation. A good trick is to stop for five minutes every hour to stretch. Neck rotation a, without getting up from the chair, stretch the entire back towards the ground to notice how it loosens. These gestures also serve to free the mind and return to activity with more concentration.
6. Meditate
“Personal enrichment patterns must be encouraged because it has been shown that they are very mentally healthy. A good idea would be to spend five minutes relaxing and breathing with calm music and dim lighting”explains the researcher Mercedes Sanchis.
7. Love yourself and they will love you
The researcher adds one more guideline in this regard: Use those five minutes to take care of our appearance and image. We are not talking about fashion, style or color combination. We mean looking at ourselves in the mirror, feeling good about ourselves and loving ourselves a little bit. Thus, adds Sanchis, “Not only will we project a more confident image of ourselves, but others will also look at us better. Or, maybe, we won’t care so much.».
8. Unplug
Turn off your computer, smartphone, tablet and all electronic devices an hour before going to bed, the only maxim during this time is relaxation.
What healthy habits do you practice at home or at work? Leave your opinion in the comments.
Taken from El País