8 Steps Towards a Healthy Lifestyle

May 30 , 2017 | 2 min read

Good health is not just only about being well; it is about being happy and feeling healthy from physical mental and spiritual point of view too.

Ms Geeta Buryok Chief Clinical Nutritionist at “Max Super Speciality Hospital”, Shalimar Bagh says that being healthy is not anymore about taking medicines when one is unwell, it also means going an extra mile to prevent any illness in order to heal ourselves. Healthy eating builds a healthy body and is important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, eating well does not mean giving up the foods you love, it means choosing the food appropriately.

Base your meals on healthy cereals – Cereal should make up about a third of the food we eat. They are not only good source of energy but also calcium, iron and vitamin B. Try to include jowar, bajra, ragi etc in your diet.

Eat lot of fruits and veggies in your diet – They are a good source of anti-oxidants. The more colourful the fruits, the more nutrient dense they are. Try to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies in your daily diet.

Regular meal intake and disciplined meal timings – Don’t skip meals. For healthy eating have three meals and at least two nutritional snacks if you are hungry in between meals. Choose fruits, nuts, low fat yoghurt etc as in between snacking options. Take 5-6 small meals in a day instead of three big meals. This will keep you away from snacking on unhealthy fried and fast foods. It will bring down your overall food intake too thus helping to maintain the right weight.

Try to eat less salt – Lot of people think that they do not eat much salt especially if they don’t add salt in their food. 75% of the salt we eat comes from breads, biscuits, namkeen, ready to eat cereals etc. high salt intake can raise blood pressure.

Drink plenty of water – Drinking at least 2 L of water/fluids prevents dehydration. Avoid drinking fizzy drinks as these contain high sugar and dehydrate our bodies too.

Cut down on saturated fat and sugar – To stay healthy we do need fats in our diet but the quantity and quality of fat matters. Cut down on the intake of saturated fats like butter, cream, processed cheese etc. Cut down foods containing these products e.g. baked products. Avoid foods containing excess sugar like cakes, sweets, biscuits, ice creams etc

Don’t skip breakfast – Start your day with a good breakfast. Eating breakfast every day will help you have energy as well as steady sugar levels.

Get active - Exercise is one of the cornerstones of a healthy living. Exercise at least 45 – 60 minutes on a daily basis. Exercise has health benefits way beyond imagination. It helps to maintain weight, control blood sugar, cholesterol.

EATING A HEALTHY DIET DOES NOT ONLY MEET YOUR NUTRITIONAL NEEDS BUT ALSO GOES A LONG WAY IN PREVENTING AND TREATING LIFESTYLE DISORDERS.