2 Most Impactful Lifestyles That Affect Our Health

Understand How Lifestyle Affects Our Health

In this world of high mass consumption, globalization, and the high use of technology, our health status has significantly changed. Due to the existence of different innovations like machines, games, new products and services, and new means of transport that allow a person to move from one place to another easily, processed food from industrial agriculture has affected our physical condition and well-being. These changes play a great role in a person’s culture and lifestyle in all aspects of life, including health status.

This article explains how lifestyle affects a person’s health and well-being. It is important to understand your health status while you are enjoying your life in order to have good physical, mental, and psychological wellness, as well as hope in life. That is why an Arabian proverb says, “He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything in this world.” Additionally, an Islamic quote states, “The one who wakes up in the morning with peace and good health is blessed more than everything by his God.”

What do we mean when we say “health,” and how does lifestyle affect our health?

Health is defined and explained by different scholars and professors. But simply put, the meaning of health is a state of a person being physically, mentally, and emotionally well, free from diseases, as well as having social well-being and fitness, which we call healthiness or being in good condition. On the other hand, let us understand lifestyle, which means a way of life; in other words, lifestyle encompasses the things that an individual does in their day-to-day activities.

Have you heard anything about an unhealthy lifestyle or a healthy lifestyle before? Being healthy or unhealthy depends on how you organize your life from morning to evening. This article explains how you should live a healthy lifestyle in simple ways.

As we have already understood the concept of health and lifestyle, you now need to understand how to live a healthy life. There are important things that you should consider in order to live a healthy life. Among them are food intake and physical exercise.

1. Food intake is crucial to your health; that’s why there is a saying, “You are what you eat.” Do you agree with it? It is true because the nutrients in the food we consume can be beneficial for good health or harmful for bad health. Physicians and doctors always emphasize the importance of a balanced diet since it helps you live longer without non-communicable diseases or chronic diseases. See Five Simple Ways to Avoid Non-Communicable Diseases

These diseases are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle or behavior of a person and are not spread through infection. They include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, cancer, respiratory diseases, and stroke, to mention a few. As advised by doctors, a balanced diet is a key factor for physical and mental health because it provides all the required nutrients for your body and allows you to enjoy your food.

Let us understand that a balanced diet is one that consists of a variety of types of food that provide all the required nutrients for good health. It protects a person from non-communicable diseases. Additionally, a balanced diet maintains and protects the overall health of a person. So, in your meals, make sure you have all the essential components of a balanced diet, including carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water. Below are simple explanations of these components:

• Carbohydrates, also known as carbs, are foods that provide energy to an individual and are rich in sugars. Sugars exist in different forms, such as glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, and cellulose. Carbohydrate-rich foods include whole grains like corn, wheat, and rice, as well as bread, potatoes, milk, chapati, spaghetti, and popcorn, to mention a few. In this context, you are advised to choose the type of food because there are various types of food. Mostly, people are advised to avoid unhealthy sources of food, especially processed or refined foods like white bread or soda. Sometimes, people prefer energy drinks, which are also unhealthy sources of carbohydrates.
• Proteins are very important for growth, as well as for the maintenance of the body. You are advised to consume protein in every meal due to its benefits for your body. The main reason why you should consume protein is that it is essential for cell growth, muscle repair, and it boosts your immune system to improve your health. It is easy for anyone to consume protein since it is available in the environment. Protein-rich foods include seafood like prawns, crabs, shrimp, oysters, and lobster, as well as lean meats, eggs, chicken, peanut butter, turkey, duck, goose, and bush birds, not forgetting dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese.
• Micronutrients, or in other words, minerals and vitamins, are essential for our health. There are various types of vitamins, including vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K, as well as minerals such as calcium, iodine, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. In this context, micronutrients are very important since they play a vital role in a variety of metabolic processes in our bodies. They are needed in small amounts, but they are crucial for healing wounds, strengthening our bones and teeth, and regulating hormones. These minerals are found in fruits, vegetables, as well as whole grains and cereals.
• Lipids and fats are good for health when consumed properly, but they are bad for health when consumed improperly. There are various lipids in our body, named according to their function, including fatty acids, which create energy; steroid hormones, which send messages within the cell; bile salts, which help in digesting fat; and phospholipids, which allow molecules to move within the cells.
• The essential component of life is water. We all know that about 75% of our body is water, which is essential for all body functions, regulation, and temperature control. Therefore, it is important to consume water every day in the required volume. Adult women and men are advised to consume 2.7 and 3.7 liters per day, while children should drink 5 to 8 cups per day. Note that water intake can vary due to a person’s body weight and daily activities.

2. Physical exercise is another way to achieve good health for a person. It is usually planned, structured, and repetitive on a daily basis; this is done for the purpose of improving and maintaining physical wellness or good physical condition. In the biological aspect, physical exercise is categorized into two groups: aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

• Aerobic exercise, also known as cardiovascular exercise, involves a mechanism of breathing and heart rate; this includes walking, swimming, cycling, and running. This type of exercise helps to facilitate good health for your heart and lungs. It can also be done at home, such as through yoga, jogging, and jumping rope. Physicians advise doing these exercises for at least 15 to 30 minutes three times a week.
• Anaerobic exercise involves quick bursts of energy. It uses the stored energy of the body and focuses on strength rather than flexibility. Examples of anaerobic exercise include biking, sprinting, and weightlifting, which are mostly done in the gym and require equipment to perform. The difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise is that anaerobic exercise uses a lot of energy, while aerobic exercise uses oxygen as a primary source of energy.

Both exercises have many advantages, including weight management, being good for your muscles and bones, improving your mood by reducing stress, depression, and anxiety, increasing your energy levels, promoting brain health, reducing pain, benefiting skin health, enhancing sexual enjoyment, and lowering the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Physicians and doctors advise that a person should check their heart health before starting any kind of exercise mentioned.

In conclusion, you should live a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet and engaging in daily physical exercise. Our health is a primary asset in development; without health, there is no development. It is easy for anyone to live a healthier life since the world provides us with a variety of natural foods, but we have to eat carefully.