More and more research is showing that the key to lifelong good health is what experts call “lifestyle medicine” — making simple changes in diet, exercise and stress management. To help you turn that knowledge into results, we’ve put together this manageable list of health and wellness action steps.
We asked three experts — a naturopathic physician, a nutritionist, and a personal trainer — to tell us the top five simple-but-significant lifestyle-medicine changes they recommend.
Besides giving you three different takes on how to pick your health battles, this list gives you choices you can make without being whisked off to a reality-show fat farm — or buying a second freezer for those calorie-controlled, pre-portioned frozen meals.
James Rouse, N.D.
Naturopathic physician, triathlete, chef, author and host of TV’s “Optimum Wellness,” health-tip segments featured on NBC affiliates in several major cities.
1. Think positive and focus on gratitude
Research shows a healthy
positive attitude helps build a healthier immune system and boosts overall health. Your body believes what you think, so focus on the positive.
2. Eat your vegetables
Shoot for five servings of vegetables a day — raw, steamed, or stir-fried. A diet high in vegetables is associated with a
reduced risk of developing cancers of the lung, colon, breast, cervix, esophagus, stomach, bladder, pancreas and ovary. And many of the most powerful phytonutrients are the ones with the boldest colors — such as broccoli, cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, grapes and leafy greens.
3. Set a “5-meal ideal”
What, when and how much you eat can keep both your metabolism and your energy levels steadily elevated, so you’ll have more all-day energy. A
"5 meal ideal" will help you manage your weight, keep your cool, maintain your focus and avoid cravings.
4. Exercise daily
Did you know that daily exercise can reduce all of the biomarkers of aging? This includes improving eyesight, normalizing
blood pressure, improving lean muscle, lowering cholesterol and
improving bone density. If you want to live well and live longer, you must exercise! Studies show that even 10 minutes of exercise makes a difference — so do something! Crank the stereo and dance in your living room. Sign up for swing dancing or ballroom-dancing lessons. Walk to the park with your kids or a neighbor you’d like to catch up with. Jump rope or play hopscotch. Spin a hula hoop. Play water volleyball. Bike to work. Jump on a trampoline. Go for a hike.
5. Get at good night's sleep
If you have trouble sleeping, try relaxation techniques such as
meditation and
yoga. Or eat a small bedtime snack of foods shown to help shift the body and mind into sleep mode: whole grain cereal with milk, oatmeal, cherries or chamomile tea. Darken your room more and turn your clock away from you. Write down worries or stressful thoughts to get them out of your head and onto the page. This will help you put them into perspective so you can quit worrying about them.
Christina Reiter, M.S., R.D.
Resident consulting dietitian at the University of Colorado–Boulder Wardenburg Health Center for Nutrition Education and Therapies and former director of the nutrition program at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
1. Check your food ’tude
What we eat and how we feel are linked in very complex ways. A healthy approach to eating is centered on savoring flavor, eating to satisfaction and increasing energy, rather than focusing on weight. Check your balance of low-calorie foods, nutrient-dense foods (providing many nutrients per calorie), and foods that are calorie dense but nutrient poor. Most Americans need to eat more fresh whole foods (in contrast to processed, highly refined foods). Try to
add more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and legumes into your meals. Pair these carbohydrate-rich foods with a healthy fat or lean protein to extend satisfaction.
2. Eat like a kid
If adding more fruits and vegetables sounds ominous, look to “finger food” versions that preschool kids love — carrot and celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, grapes, berries and dried fruits. All are nutritional powerhouses packed with
antioxidants.
3. Be a picky eater
Limit saturated fats and trans fats, and aim to eat more foods rich in
anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids to
cut your risk of cardiovascular disease and maybe even improve
depressed moods. The equivalent of just 1 gram of EPA/DHA (eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid) daily is recommended. Eating cold-water oily fish (wild salmon, herring, sardines, trout) two to three times per week will provide both EPA and DHA. Adding up to 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed and eating meat, milk and cheese from grass-fed animals will provide you with a healthy dose of
omega-3s.
4. Use foods over supplements
Supplements are not a substitute for a good diet. Although many health experts recommend taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement that provides 100 to 200 percent of your recommended daily value, each and every supplement should be carefully evaluated for purity and safety. Specific supplements have been associated with toxicity, reactions with medications, competition with other nutrients, and even increased risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
5. Get satisfaction
Both eating and physical activity are fun, sensory experiences! In both, aim for pleasure — not pain. Pay attention to the nutritional value of the foods you choose to eat, as well as your sense of satisfaction, relaxation, tension, exhilaration and fatigue when you sit down to eat. Check in with yourself as you eat, rekindling your
recognition of hunger, fullness and satisfaction when considering when and how much to eat.
Rick Olderman, M.S., P.T.
A physical therapist and owner of Z-Line Training in Denver, Colo., offering rehabilitation, personal training, Pilates instruction,
motivational
injury-prevention seminars, employee fitness program development and custom foot orthotics casting.
1. Give yourself a break
“I spend countless hours doing cardio and never seem to lose that last 10 pounds!” is a common complaint I hear from clients. Give yourself permission to shorten your workout. Believe it or not, overtraining could be the problem. Your body can plateau if not given adequate rest to restore itself, ultimately leading to a decline in performance. Fatigue, moodiness, lack of enthusiasm,
depression and increased cortisol (the “stress” hormone) are some hallmarks of overtraining syndrome. Creating a periodization program — breaking up your routine into various training modes — can help prevent overtraining by building rest phases into your regimen. For example, you might weight train on Monday and Wednesday, cycle on Tuesday and Thursday, run on Friday and rest on Saturday and Sunday. You can also help balance your program by simply incorporating more
variety.
2. Think small
Often the biggest deterrent to improving health is feeling overwhelmed by all the available advice and research. Try to focus first on one small, seemingly inconsequential, unhealthy habit and turn it into a
healthy, positive habit. If you’re in the habit of eating as soon as you get home at night, instead keep walking shoes in the garage or entryway and take a quick spin around the block before going inside. If you have a can of soda at lunchtime every day, have a glass of water two days a week instead. Starting with small, painless changes helps establish the mentality that healthy change is not necessarily painful change. It’s easy to build from here by adding more healthy substitutions.
3. Keep good company
You can do all the right things — but if you have personal relationships with people who have unhealthy habits, it is often an uphill battle. The healthiest people are those who have relationships with other healthy people. Get your family or friends involved with you when you walk or plan healthier meals. Making healthy changes with a loved one can bring you closer together as well as motivate you.
4. Make a list … and check it twice
Take a few minutes and write down all the reasons you can’t begin an exercise program. Then look at the basis of each reason. For instance, if you wrote, “No time” as one of your reasons, then perhaps that’s based on a belief that an exercise program takes a lot of time. Starting with even five minutes a day will have a positive effect because you will have created a healthy habit where one didn’t exist before, and that’s a powerful mental adjustment. A closer look at your list will expose those false beliefs hiding behind each excuse.
5. Sign up for an event
Let’s face it, exercising just for the sake of exercising or losing weight can get boring. Spice things up by signing up for an event like a run/walk race or a cycling ride where you can be part of a team. Doing so gives your workouts a new purpose, and it’s fun to be around others who are exercising just like you — not to mention that most events benefit nonprofit organizations, which doubles your feel-good high.
source : http://life.gaiam.com/article/15-easy-ways-be-healthier
Lets face it, living to 100 really isn’t going to matter if, at that
age, you are bedridden and unable to enjoy the fruits of your labors! We
need to stay healthy so that when we’re blowing out the candles at our
centennial celebration, we’re able to cut a rug on the dance floor
immediately after!
It might seem counterintuitive that when you are feeling fatigued,
you should go exercise, but the reality is working out – be it a quick
walk around the block, participating in a yoga class or embarking on a
solitude hike – can give you the kick that you need to keep going
through the day. The reason? Exercise stimulates the release of
feel-good endorphins that not only make you feel better but also up your
energy levels.
In addition to keeping you looking good, regular exercise and a
healthy diet can help reduce free radicals as well as promote the
release of toxins associated with disease and infections. A healthy
lifestyle helps stave off hypertension (high blood pressure), promote
healthy cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of diabetes, and keep your
ticker in shape!
When a study came out in recent weeks suggesting that obese people
are cheaper to treat than healthier weight people, the scientific
community was up in arms! The 
For many of us, we want to be there for all of our children’s
milestones — the proms, graduations, weddings and births of your
grandchildren — and for others, well, some others just want to be there
so that when said grandchildren use their apple sauce to reupholster the
fancy couch they can chuckle softly to themselves and let out a hearty
“I told you so!”
Remember the way that you feel after completing that long run? After
lifting your personal best at the gym? There you are sweaty and worn out
and still feeling so darn good! And that feeling carries over and
translates into the way you present yourself as well as how you are
perceived by others.
There’s a mountain of undergarments — for both men and women — that
can help you look better in your clothes, whether its padding out
certain areas or sucking in others. However, when it’s you and only you
filling out those jeans it just feels so much better. In addition,
leading a healthy lifestyle can also improve the appearance of your
skin, teeth and nails and give you that certain glow that makes you look
great!
In a 
Did you know that one of the first signs of blood pressure troubles
in men is uhh… failure to stand to attention? Yep, if your body isn’t in
shape, it shuns extra-curricular activities – such as sex – to protect
you and allow the body time to recover. However, in a study of 600 men
conducted by researchers at Boston University, it was found that a brisk
