Keeping Healthy Tips
You shouldn’t smoke
If you smoke, stopping smoking is typically the most effective thing you can do to reduce your likelihood of future sickness. The chance to health falls rapidly as quickly as you quit smoking (but takes one or two years before the increased risk reduces absolutely). If you find it difficult to quit smoking, then see your practice nurse for help. Medicine could be suggested to help to stop.
Do some regular Exercise
Anything that gets you softly gasping for breath and a small sweaty is fine. As an example: jogging, heavy gardening, swimming, cycling, for example. A fast walk every day is what many individuals do – and that’s fine. But it is said the more powerful the activity, the better. To gain most be of benefit to you should do at least thirty mins of activity on most days. Two shorter bursts are assumed to be just as good. For instance, two fifteen minute rounds of activity at various times in a day.
Eat a good diet
Temporarily, a good diet means:
- AT LEAST 5 portions, and ideally 7-9 portions, of a range of fruit and veg every day.
- The majority of MOST MEALS should be starch-based foods ( like cereals, wholegrain bread, potatoes, rice, pasta ), and fruit and veg.
- Not too much greasy food like greasy meat, cheeses, full-cream milk, fried food, butter, for example. Use fat free, mono- or poly-unsaturated spreads.
- INCLUDE 2-3 portions of fish per week, 1 of which should really be ‘oily ‘ ( such as herring, mackerel, sardines, kippers, pilchards, salmon, or fresh tuna ).
- If you eat meat it is far better to eat lean meat, or birds like chicken.
- If you do fry, select plant oil like sunflower, rapeseed or olive.
- Try hard not to add salt to food, and limit foods which are salted.
Try to shed some pounds if you’re chunky or fat
You do not need to get to an ideal weight. If you’re chunky you can gain good health benefits by losing 5-10% of your weight. This is commonly about 5-10 kg. (Ten kg is about one and a half stone.)
Don’t drink too much alcohol
A bit of alcohol is mostly fine, but too much can be damaging. Men should drink less than twenty-one units per week (and no more than 4 units in any one day). Ladies should drink only 14 units per week (and less than 3 units in any one day). One unit is in about half a pint of standard strength lager, or 2 3rds of a little tumbler of wine or one tiny boozer measure of spirits.