Unhealthy lifestyle. It’s a common contributor of our biggest health problems: stroke,
heart disease, diabetes, cancer. What do the nation’s top physicians recommend to keep your heart, mind, and body in optimally good health?
1. Daily exercise
You
brush your teeth every day; exercise is equally important for your
daily routine. Turn off the TV or computer, and get at least 30 minutes
of exercise every day.
To work your heart, it’s got to be aerobic
exercise. You’ve got lots of options: walking, jogging, biking, rowing
machine, elliptical machine, swimming. But don’t feel like you have to
be an athlete. Walking is great exercise. Get 10 minutes here and there
during the day. It all counts.
Start with something simple, like
parking in the far corner of the parking lot — so you get those extra
steps to the door. Take the stairs one or two flights instead of the
elevator. If you take public transportation, get off one stop early and
walk the rest. Get out at lunch to walk. Or walk with your significant
other or your spouse after work. You’ll get a bonus — relaxation and
stress reduction.
2. Healthy diet
Quit
eating junk food and high-fat fast food. Your heart, brain, and overall
health are harmed by foods high in saturated fats, salt, and
cholesterol. There’s no getting around it. You’ve got to replace them
with healthy foods: lots of fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, olive oil —
what we call the Mediterranean diet. Eat like an Italian, a Spaniard, a
Greek! Enjoy!
3. Weight loss
Too much body
weight puts your health at great risk. When you take in more calories
than you burn, you get fat — it’s that simple. You’ve got to eat less.
You’ve got to exercise more. You’ve got to push yourself to make these
lifestyle changes — but you’ve got to do it to help avoid serious health
problems like heart disease, diabetes, or stroke.
4. Regular physical exams
Tell
your doctor your family medical history. Learn your personal risk
factors, and the screening tests you need. Women may have mammograms to
screen for breast cancer and Pap tests for cervical cancer. Men may have
prostate cancer PSA tests. Routine screening for colorectal cancer
should start at age 50, perhaps earlier if colon cancer runs in your
family. You also need regular diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol
tests. Make sure your immunizations are up to date. You may need flu and
pneumonia shots, depending on your age.
5. Less stress
When
a person says they’re too busy to exercise, it tells me other things
are crowding out what’s important in life: They don’t spend time with
family and friends; don’t exercise enough; don’t eat right; don’t sleep
properly. All these things reduce stress in your life, and that is
critical to your health and longevity.
To be healthy, we need to
set boundaries — and set limits on work hours. We should not be working
so hard that we’re neglecting the things that keep us healthy. This is
important advice, too, for people who take care of
elderly parents or
young children. Make sure you’re getting proper exercise and sleep — and
that you’re not trying to do too much.
