(Health24 – Live a Great Life)
We've done the legwork for you
and here they are: the 45 best health tips. Make that 46 - taking the time to
read this tops the list.
1. Copy your kitty: Learn to do stretching exercises when you wake
up. It boosts circulation and digestion, and eases back pain.
2. Don’t skip breakfast. Studies show that eating a proper
breakfast is one of the most positive things you can do if you are trying to
lose weight. Breakfast skippers tend to gain weight. A balanced breakfast
includes fresh fruit or fruit juice, a high-fiber breakfast cereal, low-fat
milk or yoghurt, whole-wheat toast, and a boiled egg.
3. Brush up on hygiene. Many people don't know how to brush their
teeth properly. Improper brushing can cause as much damage to the teeth and
gums as not brushing at all. Lots of people don’t brush for long enough, don’t
floss and don’t see a dentist regularly. Hold your toothbrush in the same way
that would hold a pencil, and brush for at least two minutes.
This includes brushing the
teeth, the junction of the teeth and gums, the tongue and the roof of the
mouth. And you don't need a fancy, angled toothbrush – just a sturdy,
soft-bristled one that you replace each month.
4. Neurobics for your mind. Get your brain fizzing with energy.
American researchers coined the term ‘neurobics’ for tasks which activate the
brain's own biochemical pathways and to bring new pathways online that can help
to strengthen or preserve brain circuits.
Brush your teeth with your
‘other’ hand, take a new route to work or choose your clothes based on sense of
touch rather than sight. People with mental agility tend to have lower rates of
Alzheimer's disease and age-related mental decline.
5. Get what you give! Always giving and never taking? This is the
short road to compassion fatigue. Give to yourself and receive from others,
otherwise you’ll get to a point where you have nothing left to give. And hey,
if you can’t receive from others, how can you expect them to receive from you?
6. Get spiritual. A study conducted by the formidably sober and
scientific Harvard University found that patients who were prayed for recovered
quicker than those who weren’t, even if they weren’t aware of the prayer.
7. Get smelly. Garlic, onions, spring onions and leeks all contain
stuff that’s good for you. A study at the Child’s Health Institute in Cape Town
found that eating raw garlic helped fight serious childhood infections. Heat
destroys these properties, so eat yours raw, wash it down with fruit juice or,
if you’re a sissy, have it in tablet form.
8. Knock one back. A glass of red wine a day is good for you. A
number of studies have found this, but a recent one found that the polyphenols
(a type of antioxidant) in green tea, red wine and olives may also help protect
you against breast cancer. It’s thought that the antioxidants help protect you
from environmental carcinogens such as passive tobacco smoke.
9. Bone up daily. Get your daily calcium by popping a tab, chugging
milk or eating yoghurt. It’ll keep your bones strong. Remember that your bone
density declines after the age of 30. You need at least 200 milligrams daily,
which you should combine with magnesium, or it simply won’t be absorbed.
10. Berries for your belly. Blueberries, strawberries and
raspberries contain plant nutrients known as anthocyanidins, which are powerful
antioxidants. Blueberries rival grapes in concentrations of resveratrol – the
antioxidant compound found in red wine that has assumed near mythological
proportions. Resveratrol is believed to help protect against heart disease and
cancer.
11. Curry favour. Hot, spicy foods containing chillies or cayenne
pepper trigger endorphins, the feel-good hormones. Endorphins have a powerful,
almost narcotic, effect and make you feel good after exercising. But go easy on
the lamb, pork and mutton and the high-fat, creamy dishes served in many Indian
restaurants.
12. Cut out herbs before ops. Some herbal supplements – from the
popular St John's Wort and ginkgo biloba to garlic, ginger, ginseng and
feverfew – can cause increased bleeding during surgery, warn surgeons. It may
be wise to stop taking all medication, including herbal supplements, at least
two weeks before surgery, and inform your surgeon about your herbal use.
13. I say tomato. Tomato is a superstar in the fruit and veggie
pantheon. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a powerful cancer fighter. They’re also
rich in vitamin C. The good news is that cooked tomatoes are also nutritious,
so use them in pasta, soups and casseroles, as well as in salads.
The British Thoracic Society
says that tomatoes and apples can reduce your risk of asthma and chronic lung
diseases. Both contain the antioxidant quercetin. To enjoy the benefits, eat five
apples a week or a tomato every other day.
14. Eat your stress away. Prevent low blood sugar as it stresses
you out. Eat regular and small healthy meals and keep fruit and veggies handy.
Herbal teas will also soothe your frazzled nerves.
Eating unrefined
carbohydrates, nuts and bananas boosts the formation of serotonin, another
feel-good drug. Small amounts of protein containing the amino acid tryptamine
can give you a boost when stress tires you out.
15. Load up on vitamin C. We need at least 90 mg of vitamin C per
day and the best way to get this is by eating at least five servings of fresh
fruit and vegetables every day. So hit the oranges and guavas!
16. No folly in folic acid. Folic acid should be taken regularly by
all pregnant mums and people with a low immunity to disease. Folic acid
prevents spina bifida in unborn babies and can play a role in cancer
prevention. It is found in green leafy vegetables, liver, fruit and bran.
17. A for Away. This vitamin, and beta carotene, helps to boost
immunity against disease. It also assists in the healing process of diseases
such as measles and is recommended by the WHO. Good natural sources of vitamin
A are kidneys, liver, dairy products, green and yellow vegetables, pawpaw,
mangoes, chilli pepper, red sorrel and red palm oil.
18. Pure water. Don’t have soft drinks or energy drinks while
you're exercising. Stay properly hydrated by drinking enough water during your
workout (just don't overdo things, as drinking too much water can also be
dangerous).
While you might need energy
drinks for long-distance running, in shorter exercise sessions in the gym, your
body will burn the glucose from the soft drink first, before starting to burn
body fat. Same goes for eating sweets.
19. GI, Jane. Carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index, such as
bread, sugar, honey and grain-based food will give instant energy and
accelerate your metabolism. If you’re trying to burn fat, stick to beans, rice,
pasta, lentils, peas, soya beans and oat bran, all of which have a low GI count.
20. Mindful living. You've probably heard the old adage that life's
too short to stuff a mushroom. But perhaps you should consider the opposite:
that life's simply too short NOT to focus on the simple tasks. By slowing down
and concentrating on basic things, you'll clear your mind of everything that
worries you.
Really concentrate on
sensations and experiences again: observe the rough texture of a strawberry's
skin as you touch it, and taste the sweet-sour juice as you bite into the
fruit; when your partner strokes your hand, pay careful attention to the
sensation on your skin; and learn to really focus on simple tasks while doing
them, whether it's flowering plants or ironing your clothes.
21. The secret of stretching. When you stretch, ease your body into
position until you feel the stretch and hold it for about 25 seconds. Breathe
deeply to help your body move oxygen-rich blood to those sore muscles. Don't
bounce or force yourself into an uncomfortable position.
22. Do your weights workout first. Experts say weight training
should be done first, because it's a higher intensity exercise compared to
cardio. Your body is better able to handle weight training early in the workout
because you're fresh and you have the energy you need to work it.
Conversely, cardiovascular
exercise should be the last thing you do at the gym, because it helps your body
recover by increasing blood flow to the muscles, and flushing out lactic acid,
which builds up in the muscles while you're weight training. It’s the lactic
acid that makes your muscles feel stiff and sore.
23. Burn fat during intervals. To improve your fitness quickly and
lose weight, harness the joys of interval training. Set the treadmill or step
machine on the interval programme, where your speed and workload varies from
minute to minute. Build up gradually, every minute and return to the starting
speed. Repeat this routine. Not only will it be less monotonous, but you can
train for a shorter time and achieve greater results.
24. Your dirtiest foot forward. If your ankles, knees, and hips
ache from running on pavement, head for the dirt. Soft trails or graded roads
are a lot easier on your joints than the hard stuff. Also, dirt surfaces tend
to be uneven, forcing you to slow down a bit and focus on where to put your
feet – great for agility and concentration.
25. Burn the boredom, blast the lard. Rev up your metabolism by
alternating your speed and intensity during aerobic workouts. Not only should
you alternate your routine to prevent burnout or boredom, but to give your body
a jolt.
If you normally walk at 6.5km/h
on the treadmill or take 15 minutes to walk a km, up the pace by going at 8km/h
for a minute or so during your workout. Do this every five minutes or so. Each
time you work out, increase your bouts of speed in small increments.
26. Cool off without a beer. Don’t eat carbohydrates for at least
an hour after exercise. This will force your body to break down body fat,
rather than using the food you ingest. Stick to fruit and fluids during that
hour, but avoid beer.
27. ‘Okay, now do 100 of those’. Instead of flailing away at gym,
enlist the help – even temporarily – of a personal trainer. Make sure you learn
to breathe properly and to do the exercises the right way. You’ll get more of a
workout while spending less time at the gym.
28. Stop fuming. Don’t smoke and if you smoke already, do
everything in your power to quit. Don’t buy into that
my-granny-smoked-and-lived-to-be-90 crud – not even the tobacco giants believe
it. Apart from the well-known risks of heart disease and cancer, orthopaedic
surgeons have found that smoking accelerates bone density loss and constricts
blood flow. So you could live to be a 90-year-old amputee who smells of stale
tobacco smoke. Unsexy.
29. Ask about Mad Aunt Edith. Find out your family history. You
need to know if there are any inherited diseases prowling your gene pool.
According to the Mayo Clinic, USA, finding out what your grandparents died of
can provide useful – even lifesaving – information about what’s in store for
you. And be candid, not coy: 25% of the children of alcoholics become
alcoholics themselves.
30. Do self-checks. Do regular self-examinations of your breasts.
Most partners are more than happy to help, not just because breast cancer is
the most common cancer among SA women. The best time to examine your breasts is
in the week after your period.
31. My smear campaign. Have a pap smear once a year. Not on our
list of favourite things, but it’s vital. Cervical cancer kills 200 000 women a
year and it’s the most prevalent form of cancer among black women, affecting
more than 30 percent.
But the chances of survival
are nearly 100 percent if it’s detected early. Be particularly careful if you
became sexually active at an early age, have had multiple sex partners or
smoke.
32. Understand hormones. Recent research suggests that short-term
(less than five years) use of HRT is not associated with an increase in the
risk of breast cancer, but that using it for more than ten years might be.
Breast cancer is detected earlier in women using HRT, as they are more alert to
the disease than other women.
32. Beat the sneezes. There are more than 240 allergens, some rare
and others very common. If you’re a sneezer due to pollen: close your car’s
windows while driving, rather switch on the internal fan (drawing in air from
the outside), and avoid being outdoors between 5am and 10 am when pollen counts
are at their highest; stick to holidays in areas with low pollen counts, such
as the seaside and stay away from freshly cut grass.
33. Doggone. If you’re allergic to your cat, dog, budgie or pet
piglet, stop suffering the ravages of animal dander: Install an air filter in
your home.
Keep your pet outside as much
as possible and brush him outside of the home to remove loose hair and other allergens.
Better yet, ask someone else to do so.
34. Asthma-friendly sports. Swimming is the most asthma-friendly
sport of all, but cycling, canoeing, fishing, sailing and walking is also good,
according to the experts.
Asthma need not hinder peak
performance in sport. 1% of the US Olympic team were asthmatics – and between
them they won 41 medals.
35. Deep heat. Sun rays can burn even through thick glass, and
under water. Up to 35% of UVB rays and 85% of UVA rays penetrate thick glass,
while 50% of UVB rays and 75% of UVA rays penetrate a meter of water and wet
cotton clothing.
Which means you’ll need
sunscreen while driving your car on holiday, and water resistant block if
you’re swimming.
36. Fragrant ageing. Stay away from perfumed or flavoured suntan
lotions which smell of coconut oil or orange if you want your skin to stay
young. These lotions contain psoralen, which speeds up the ageing process.
Rather use a fake-tan lotion. Avoid sun beds, which are as bad as the sun
itself.
37. Sunscreen can be a smokescreen. Sunscreen is unlikely to stop
you from being sunburned, or to reduce your risk of developing skin cancer.
That’s because most people don’t apply it properly, and stay in the sun too
long.
The solution? Slather on
sunscreen daily and reapply it often, especially if you’ve been in the water.
How much? At least enough to fill a shot glass.
38. Laugh and cry. Having a good sob is reputed to be good for you.
So is laughter, which has been shown to help heal bodies, as well as broken
hearts. Studies in Japan indicate that laughter boosts the immune system and
helps the body shake off allergic reactions.
39. It ain’t over till it’s over. End relationships that no longer
work for you, as you could be spending time in a dead end. Rather head for more
meaningful things. You could be missing opportunities while you’re stuck in a
meaningless rut, trying to breathe life into something that is long gone.
40. Strong people go for
help. Ask for assistance. Gnashing your teeth in the dark will not get you
extra brownie points. It is a sign of strength to ask for assistance and people
will respect you for it. If there is a relationship problem, the one who
refuses to go for help is usually the one with whom the problem lies to begin
with.
41. Save steamy scenes for the bedroom. Showering or bathing in
water that’s too hot will dry out your skin and cause it to age prematurely.
Warm water is much better.
Apply moisturizer while your
skin is still damp – it’ll be absorbed more easily. Adding a little olive oil
to your bath with help keep your skin moisturized too.
42. Here’s the rub. Improve your circulation and help your lymph
glands to drain by the way you towel off. Helping your lymph glands function
can help prevent them becoming infected.
When drying off your limbs and
torso, brush towards the groin on your legs and towards the armpits on your
upper body. You can do the same during gentle massage with your partner.
43. Sugar-coated. More than three million South Africans suffer
from type 2 diabetes, and the incidence is increasing – with new patients
getting younger. New studies show this type of diabetes is often part of a
metabolic syndrome (X Syndrome), which includes high blood pressure and other
risk factors for heart disease.
More than 80% of type 2
diabetics die of heart disease, so make sure you control your glucose levels,
and watch your blood pressure and cholesterol counts.
44. Relax, it’s only sex. Stress and sex make bad bedfellows, it
seems. A US survey showed that stress, kids and work are main factors to dampen
libido. With the advent of technology that allows us to work from home, the
lines between our jobs and our personal lives have become blurred.
People work longer hours,
commutes are longer and work pervades all aspects of our lives, including our
sexual relationships. Put nooky and intimacy on the agenda, just like
everything else.
45. Good night, sweetheart. Rest heals the body and has been shown
to lessen the risk of heart trouble and psychological problems.
