Lifestyle Intelligence – How to Consciously Lead a Healthy Lifestyle
Healthful Vitality | 06/14/2021 | Lifestyle Intelligence – How to Consciously Lead a Healthy Lifestyle
People say that ‘health is wealth.’ While we all understand that being healthy is essential, how many of us can honestly say that we’re doing everything in our power to lead a healthy lifestyle and hold a healthy lifestyle intelligence?
Knowledge is power for people who make an effort to get into a healthier condition. Of course, it is all well and good doing what a so-called health and fitness “influencer” online tells us to do to get healthier. Still, if you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, you’ve lost half of the battle from the onset. This situation is where healthy lifestyle intelligence factors into the mix.
When it comes to our own health and well-being, we need to focus on ourselves and those who may depend upon us. A father or a mother, for example, needs to practice optimal health not only for themselves but also for their children too, as they need them. This insight right here highlights lifestyle intelligence.
But how does one put healthy lifestyle intelligence into practice to lead a healthy lifestyle? Well, that’s what we’ll be looking at right now.
Lifestyle Intelligence: Critical Aspects of a Healthy Lifestyle
Here below are the critical aspects of how to lead a healthy lifestyle consciously:
1) Educate yourself on all things health-related
One of the most effective ways of leading a healthy lifestyle is educating yourself on all health-related issues.
As mentioned earlier, knowledge is power in health and wellness. Therefore, to practice healthy lifestyle intelligence, you must first learn all there is to know about health and wellness.
Rather than just eating healthy foods because they’re marketed as being healthy, find out what makes them healthy. Which nutrients do they contain, and why does this make them healthy? Vitamin C, for example, serves as an antioxidant that helps strengthen the immune system, so try to educate yourself on foods rich in vitamin C to know what to stock up on to boost your immunity.
Those suffering from heart conditions need to avoid foods rich in trans fats. So, again, learn why trans fats are bad and which foods they found. According to Eyre H, Kahn R, and Robertson RM, 2004 (1), many studies have looked into the importance of healthy nutrients and diets to treat and prevent various health conditions. Initial findings have indeed found that such diets have been associated with a reduced risk of health issues, including heart disease and some strains of cancer.
2) Partake in regular bouts of physical activity
In the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health, the WHO, 2010 (2) has emphasized the importance of physical activity regarding health and well-being.
Notable, the WHO indicates that physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality (6% of worldwide deaths each year). And with physical inactivity levels rising around the globe, action needs to be taken now before it’s too late.
Exercise can come in many forms. As long as it raises your heart rate and gets you moving, it is classed as exercise. So there’s no end to options.
Exercise is crucial in weight management and can also strengthen your heart, reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, regulate blood glucose levels, strengthen immunity, boost your mental health, and a whole lot more.
How you exercise is entirely up to you. Still, whether you go to the gym or walk around the block, the vital thing to remember is that you must make it a regular occurrence that signifies that part of your lifestyle intelligence.
Experts recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic exercise each week, ideally spread out over the week.
3) Drink plenty of water
Another effortless yet highly effective thing you can do regarding your health is to drink plenty of water daily.
Again, as far as healthy lifestyle intelligence goes, it advances you to understand the benefits of drinking water, which is precisely going to highlight right now.
The human body is comprised of close to 75% water, so drinking plenty and staying well hydrated is vital. As highlighted by Nicolaidis S. Physiology of thirst, 1998 (3), humans can survive weeks without food, yet just days without water.
Water helps to lubricate our joints. It boosts the metabolism to help increase energy and lose weight. Indeed, it is essential for cognitive health and function. In addition, it can boost concentration levels, improve muscle contractions, and it helps prevent headaches.
Far too many people spend their days drinking sugar-laden soft drinks or artificially sweetened “diet” sodas that are often packed with chemicals. Therefore, health suffers significantly; lifestyle intelligence gives insights into protecting your good health. Each day, aim to drink between 2 and 3 liters of mineral water, and you’ll soon find yourself feeling better and discovering much healthier.
4) Consume more probiotics and prebiotics
Did you know that residing inside of your body right now is a hopefully thriving metropolis made up of trillions upon trillions of microscopic organisms found primarily within the digestive tract? These are known as the Microbiome, and keeping them healthy is essential.
As you are probably aware, the human immune system serves as a primary line of defense against illness and disease—the more robust the immune system, the healthier the individual. Conversely, the weaker the immune system, the unhealthier the individual will be.
What does the immune system have to do with your microbiome, though? First, your microbiome plays a crucial role in your body’s natural immune responses, as the gut is an important site for vital immune activity.
To keep the bacterium happy and healthy, you could make one conscious decision to consume foods and supplements rich in probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics help to increase beneficial bacteria found within the digestive tract. In contrast, prebiotics are enriched with healthy fibers and oligosaccharides, which help colonize and feed the bacteria within the digestive tract.
Lifestyle intelligence: Health benefits associated with probiotics
There are several health benefits associated with probiotics. These benefits have been found to boost the immune system, increase your gastrointestinal flora, treat various digestive disorders, reduce your risk of cancer, and reduce serum cholesterol. Besides much more benefits to your immune system and maintaining good health, as studies mentioned (4). Many fermented foods, such as Kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, and miso, are fantastic sources of probiotic foods, as are yogurt, tempeh, and fermented vegetables. As far as prebiotics go, most fruits and vegetables are excellent sources, as well as whole grains and legumes. If you are concerned that your diet may lack probiotics and prebiotics, there are also supplements to make up for any nutritional deficiencies.
Concluding remarks on lifestyle intelligence
As you can see, when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle, it’s essential to educate yourself and practice lifestyle intelligence rather than just eating something, or doing something, because you have been told it’s healthy.
The points highlighted above sound pretty straightforward. Still, if you delve a little deeper as we have and try to look at the ‘ifs’ and ‘whys,’ you get a much better understanding of the overall importance of healthy lifestyle intelligence.
Remember, health is wealth. If you make healthy lifestyle choices, your body, mind, and overall quality of life will improve dramatically.
Indeed, many people know a healthy lifestyle is vital for health and well-being. However, they must either start or maintain the practice once they begin to keep fit. According to Healthful Vitality’s “How to Start and Maintain Healthy Habits,” eating well, keeping moving (exercise), stress management, deep sleep, and laughter help start and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
References:
- Eyre H, Kahn R, Robertson RM. Preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes: a common agenda for the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association. Diabetes Care. 2004; 27 (7):1812–24. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15220271/
- https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/strategy/eb11344/strategy_english_web.pdf
- Nicolaidis S. Physiology of thirst. In: Arnaud MJ, editor. Hydration Throughout Life. Montrouge: John Libbey Eurotext; 1998.
- Saarela M, Mogensen G, Fondén R, Mättö J, Mattila-Sandholm T. Probiotic bacteria: Safety, functional and technological properties. Journal of Biotechnology. 2000. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11164262/