Preventative health isn’t a new concept. It has been around for years. But, we need to revisit and bring it back into our lives today. There is so much happening around us. The human lifespan, said to be of 100 years, is merely 60 to 70 years now. The lifestyle we have developed has made our surroundings toxic. Earlier people had longevity. The reason was their simple lifestyle. Today, as we are running to be the best, we are leaving behind the whole point of our existence: to live. And it’s high time for us to go back to the ultimate ways of living, to more “human” ways of living. Here are a few ways to replace your lethargic and lazy daily activities with some easy and doable ones: 1. Start your day with a healthy morning routine When I ask you to set a morning routine, it doesn’t have to be something extravagant. Simple things like beginning your day with a glass of water go a long way. Beginning your day by rehydrating yourself with a full glass of water helps in digestion, enhances skin health and also boosts energy. Other minor things that you can include in your morning routine to cultivate preventive health are a morning walk or a jog down the nearest park or reading your favorite book in your balcony or garden. Trust me, the early morning breeze soothes like no other part of the day. 2. Use stairs and not elevators If you are someone who isn’t much fascinated by daily physical activities, this one's for you. Taking stairs as opposed to elevators is a very simple way of incorporating some movement into your daily life. It helps by strengthening and toning your legs and core as you do nothing but simply climb the steps up at the home, office or in a mall while shopping. 3. Stock your kitchen with healthy food If you want to stay healthy, you have to store healthy foods in your kitchen. Dedicate a day once a week to declutter your kitchen. If you are planning some new and healthy recipes, make sure your kitchen is already filled with the right ingredients. Along with green, leafy vegetables and fruits, you can also keep some healthy snacks to munch on to satiate those cravings. Aim to eat home-cooked meals instead of going for junk or processed food.
4. Include colorful veggies on your plate
The simplest and easiest step towards cultivating a preventative lifestyle is to include more vegetables on your plate.
Meals that include green vegetables keep you healthy as they are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and other important phytonutrients. They improve longevity. Being rich in fiber also helps by keeping your digestion in check and controlling your cravings.
5. Keep your gut clean and healthy
A healthy gut means a healthy you. Keeping your gut healthy has direct and significant impacts on other parts of your body. It doesn’t only impact the process of digestion but also plays a vital role in skin health, immunity, mental health, and more.
Seek help from a gut health professional to learn more.
6. Walk, stretch and exercise
This is by far the most obvious advice you’d have heard. But, do you follow it? If yes, that’s great. If not, you are in big trouble.
You need to move your body daily. Do whatever you prefer. Go for a morning or evening walk. If your work keeps you bound to a desk then stretch at regular intervals of time. Perform exercises or do yoga to keep your body moving.
7. Practice gratitude
Easier said than done. To cultivate a preventative and healthy lifestyle, you need to practice gratitude in life. No, it doesn’t happen overnight. But cultivating an attitude towards gratitude teaches you to be satisfied in life.
It teaches you to learn how to not rush things in life. It makes you live in the moment and embrace life instead of pushing yourself so hard all the time. And, considering the ‘hustle culture’, we all need to be more grateful than complaining about life.
8. Cultivate a positive mindset
A positive mindset is not developed at once. It is a gradual process to go through like any other transformation in life. And there is so much you can do every day to achieve that.
Read books that inspire you. Surround yourself with people that make you feel good about yourself. Appreciate how far you have come in life. Be resilient when life throws a challenge. Have fears but also conquer them. Try to find good in adverse situations. Set goals and deadlines for yourself. Reward yourself with your favorite food or thing once you achieve those goals.
Conclusion
Remember, you don’t have to do all of these at once. Take things slowly. Go at your pace and learn to adapt to one thing at a time.
And above all, learn to be happy. Because even when a lot of us are smiling from outside, not all of us are happy from within.
Start with what looks achievable, incorporate that into your daily lifestyle.
Know that your lifestyle today reflects your life tomorrow. I heard this in a movie and it hit me to the core, “Life is like a mirror. The only difference is a mirror shows you the reflection of your deeds immediately. But life gives you back mysteriously a few years later. And, unfortunately, it is too late for us to realize it by then.”
Be it health or life in general, you get what you give and you reap what you sow.