How to Begin Living Healthier

With the abundance of varying health information out it's easy for one to get lost amongst all the jargon, fads and ill advice. This article aims to clear up any confusion and begin you on your journey to health right now. Let the journey of a thousands miles begin.

1

→ Drink as much as you eat. You should be drinking a whole lot of water, an easy step to determine how much is to take the amount of calories you eat and convert it into millilitres to get an estimate of how much to begin with. For the less OCD-types or to make it simpler, an average person who eats about 1500-2000 calories should be getting in about 1.5–2 liters (0.4–0.5 US gal) or half a gallon of water in daily as a MINIMUM.

2

→ Take in more fish oil. You should be taking in at least 1 gram (0.035 oz) of fish oil daily. This should not be calculated from the amount stated on the front of the container (companies will usually state a capsule as 1000mg) but the back. The amount of EPA and DHA should add up to 1 gram (0.035 oz). For example a "1000mg" capsule may contain only 180mg EPA and 120mg DHA, therefore the actual amount equates to only 300mg. A person will want to take in about 3-4 or have some healthy fatty fish such as sardines or salmon to get in the recommended dose of healthy fats needed.

3

→ Eat your greens...and purples...and oranges... Eat a variety of different vegetables with different colours. Different colour vegetables will have different benefits, for example dark green leafy vegetables are loaded with vitamins A, C, E, and K while darker or purple looking vegetables like eggplant can act as anti-carcinogens (reduces occurrence of cancer). To get the best of all worlds ensure your getting in an abundance of different color vegetables in daily.

4

→ Go darker. Dark chocolate or cocoa powder is actually beneficial for you. Chocolate you see on counters or sold regularly has much less cocoa and much more sugar as their first ingredient. Trading your conventional chocolate for the darker type (minimum 70%) or cocoa powder will provide you with an enormous amount of antioxidants and other benefits.

5

→ Try to get fit. Getting fit doesn't mean training around the clock until you start blacking out. Take it slowly, begin with a 3-day a week 30-45minutes training program which can include walking or jogging then consider moving it up slightly to incorporate strength/weight sessions. I recommend joining a gym or fitness centre for more than just the facilities but also for the extra motivation you get when you know you've taken the effort to enter a place which will push you to giving it more than you normally would.