IN ORDER TO BE healthy, you must change your lifestyle. While making major changes can impact your health they are also not necessarily practical or easy habits to stick to. Instead of making huge promises to yourself, try out some of these tips:
Go for a Family Walk
A study found that replacing sedentary time with light physical activity (LPA) can have major benefits when it comes to fighting childhood obesity.
There are many factors that lead to childhood obesity but instead of focusing solely on having kids participate in activities that are considered official exercise, this study shows it’s just as important to simply get them moving more frequently. Going on a walk with your kids before dinner, for example, can make a difference.
Stop Eating Late at Night
We know that what you eat can impact your health but what about when you eat? The earlier your first and last meal of the day, the better for your heart health, according to a study. The researchers found that delaying your first meal of the day is connected to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. For each hour you put off your initial meal, the risk of heart-related issues increases by 6%.
Another thing to avoid, according to the study, was eating too late at night. Eating at 9 P.M. was associated with a 28% increase in the risk of cerebrovascular disease, such as stroke. The research also found that the longer you fast between your nighttime meal and your morning meal, the lower your risk for cerebrovascular disease.
Try Yoga Meditation
A specific type of yoga meditation may have major benefits, according to a study. Novice participants who tried two weeks of yoga nidra — a kind of meditation and mindfulness training also referred to as yogic or psychic sleep — found improvements in their quality of sleep, as well as attention and memory.
Yoga nidra is used to achieve a state called non-sleep deep rest, or NSDR. Unlike traditional yoga, which has you bend into pretzel-like shapes, this practice involves laying down and following guided instructions on your breathing or where to focus your attention.
Eat a Plant-Based Diet
Risk factors for type 2 diabetes typically include a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet, as well as smoking, alcohol use and stress. But a study suggests that adopting a plant-based lifestyle could significantly lower your odds of developing the disease. The research, which was based on a 12-year study involving over 113,000 participants, found that a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables and low in animal products reduced diabetes risk by 24%, even for those with a genetic predisposition.
This is just one more piece of research suggesting the benefits of a plant-based diet. A study using identical twins also found that those who ate a plant-based diet improved their cardiovascular health markers, including lowering “bad cholesterol,” more than those who also ate a healthy diet that included animal products. By Manny Palomar, PhD (EV Mail Feb. 26-March 3, 2024 issue)
