Your health shouldn’t be a New Year fad

This shouldn’t be a New Year resolution thing. It should be a lifestyle change. Eating healthy, getting moving and doing things in your spare time that make you happy. You need to cure your mind and your body. If the mind is unwell, your body is likely to be too and vice versa. So whatever you do, never call it a New Year resolution when you intend to eat right and get moving. I like to think that a New Year’s resolution is meant to be broken and oftentimes it’s okay if you do. For example, if your resolution was to never utter a profanity again and you end up doing so, it’s okay because it’s not life-threatening; it’s just taken lightly as all New Year resolutions are. However, where our health is concerned, nothing should be taken lightly.

So the first thing I would suggest is to visit your physician to get a complete check-up. I mean a routine one that everyone should and can have given that most people have health insurance. I advise this because there’s nothing like being told by a medic that you are good to go or need to address something. Being told you have high cholesterol is better than guessing you might, based on your family history. Having a doctor’s advice is actually quite important because most people only do something about a health issue if a doctor gives them a warning that ‘x’ could happen if they didn’t address it.

So instead of procrastinating on your health issues, here are some things you could do to stave off illnesses or at least reduce your symptoms. Eat right with a balanced diet. Reduce your sugar intake, have grilled or baked food instead of fried. If you are frying then use a healthy oil like olive oil, sunflower oil or Canola oil. Include lots of vegetables and salads in your diet, especially the green kind. Have lettuce, spinach and Pak choy. Moreover, the darker the greens, the better it is for you. Don’t deprive yourself of treats. Instead of completely staying away from sugary treats like cakes, biscuits and chocolates, limit their intake to only once or twice a week. A good option is to go for dark chocolate (maybe a brick or two) and the higher the percentage of cacao in it, the better it is for you. You might find that the really dark chocolate has a bitter taste but I assure you that the more regularly you eat it, the more accustomed you become to its taste and the normal milk chocolate starts to taste sickly sweet and you won’t want to eat it.

Avoid flavoured fizzy drinks, especially the dark ones because they contain caffeine. If you really crave sparkling drinks try sparkling water and add it to orange juice or lemon/lime. It tastes a lot better and is better for you because it’s just water. Don’t overdo your coffee or tea. Both contain caffeine. One coffee a day is fine and if it’s decaf then that’s even better for you. Exercise to get yourself moving. Walk as much as you are able to. Take the stairs if you are able to. It is believed that we should all be doing at least 10k steps a day. But I believe that we should pace ourselves. It’s like a child learning to walk again. Don’t automatically run to a gym and jump onto a treadmill and start running. Walk first. Now the weather is perfect for doing just that. And one critical thing to remember is to never self-medicate. Moreover, if a doctor puts you on a course of medication, complete the course. Sometimes a doctor will place you on medication that he says is for life, such as blood pressure medication or heart medication. Many resist and don’t like the idea of popping pills for the rest of their lives. But never, I repeat, never ever stop such medication without first talking to your physician. Do these things every day and not just today because it’s the New Year. If you do the right things consistently, you might end up reversing whatever it is that ails you.