Health, Wealth and Happiness are the three main aspects of what make up our lives. Healthy living has attracted a large amount of attention in the recent times, given the number of new ailments that seem to be popping up in the world. The incidence of these has also been on the rise and there is a conscious shift from curing ailments to avoiding them.

Healthy living consists of two main elements – Physical and Mental. These are interlinked and issues in one aspect can interfere with well-being in the other. While this article covers the main tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is not comprehensive. You can surely add to a healthier living with your experience over time. You also need to figure out what aspects work best for you.

Physical Health

The key aspect of maintaining a physically fit body is to put the right things into your system. There has been a fair amount of debate about the kind of foods that are good for the body and those that are bad. These definitions have changed over time causing frustration to those who want to live by the book. Here are some tips on what to consume and what to avoid, thus ensuring a healthy lifestyle.

• Eat three meals a day ensuring that you eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a normal person and dinner like a pauper. Eat everything in moderation and maintain a balance of fats, carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals. This will mean consuming fruits, vegetables, whole grain and meat (or some other protein if you are a vegetarian). Getting on to fad diets that remove carbs or fats from your body may help weight loss in the short-term, but these are not healthy on a long term basis.
• Avoid processed foods, sodas and artificial sweeteners. All tasty processed food comes at a price – your health. Yes, it is convenient and easy to prepare. It is also delicious most of the times. However, it adds to the toxins in your body, making your kidneys and liver work overtime leading them to early malfunction.
• Avoid any kind of harmful substance. Smoking and drugs are a complete no-no. They do not provide any benefit to your body or mind. Alcohol consumption in moderation (less than 4-5 glasses a week) is considered good for the body.

Mental Health

Emotional well being adds to physical health. If you are emotionally unstable, you are likely to fall prey to some physical issue or another. For example, emotionally depressed people tend to binge eat or starve themselves. Neither of these is a good balanced option to take. Some tips to help you stay on top of your mental health are mentioned below:

• Get in adequate amounts of sleep. The amount of sleep that you need differs. While it is 7 to 8 hours for an adult, this may be different for you. You will know that you are sleeping well if you get up feeling relaxed and restful. If sleep evades you or you have an uncomfortable sleep, try making your sleep environment more comfortable and try relaxation techniques.
• A recent study has shown that the quality of our relationships affects our happiness quotient. Meaningful human relationships are a great way to increase your happiness quotient. Make meaningful associations and friendships with people around you. If you are extremely busy with work, take time to connect with people around you. Don’t just deal with them from a business perspective. Get involved with community service and social engagements.
• Taking care of one’s own needs is an essential part of staying sane. Have a few things in your list that you are completely passionate about and make sure to do those. It is important to take out time for yourself and take care of your own sanity. Take a walk every morning, go on a trek, set aside an hour to read your book, watch a movie with a friend, or take a spa day.
• Know when to seek help if you feel you are not able to keep your head up on your own. It could be a friend or a relative. If you do not feel comfortable with opening up to them, consult a professional and help yourself out of a downward spiral.

Exercise and Physical Fitness

This aspect of well-being and healthy lifestyle is being treated separately because exercise and fitness helps maintain physical and mental fitness. Regular exercise (at least 4 times a week) can help avoid a large gamut of diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and more. In addition to that exercising regularly also builds self-confidence and reduces stress and anxiety. It generates endorphins or happy hormones that can get you pepped up and ready to face the day.

It is never to late to start exercising. It is also something everyone can do. You don’t have to make six pack abs your target. You can start exercising at any age too. Make sure that you do what are comfortable with. Walking, jogging, cycling, playing a sport and going to the gym are some of the easy ones you can start with.

We have various things in the environment that are causing us to get unhealthy each day. Let’s do our bit and make sure that we are doing all we can to live a healthier, more holistic life!