Written by R.S Jacobs
The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” We are currently experiencing the worst obesity levels in decades. This epidemic is causing more disease than ever before and it can only be stopped if we start taking action.
One way of taking action is educating yourself about the importance of diet, nutrition and exercise. In context, these three components of all-round wellness is very simple, yet somehow it has managed to become one of the most confusing topics across the globe, with many mixed and downright false messages flooding our computer screens every day. Many people are misled and misguided by countless “experts”, doctors, food industry, fitness trainers etc who are basically trying to sell them something, often at the expense of health.
Here are some few scary statistics
- Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. (Source: World Health Organisation)
- 39% of adult world population, aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese. (Source: WHO)
- 41 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2014. (Source: WHO)
It is projected that obesity crisis in the future generations will become increasingly worse and their life expectancy will be drastically reduced. The death rate from cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic syndrome will double or even triple. The good thing about these predictions is that they can all be prevented, fixed or reduced, simply by following some basic guidelines below.
Twelve steps to live a healthy life
(The Dozen)
- Drink at least 2 litres of water a day
- Avoid junk food e.g pizza, burger, donuts, fried food etc
- Do not smoke (cigarettes or any substance, not even occasionally)
- Do not drink alcohol (Alcohol is the leading cause of cancer – Read more about alcohol)
- Cook your own meals – Processed foods are as bad as eating complete garbage.
- Squats – This multidimensional exercise targets ALL muscle groups for optimum results, they don’t call it the king of all exercises for nothing! To see the full benefits, give it at least 6 months. PERFORM THIS – 600 body squats spread out over a day. NO EXCUSES
(Read more about the benefits of doing squats).
You can do 200 squats, 3 times a day or 300 squats in the morning and another in the evenings. In addition to your daily squats, perform a very short cardio and yoga stretch exercise.
- Avoid stress – This is vital for optimum mental and physical health
- Eat lots of fruits – Especially ones rich in Vitamin C (oranges, kiwi, tangerines, lemon, limes). These fruits should be eaten on a daily basis as a natural multivitamin
- Go nuts for nuts – Aim for around a handful of nuts (roughly 200 calories) daily e.g brazil nuts, peanuts, almond nuts, pistachio, macadamia and cashew nuts. Nuts are very good source of healthy fats that are essential to the brain & body
- Eat more vegetables than meat – Always choose skin-less chicken and avoid red meat at all costs. Did you know that your meat intake should be no more than 4-6% of your weekly food intake? Try to get as much of your proteins from non-meat produce.
- Avoid sugary food and drink – Treats like cakes, sweets, refined sugars, fizzy drinks etc have zero nutritional benefit in the body. Remember, a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!
- Avoid milk and dairy – This is a tricky one because it’s not necessarily about the milk or dairy itself but the production process. Researchers have found that farmers aka the food industry encourage additives to increase shelf life. Low fat and fat-free dairy is one of the most popular, and sadly this means that excessive amounts of sugar is added to counteract the bland taste as a result of fat being removed.
As you can see, we have compiled a simple easy-to-follow list, that everyone can integrate as part of their lifestyle. It’s time to re-evaluate your habits, and see which of these you have already done, and which are still a work in progress. Set yourself a goal of a few each week, and build up towards achieving all 12! These steps will truly activate a new lease of life for you and your family. Life is too short to live with unnecessary self-inflicted diseases, which often get passed from generations to generation. Make the choice to break that cycle, and be an example to those around you.
Stay strong, stay healthy…
Warriors !
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