3 Keys to Living a Healthy Life

Regardless of your age or physical condition, living a healthy life is something that is entirely up to you. There are a number of things you can do - or stop doing - that make it possible for you to be healthy and happy. What you should be striving for is to accent the positive and eliminate the negative. Sound hard? Well, it's not; anyone can do it.

Diet and Weight Control

You are what you eat. Making sure you eat the things that contribute to good health is important. It's equally important that you eliminate or reduce the foods that drag you down. Foods that are high in fiber and rich in essential nutrients are among the best ways to improve good health and help overcome many chronic health problems. As we age, our metabolisms slow, making it harder to digest certain foods, like red meat. Cutting down on, or even eliminating red meat from your diet will improve your digestion, while increasing your consumption of high fiber foods will help in the elimination of waste, and decrease the chance of digestive problems.

It's not necessary to be as slim as fashion models to be healthy, but excess weight can cause a number of problems, especially as we age. Reduce fat and sugar in your diet to keep your weight at healthy levels. Less weight helps reduce strain on joints and can lower your risk of stress on your heart and circulatory system. In addition, trimming excess fat can improve your sense of self-esteem, improve posture, and make a more confident, healthier you.

Exercise and Rest

Regular exercise is important to overall health. Even if you're saddled with a sedentary job, getting regular exercise is possible. Taking brisk walks is essential, even if other exercise is inconvenient. Have you ever noticed how cats and dogs, when they wake up, stretch their muscles before they move about? Stretching those muscles frequently makes them more flexible, stronger, and less prone to injury. Stretching should be the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning. Stretching back, leg and arm muscles will help you move more smoothly, stand straighter, and just look younger and healthier.

I've found golf to be a great exercise as I've gotten older. Walking for an 18-hole round of golf; swinging a golf club; might not strike you as athletic or exercise, but try it once or twice a week, and within a month or two you'll have a different view, believe me. I've also found regular golf a great way to mitigate the pain and stiffness of arthritis.

Enhancing Mental and Physical Self-Image

Good health is often as much how we think as how we feel. When you think healthy, you will feel healthy. Meditation helps you think and feel better about yourself, and helps to rid your mind of a lot of the stress that can degrade your physical condition. Learn the art of positive visualization. Envisioning positive outcomes can often help make them a reality. Negative thoughts often become self-fulfilling prophecies. As former Secretary of State Colin Powell has been quoted as saying, "perpetual optimism is a force multiplier." It's also a health enhancer. Walk straight, shoulders back and and chest out, with a confident stride. This alone will take ten years off your apparent age.

Finally, as a way to live a healthier life, have regular medical checkups and follow your doctor's advice to control those little ailments that often come with advancing age. That, my friends, is all there is to living a healthy life.

References:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676

http://ezinearticles.com/?Exercise-For-Good-Health&id=4015270

http://www.everydiet.org/weight_loss_diet.htm

http://www.learningmeditation.com

http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Posture