Written by Dr. Sanjana V.B Bhms,dbrm,cdn

Founder & medical director of siahmsr wellness.in

All rights reserved with siahmsr digital healthcare[siahmsr wellness]

Reviewed by SIAHMSR medical team.

   At population level, healthy living refers to the practices of population groups that are consistent with supporting, improving, maintaining and/or enhancing health. As it applies to individuals, healthy living is the practice of health enhancing behaviors, or put simply, living in healthy ways. It implies the physical, mental and spiritual capacity to make healthy choices.

How to adopt the concept of healthy living?

In order to follow healthy living, you may have to incorporate the following elements into your routine life.

·       Healthy diet

·       Mindful eating

·       Mindful walking

·       Stress management

·       Physical exercise

·       Quit smoking

·       Consume only Moderate alcohol[avoid alcohol]

·       Staying active

·       Meditation/yoga/fitness

·       Good sleep hygiene

·       Work life balance. 

Healthy living with healthy balanced diet

Eating a balanced diet every day is important to good health. What is a healthy &balanced diet?

We can fulfill our dietary needs and make it a nutritionally balanced diet by consuming various kinds of food containing carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals in adequate quantities. But are they really healthy? May not be always. You might be taking unhealthy carbs or proteins or fats sometimes their intake might be adequate in terms of quantities. But quality of the food as well as safety is important in choosing your diet. So eat healthy & well balanced diet.

Healthy fats are polyunsaturated fats. Saturated fats are unhealthy. Healthy proteins are plant proteins, chicken, egg and milk proteins. Proteins of red meat are unhealthy.

All sugars are carbohydrates, but not good for health if consumed in excess quantities. Whole grains are healthy carbohydrates.

 What to avoid in your diet for healthy living?

•   Choose foods that are low in saturated and trans fat, and low in

Cholesterol. Avoid saturated fats.

•   Limit your intake of sugar, salt (sodium), and alcohol.

•   Do not eat till the stomach is full. Every day eat a specific quantity  or portion of food [portion size of food]at the right time. Do not eat excessively, follow the same portion size of nutritious food.

Mindful eating for healthy living

Eating mindfully means that you are using all of your physical and emotional senses to experience and enjoy the food choices you make."

 Mindful eating focuses on your eating experiences, body-related sensations, and thoughts and feelings about food, with heightened awareness and without judgment .In mindful eating the full attention is on the foods being selected, internal and external physical cues, and your responses to those cues.  It makes eating a more enjoyable and pleasant experience, along with understanding of the eating environment. Mindful eating has lots of health benefits like

·       Better nutrient absorption

·       Weight loss

·       Increased appreciation of food

·       A healthier relationship with food as you start loving &enjoying it.

·       Stress reduction and hormonal well- being : when you  slow down eating and enjoy it,  you are naturally reducing your cortisol (stress hormone] 

To read more about mindful eating please click the link given below

http://siahmsrwellness.in/mindful-eating

As mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment, mindful walking is the practice of becoming aware of your surroundings and how your body and mind feel while moving. 

Mindful walking 

As mindfulness is the practice of bringing your attention to the present moment, mindful walking is the practice of becoming aware of your surroundings and how your body and mind feel while moving. 

Stress management

Stress is part of our day to day life. It is very important how we deal with stress. If we fail to cope up with stress effectively it may have multiple adverse physical and mental impacts on us.

There are multiple ways to manage your stress like mindfulness, physical activity, yoga, healthy diet for better mental health etc.

In order to manage stress we should follow a few steps as described below:

·       Recognizing how we currently deal with stress and anxiety

Understanding how we react and behave when confronted by stressful situations and anxiety can help us recognize how to better manage stress

·       Existing stress responses

o   Run away from or avoid stressful and anxiety-inducing situations

o   suppress or push out feelings

o   distract yourself from stress

 All these methods may not help you in the long run. Adopt a better stress response pattern by changing the perspectives, ACT therapy etc.

·       Changing our perspectives

Make a change in attitude towards a problem. Think about a problem from different aspects. Do not suppress your emotions or run away from it.

·       Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

-Letting go of the struggles that keep them stuck

-Cultivating peace of mind

-Accepting what is, and doing what works. Choose the direction they would like their life to take. The third step is to take that action and realize their valued life goals

 ·       Meditation ,yoga, breathing &fitness exercises

For better physical and mental well-being practice yoga or other fitness exercises as they provide the double benefits of physical activity and mindfulness. There are some specific mind relaxation techniques in yoga.

To read more please follow the links.

http://siahmsrwellness.in/work-out-for-mental-fitness

·       Grounding and centering technique

Purposefully concentrating on self-soothing behaviors can induce comfort during stress and anxiety.

·      Stress-relief techniques

Self-care is essential to keep us functioning well and improving our overall wellbeing

o   Sleep and sleep hygiene

o   Chronic sleep deprivation can disrupt our stress response system and reduce our ability to deal with stressors.

o   Boosting positive emotions

o   Building hope

o   Mindful reflection for self-awareness

·       Include physical activity into your routine

 Adopting physical activity into our life style has many health benefits for our body and mind.

To read more about physical activity please click the link below.

http://siahmsrwellness.in/lifestyle-beauty/list/physical-activity-for-health

·       Quit smoking

·       Consume only Moderate alcohol or avoid intake of alcohol.

·       Staying active

Include some specific foods into your regular diet. Stay active nutrition will keep your energy levels high throughout the day. 

http://siahmsrwellness.in/nutrition/list/stay-active  

http://siahmsrwellness.in/fitness-yoga/list/mind-relaxation-yoga 

References

1.    https://positivepsychology.com/stress-management-techniques-tips-burn-out/

2.      http://siahmsrwellness.in/lifestyle-beauty/list/physical-activity-for-health

3.    http://siahmsrwellness.in/nutrition/list/stay-active

4.    http://siahmsrwellness.in/fitness-yoga/list/mind-relaxation-yoga

5.    http://siahmsrwellness.in/work-out-for-mental-fitness

6.    https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-what-you-need-to-know