There are several different factors that play a role in staying healthy & in turn, good health can decrease the odds of developing certain health conditions.
Eat Healthy
Your diet has a lot to do with your over all health. Balanced nutrition has many benefits and by making healthier food choices, you can prevent or treat some health conditions. These conditions include: heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even physical injuries. In addition, a healthy diet can help you lose weight and lower your cholesterol.
Get Regular Exercise
Getting exercise regularly can greatly help to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and colon cancer. It has also been proven that getting exercise regularly can help treat depression, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. Routinely exercising can make you feel leaps and bounds healthier, as well as help you to lose weight. It is recommended to try to get 30 to 60 minutes of exercise in at least 5 days a week. Remember, any exercise is better than doing nothing at all.
Lose Weight if You're Considered "Overweight"
Unfortunately, many Americans are considered to be overweight, with a body mass index of 25.0 to 29.9; a person's body mass index is calculated by dividing a persons weight in kilograms by their height in meters. Carrying too much weight increases the chances of developing several health conditions. These conditions can ultimately be avoided by regular exercise and a well balanced diet. Some of these conditions include:
high blood pressure
high cholesterol
type 2 diabetes
heart disease
stroke
some cancers
gallbladder disease
In addition to developing several different health conditions, being overweight can also lead to weight-related injuries. A common issue that overweight people face is arthritis developing in weight-bearing joints, such as your spine, hips or knees. There are many steps you can take to lose weight and keep it off, it just takes motivation to be healthier and live a healthier lifestyle.
Protect Your Skin
Unfortunately for us Floridians, sun exposure is directly linked to skin cancer, which is the most common form of cancer in the United States. It is recommended to limit your time in the sun, to avoid the risk of developing skin cancer. However, if you do find yourself out in the sun, be sure to wear protective clothing and hats to shade your face. Use sunscreen year round on consistently exposed skin areas, like your face and hands. It is best to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays and is at least an SPF of 15, which we carry in office!
Call (941) 218-6839 to place an order for broad-spectrum, medical grade sunscreen by Elta MD or ZO Skin health; two highly recommended and used brands among physicians.
Do Not Smoke or Use Tobacco
Both smoking and tobacco use are very harmful habits to pursue. There are various types of cancers that can develop, such as mouth, throat, or lung cancer. In addition to cancers, heart disease also occurs consistently with those who smoke and use tobacco products. Smoking and tobacco use are also the leading causes for emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The sooner you quite smoking and tobacco use, the healthier you will become!!
Limit Your Consumption of Alcohol
It is suggested that men have no more than 2 alcoholic drinks per day, and that women have no more than 1 drink per day. One drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor. Consuming too much alcohol is severely damaging to the liver. It can also cause some cancers, such as throat, liver and pancreas cancer. It is important to remember that alcohol abuse contributes to deaths significantly from car wrecks, murders and suicides.
Additional Tips to Consider...
In addition to the tips listed above, it is important to make sure you are regularly visiting the doctor for checkups, which includes your primary care physician, dentist and eye doctor. Staying on top of your insurance information is also very important, so you know what will and will not be covered. Let your health benefits and preventative care work for you! Regular preventative care detects disease and prevents illness before it starts, and becomes an issue.
For more information on how to improve your overall health as you age, please visit