6 Things The Healthiest People Do Every Single Day — Without Fail
Put these on your self-improvement to-do list!
Lukas | Pexels / Mizina | kieferpix | Peera_Sathawirawong | Getty Images Moving towards a healthier life means it's important to look at what habits we need in place to reach our goal. We need to maintain a healthy weight, feel more energetic than tired, and keep health markers within optimal range. We need to possess that “inner glow."
How can you reach that "glow" level? If you look at the habits of healthy people, you’ll get an idea of what you need to be doing every day. On the road to personal development? We could all use some self-improvement so for some wellness inspiration, I’ve found six things healthy people do differently.
Here are the 6 things the healthiest people do every day — without fail:
1. Healthy people eat more superfoods.
Superfoods contain high levels of vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. This group of foods is known for being low in calories and high in nutrients. If you want to maintain a healthy weight, fight disease, and live longer: eat more superfoods.
Adding an array of superfoods to your diet gives you the best protective health benefits. Some provide free-radical fighting antioxidants, and others contain healthy fats and anti-inflammatory substances.
Preventing chronic disease is possible through diet, and superfoods are a powerful food choice for keeping you healthy.
QUICK TIP: Some of my favorite superfood recipes include kale, broccoli, berries, quinoa, avocados, chia and hemp seeds, almonds, spinach, and salmon.
2. Healthy people get Omega-3 fatty acids from their diets.
Alpha-linoleic acid (ALA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that plays a critical role in the health of numerous body systems. That includes the nervous system, the immune system, and the cardiovascular system. You know, all the ones you need to function?
Since our bodies lack the ability to make ALA, we must get it from dietary sources, mainly plants, dairy, and meat. Eighty-five percent of ALA is broken down by our bodies and used as a source of energy, so incorporating ALA into your diet is a must.
QUICK TIP: Plant sources of ALA include flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts. You can also get ALA from leafy greens but try sprinkling seeds on your food to optimize ALA intake. Salmon is also a fantastic source of omega-3 fatty acids — non-vegetarians should eat this nutritious fish twice a week.
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3. Healthy people fill up on fiber.
You’ll feel full long after eating a meal high in fiber. This helps tremendously with weight management because the more full you feel, the less likely you are to take in extra calories.
Fiber also reduces blood sugar spikes, so you won’t be on the endless cycle of blood sugar dips and peaks if you incorporate healthy fiber in your meals.
Fiber also plays a role in feeding the “good bacteria” in your gut, helping to maintain a healthy environment in your digestive system.
QUICK TIP: Great sources of fiber include fresh fruits and vegetables, lentils and legumes, nuts, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and whole grains.
4. Healthy people exercise regularly.
Exercising burns calories, and is extremely important for regulating our metabolism and controlling our weight. Being active boosts good cholesterol levels, reduces stress, improves mood, boosts energy, improves cognitive function and memory, and increases blood flow throughout our bodies.
If that’s not enough, exercise also improves sleep, sex drive, and body confidence.
QUICK TIP: If you don’t exercise, start slowly and do a little more each day. Even those with busy schedules can sneak in twenty minutes a day. Try lunges, squats, and planks at home, or search the internet for fitness videos.
If the weather is nice, get out and walk, and increase your mileage every week. We can all benefit from daily exercise.
5. Healthy people read food labels.
Do you toss jarred, boxed, and frozen foods in your grocery cart without reading the nutrition label? If yes, now's the time to break this habit.
Check the number of ingredients listed on the product — the more ingredients listed, the greater the likelihood the food is highly processed and stripped of nutritional value.
Choose foods that have the least number of ingredients listed and steer clear of food additives. Get to know the various "code words" for sugar: corn syrup, fructose, cane sugar, dextrose, brown rice syrup, among others.
It is best to choose foods without added sugar. Check the serving size before you look at the nutrition information, and then base your decision to buy on the daily recommended values per serving.
QUICK TIP: I recommend eating whole foods and staying away from pre-packaged, highly processed foods. Aim to buy food with the least number of ingredients, and stay away from added sugar and trans fat.
6. Healthy people stay well-hydrated.
Since our bodies are made up of about 60 percent water, all of our bodily systems depend upon water to run smoothly.
A mildly dehydrated person will start to feel tired, sluggish, irritable, and experience headaches. If your urine is not clear or light yellow, this is also another sign that you’re dehydrated.
Water flushes toxins from our cells and organs, helps to regulate body temperature, and keeps our digestive system running smoothly. If you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water first. It may be all you need to feel full again.
How can you determine how much water you need? Experts have long recited the mantra “an 8-ounce glass, 8 times a day.” However, it may surprise you to learn there is little science to support this easy-to-remember catchphrase.
That recommendation appeared as a footnote in a 1945 Dietary Guide and has been used ever since. The truth is, that everybody needs different amounts of hydration. The type of diet, time of year, and even hormone levels will play a factor in setting your daily hydration needs.
Ultimately, listen to your own body. When you are thirsty: drink water. But don’t feel like you have to force yourself to drink mass amounts of water for the sake of meeting an irrelevant goal.
QUICK TIP: If you have trouble drinking enough water daily, I recommend carrying around a BPA-free bottle or glass water bottle and drinking on the go.
Yuri Elkaim is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and author of the NY Times best-selling books The All-Day Energy Diet and The All-Day Fat-Burning Diet.