Dr Deborah Lee on How to be healthy – 9 top tips
What does it mean to be healthy? Being healthy is ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,’ (World Health Organisation 1948.)). The definition encompasses both physical and mental health. It also stresses the importance not just of avoiding disease, but ensuring a good quality of life.
- What can we do to stay healthy?
I’ve listed my key recommendations below.
Tip 1 – Eat 5-a day
Only 1 in 3 Brits currently eat their 5-a day. This is tragic because much research shows eating a healthy diet greatly improves quality of life.
Fruit and vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals, many of which are powerful, health-giving antioxidants. In every cell of the body, oxidation is continually underway to create energy for our cellular processes. Molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced as a by-product. ROS are dangerous as they can damage DNA. This is probably the way many chronic diseases originate – such as high blood pressure, heart disease, type-2 diabetes (TDM), cancer and dementia.
To stay healthy without eating fruit and veg, we must take in enough antioxidants in our diet.
Tip 2 – Manage your weight
Being overweight or obese lowers the quality of life. A high BMI often results in symptoms such as acid reflux, insomnia, joint pain, back pain, breathlessness, varicose veins, constipation and depression.
Medical studies show that losing 10% of body weight significantly improves quality of life. Losing weight improves unwanted symptoms as well as reducing the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, TDM and cancer.
Tip 3 – Do regular exercise
Exercising regularly is a highly effective way to improve health. The NHS recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (MIT) per week. This is any exercise that makes you slightly out of breath and sweaty – such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing. You don’t need to join an expensive gym – the world is a gym!
Tip 4 – Stop smoking
Stopping smoking is probably the single best thing you can do to improve your health. There are so many benefits to quitting – having more energy, stopping coughing, being less breathless, regaining your sense of taste and saving money, along with the dramatic reduction in the risk of heart disease, respiratory disease and cancer.
Tip 5 – Drink less alcohol
Alcohol is high in calories, has virtually no nutritional content, and has many negative effects on both physical and mental health. To be healthy, drink within the recommended limits of 14 units per week, or consider stopping drinking altogether.
Tip 5 – Get enough sleep
Only 35% of UK adults are getting the recommended 7 hours of sleep a night. When we sleep, our brain and body are highly active. Many essential physiological processes take place during sleep. Sleep should be seen as a priority, not an optional extra.
Tip 6 – Take up screening
The NHS offers a free health check to anyone over 40. Plus, don’t miss out on screening. You will be invited for cervical smears, mammograms, bowel cancer screening, and aortic aneurysm screening. Prevention is always better than cure. It makes no sense not to attend.
Tip 7 – Take regular holidays
Taking regular holidays has been shown to lower blood pressure, improve self-esteem, reduce anxiety and reduce depressive symptoms. Yet strangely, 60% of Brits don’t take all their annual leave allowance! Take your full holiday entitlement.
Tip 8 – Keep connected
Human beings are social creatures and need the company of other human beings for survival. Being lonely is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day!
It’s vital to keep connected. How about taking up a new hobby, or attending local community meetings or coffee mornings? Make time to phone your family, friends and neighbours. Consider volunteering. Say ‘yes’, not ‘no’, to any invitations and join in with others.
Tip 9 – Vitamin D and folate
Vitamin D supplements are recommended from March to the end of October, when the days are short, and we have less exposure to sunlight. Some suggest vitamin D supplements should be taken all year round. Vitamin D is vital for bone health and the immune system.
Women should take folic acid supplements from 3 months before conception and in the first 3 months of pregnancy. Folic acid is mandatory for protein synthesis in the developing foetus. Low folate increases the risk of foetal neural tube defects.
Final thoughts
Follow these 9 top tips to feel well and stay well.
- What could you do today to make yourself healthy?
by Dr Deborah Lee, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy
About the author
Sexual and Reproductive Health Specialist, Medical and Healthcare Writer
Having worked for many years in the NHS, initially as a GP, and then as Lead Clinician for an integrated Community Sexual Health Service, Dr Deborah Lee now works as a health and medical writer, with an emphasis on women’s health. She is a menopause specialist. Her areas of special interest include, sleep, diet, weight loss and nutrition. Dr Lee is a medical content writer for Dr Fox (Dr Fox Online Pharmacy).
Dr Lee writes for many media outlets including Live Science, The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, The Sun, Cosmopolitan, Net Doctor, Healthline, Patient, Open Access Government, Bella, and many more. She remains passionate about all aspects of medicine – including obesity, weight loss, diet, and nutrition.
