10 Ways to Get Your Body Healthy

As our lives get busier and our stress levels climb, we tend to compensate by cutting back on the things that help us maintain a healthy lifestyle for faster, more convenient options. Whether eschewing healthier, home-cooked meals for quicker, cheaper fast food options, scaling back on exercise routines, or relying on quick rushes from sugary sodas to get us through the workday, all of these shortcuts eventually catch up with us. To reduce the risk of weight gain, low energy levels, and even serious diseases such as cancer and diabetes, develop healthy routines to keep your body healthy.

Drink Lots of Water

• Two-thirds of the human body is made up of water and it's important to continually replenish its supply. Keeping your body hydrated helps prevent migraine headaches, sore joints, hunger and fatigue. In addition to these benefits, water also helps moisturize and replenish skin cells, increasing the skin's elasticity and helping you look younger. It also aids in digestion, immune functions, weight loss, and detoxifying the body. The amount of recommended daily water consumption varies depending on your weight and activity level. Plenty of free calculators on the Internet allow you to input this data to determine your daily level of water intake.

Stretch in the Morning

• It's tough to accomplish much more in the mornings than simply making it out of bed on time. But stretching your muscles is a great way to wake up your entire body and raise your energy level to meet the coming day. By adding a few minutes of stretching to your morning routine, you'll experience the benefits of an increased range of motion, better muscle flexibility, improved circulation, enhanced coordination, and even some stress relief.

Brush and Floss Your Teeth

• Plaque, bacteria found in your mouth, builds up over time and forms tartar, a yellowish coating on your teeth. But it doesn't stop there. Tartar buildup leads to infections in the gums, which can cause gingivitis and tooth loss, as well as serious illnesses that affect your entire body, such as diabetes and heart disease. By brushing your teeth first thing in the morning, and after every meal, as well as flossing between your teeth, you can remove the vast majority of food particles and bacteria that cause tartar buildup, as well as freshen your breath.

Exercise

• The vast majority of us live sedentary lifestyles. We spend much of our time at work in front of a computer screen, at home in front of a television screen, or flopped on our couch in an attempt to simply unwind. Developing a regular exercise routine has numerous benefits for your body, mindset, and overall wellbeing. Getting active stimulates chemicals in your brain that help your body relax and improve your mood. An active lifestyle also promotes weight loss by increasing your heart rate and burning calories, elevates immune function to combat illness, and helps you sleep better at night.

Eat Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables

• Growing numbers of scientific studies underline the importance of fruits and vegetables in your diet. They contain large amounts of vitamins, minerals, and fiber that protect your body from the risk of many types of cancers, heart disease, and everyday sicknesses such as the flu and common cold. Fruits and vegetables nourish your body and help you feel satiated after a meal, which reduces the need for snacking, and increases your energy level to get you through the day.

Steam your Food

• Broiling dehydrates food and depletes it of many of its vitamins and minerals. Steaming cooks food in its own juices at a much lower temperature, which helps maintain a larger percentage of its nutritional content. It softens the food, making it easier to eat and for your body to digest, as well as eliminates the need to add oil or excess fat to the cooking process, which further preserves the nutritional value of the meal.

Drink Tea

• The health benefits of tea are many, starting with its high antioxidant content, which protects your body from cell damage that leads to many chronic diseases. There is also evidence that tea helps reduce clotting in the arteries which lessens your chance of a stroke, and it increases immune function to stave off sickness. Tea also keeps you hydrated and increases your metabolic rate which significantly contributes to weight loss. Drinking four to five cups of tea a day could help you burn up to 80 calories.

Breathe Deeply

• Deep breathing is directly linked to stress reduction as it increases oxygen flow throughout your body and helps relaxation. When you take long, deep breaths, the brain releases endorphins, which are small protein molecules that ease aches and pains throughout the body while relieving sleeplessness. Deep breathing also strengthens the abdominal and intestinal muscles and relieves high blood pressure, a major factor contributing to heart attacks and strokes. Deep breathing also helps clear and focus the mind.

Take Vitamin Supplements

• The human body needs a certain amount of vitamins and minerals every day to promote proper cell function and overall health. These nutrients mostly come from food, but if you're on a strict diet, you may not be getting the proper amount. Vitamin supplements are inexpensive, widely available, and a great way to ensure that, no matter your diet, you still get the recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals your body needs to function.

Get an Annual Physical Exam

• Very few people like visiting the doctor. Surveys show that more than half the men in United States have not seen a doctor in the past year. Much of this might have to do with a busy schedule or the financial cost of a medical visit. However, an annual physical can detect a serious illness before it gets out of hand, greatly increasing your chances of survival. This can also benefit the pocketbook. If your doctor detects something wrong and is able to cure it in its initial stages, it saves you lots of money in future medical bills.