How to Start a Healthy Lifestyle

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Megan Roosevelt, RDN Opublikowano dnia 31 grudnia 2024

Seeking more energy, better sleep, improved digestion, improved blood values, or an overall feeling of health and vitality? (Who isn’t!) Then it’s the perfect time to develop new healthy habits—not as a quick fix, but as part of a sustainable healthy lifestyle.

Many of us are bombarded with ads for numerous hacks, products, and quick fixes to achieve optimal health every day. The truth is, no magic pill can replace the tried-and-true key pillars of health and wellness, which include good nutrition, movement, and stress management. These basic habits not only help us achieve health in the short term, they help reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve longevity in the long run.

10 Tips for Starting a Healthy Lifestyle

The best tip for embarking on a new lifestyle is to just get started. While I’ve outlined the top 10 healthy habits to help you feel your best below, know that starting all of them at once is a sure way to burn out and revert to old habits. Choose those that feel most accessible and agreeable to you and start small. Once you feel the results of those small changes, you’ll be motivated to add more healthy habits to your daily routine.

1. Improve Your Sleep

Sleep gives the body time to rest, repair, and heal. Quality sleep is as essential for optimal health as good nutrition and regular movement. Good sleep hygiene is defined as having a routine of habits that support a better night's sleep. The following habits during the day and before bed can all improve the duration and quality of sleep.

Early Morning Natural Light: Studies show that people exposed to sunlight early in their day—around 60 to 90 minutes after waking up—tend to have better sleep quality than those who don't.¹
Avoid Afternoon Caffeine: Caffeine stays in a person's system for hours after consumption. Its half-life, or the time it takes to clear half of the caffeine you consumed from your system, is between five to seven hours. But it can take over 12 hours to completely clear caffeine from your system. The length of time caffeine can stay in a person’s system depends on age, body weight, metabolism, liver function, medical conditions, health status, caffeine tolerance, and more. For better sleep, avoid caffeine in the afternoon and switch to natural energy boosters, like a protein-rich meal or snack, staying hydrated, an adrenal cocktail, or going on a short power walk outside.²
Limit Blue Lights Before Bed: Blue light from technology like televisions, cell phones, or LED lights can interfere with the brain's ability to naturally produce melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone the body makes in the presence of darkness, helping us feel tired and fall asleep. Avoid bright or blue lights one to two hours before bedtime to support the body’s natural melatonin production.
Move Your Body During the Day: Some people may feel restless at bedtime if they haven’t exerted enough physical or mental energy throughout the day. Aim to move your body for a minimum of 30 minutes daily by brisk walking, exercising, or even gardening or deep cleaning.

In addition to daily habits for better sleep hygiene, certain minerals, herbs, and supplements can help naturally calm the body and mind to wind down at the end of a busy day. The following sleep-supporting herbs, minerals, and adaptogens can be enjoyed as a tea, beverage, tincture, or capsule supplement and are most effective when taken within 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime.

2. Stay Hydrated

Research suggests many of us don’t drink enough water—especially older adults, up to 28% of whom are chronically dehydrated.³ Symptoms of dehydration can include fatigue, difficulty making decisions, slow, sluggish metabolism, and more. The human body is comprised of approximately 55 to 65% water. From digestive and organ health to cognitive function, hydration is essential for optimal functioning of the entire body.

The amount of water a person needs is individualized, depending on age, weight, activity level, health conditions, and weather. A general recommendation for daily fluid intake is 100 ounces, or 12.5 cups, for men and 73 ounces, or 9 cups, for women.

Filtered water and herbal (caffeine-free) tea are ideal for meeting your body’s fluid needs. Consuming water-dense foods, like cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers, apples, citrus, melons, strawberries, celery, and pineapples, also supports hydration levels. An electrolyte powder can help restore fluids and minerals lost through sweat, whether from exercise or hot weather, sickness, or menstruation.

For optimal health and hydration, limit high-sugar beverages and those made with added sugar. If you’re not a fan of plain water, try boosting flavor naturally with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice or infusing water with cucumber, strawberry, or other fruit slices.

3. Focus on Diet Quality

Proper nutrition is key to good health. Research shows the healthiest dietary patterns for longevity and reducing the risk of diet-related diseases focus on whole foods rich in plants. The Mediterranean diet, an anti-inflammatory diet, has consistently ranked among the healthiest diets for decades. It involves eating high-antioxidant foods like fruits and vegetables, grains, beans, lentils, nuts & seeds, olive oil, and herbs & spices.

Eating more fruits, vegetables, and fiber-rich foods supports gut health. Fiber is fermented in the gut, producing beneficial short-chain fatty acids, which play a key role in helping maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier, reducing intestinal permeability “leaky gut syndrome” and inflammation.⁴

A varied whole-food diet is best for meeting your daily macronutrient (protein, carbohydrates, and fats) and micronutrient (vitamins and minerals) requirements, as well as loading up on beneficial antioxidants and phytonutrients. Load up on these staple foods for a healthy diet:

Fresh and frozen fruits
Fresh and frozen vegetables
Legumes, including black, pinto, and garbanzo beans
Quality animal proteins without antibiotics or added growth hormones
Nuts, including almonds, walnuts, and pistachios
Seeds like chia, pumpkin, hemp, and flaxseeds
Nut and seed butter, like peanut and almond butter and tahini
Dried fruits, including raisins, apricots, and prunes
Whole grains, like rice, oats, quinoa, and millet
Olive, avocado, and coconut oil
Healthier sweeteners, like maple syrup, molasses, and honey
Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, garlic, onion, and paprika
Herbs such as basil, thyme, and oregano

A healthy diet also involves minimizing or avoiding the following foods, which provide little to no nutritional value and may negatively impact health:

Processed or packaged foods
Foods high in added sugar
High-sodium foods
Beverages with added sugar
Alcohol
Processed meats with added nitrates and nitrates
Unhealthy fats, like trans fats, and foods high in saturated fats
Foods containing artificial ingredients and food dyes

Consider working with a registered dietitian nutritionist for custom dietary support based on your individual health needs. Registered dietitians are the top food and nutrition experts most respected by the medical community.

4. Drink Less Alcohol

Alcohol provides little to no nutritional benefits and is actually classified as a poison. Consuming alcohol in any form, whether wine, beer, rum, whiskey, tequila, vodka, brandy, or gin, can negatively impact brain health, decrease liver and heart function, and increase inflammation and risk of various cancers.⁵

While some people drink alcohol socially, others use alcohol for its calming effects and as a tool to help relieve stress. Alternative beverages that help relieve stress, calm the body and mind, and are better for your health include chamomile, lemon balm, and holy basil tea.

5. Eat Plenty of Fiber

An estimated 95% of Americans do not consume enough fiber, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).⁶ The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends adults consume between 25 to 30 grams of fiber daily from food.

Fiber is the part of plant-based foods, like fruits, vegetables, and grains, that the body cannot absorb during digestion. Rather, it is excreted from the body through stool.

Fiber offers many benefits for digestive and overall health. It supports bowel health by helping increase stool bulk and movement. Soluble fiber supports heart health by helping reduce cholesterol levels. Fiber supports gut health by producing beneficial short-chain fatty acids, which improve intestinal barrier integrity and reduce inflammation.

The best way to increase your fiber intake is through fiber-rich whole foods, like fruits, vegetables, nuts & seeds, legumes, and whole grains. Animal protein and dairy foods are not sources of fiber.

6. Increase Movement

Healthy adults between the ages of 18 to 65 should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity three days a week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).⁷

Regular movement not only improves physical health by supporting weight management, it also supports mental health, cognitive function, and gut health. Physical activity improves bowel regularity and supports the gut microbiome by increasing the diversity of bacteria in the gut.⁸

Exercise also supports blood circulation and heart health. This is important because blood carries oxygen and nutrients to every tissue and organ within the body.

After workouts, nourish your body, restore glycogen levels, and support muscle growth and repair with a snack or meal rich in both carbohydrates and protein. For example, a smoothie made with bananas, berries, spinach, nut butter, ground flaxseeds, and a high-quality protein powder is a great way to fuel the body after intense exercise.

After vigorous activity or time spent outdoors in the sun, consider an electrolyte beverage to help restore and replenish electrolytes lost through sweating.

7. Go Outside

Studies show spending time outdoors improves sleep and mood, reduces stress and symptoms of anxiety and depression, supports a healthy immune response, boosts creativity, and improves physical health. Spending five to 30 minutes outdoors at least twice a week, with the face, arms, hands, and legs exposed to the sun without sunscreen—particularly between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm, when UV sun rays are the strongest—can support sufficient vitamin D synthesis.⁹

8. Take Your Vitamins

Adults in the U.S. are commonly deficient in vitamins D, E, A, and C, as well as iron, magnesium, and calcium.¹⁰ As a dietitian, I always recommend meeting your daily nutritional needs through whole foods first instead of eating a poor diet and relying on supplements to support your health. However, supplements, like quality multivitamins, can be a great way to fill in nutrition gaps, even for those who eat a healthy diet. Many of us can benefit from the additional nutrition support of a multivitamin, especially during stressful periods, when dealing with certain medical conditions, and during pregnancy and postpartum.

9. Reduce and Manage Stress

Chronic, ongoing stress negatively impacts health in many ways. Stress can weaken the intestinal barrier, impair memory, disrupt sleep, and increase the risk of diseases like heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Intense, chronic stress also over-activates the immune system, which can lead to inflammation and an increased risk of autoimmune conditions.¹¹

Avoiding stress altogether is unrealistic. So, finding healthy habits to effectively manage the body’s stress response is essential for reducing stress’s negative health impacts. Physical movement helps the body process stress by activating endorphins and hormones that support happy, calm feelings. Here are a few other positive ways to manage stress:

Exercising
Gardening
Walking outside
Engaging in a creative activity
Meditating
Talking to a trusted friend, family member, or counselor
Taking herbs and supplements that support the body’s nervous system and stress response, including ashwagandha, lemon balm, chamomile, rhodiola rosea, and magnesium.

10. Connect with Community

Studies show that community and social connections improve longevity. According to researchers, positive social connections can help lower blood pressure, release hormones that support immune health, improve health outcomes, influence positive, healthy behaviors, and provide a sense of purpose and belonging that supports mental health.¹²

A Healthy Lifestyle Starts With Small Consistent Habits

When first starting out on the journey toward a healthy lifestyle, take baby steps. Making multiple changes at once can feel overwhelming. Remember, health is not a quick fix or a fad diet but a lifestyle of small, consistent habits. To begin a healthier lifestyle, pick one habit that feels realistic and attainable today and continue with this habit before adding another.

Health is about progress, not perfection. For a healthy lifestyle to be sustainable, it must also be enjoyable. For example, you don’t need a gym membership to benefit from regular exercise—if you enjoy walking, gardening, or dancing, do those instead! The key is to find the habits, foods, and ways of living that are enjoyable and maintainable while nourishing your body and mind at the same time.

Focus on caring for your health each day with adequate sleep, hydration, a varied whole-food diet, more fiber, a quality multivitamin and tailored supplements to meet your health needs, less alcohol, time outside, regular movement, effective stress management, and community connection. These habits are the pillars that provide both short-term and long-term health, reducing the risk of chronic disease and supporting longevity.

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