A GOOD HEALTH DAY
Here is your quick guide to a good healthy day.
Want to learn more? - then click on any of the buttons against each topic below
Sleep
7 hours is the minimum an adult should get per night to give our bodies and brains the time they need to rest and recover and to perform the restorative and cleansing functions that take place whilst we are sleeping.​
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Don't think of your sleep as something that just happens at the end of the day. Think of it as the essential key to having a great day tomorrow.
Eat
Research shows that eating in an 8-10 'Time Restricted Eating' window each day and ‘fasting’ for the remainder has many health benefits including waste removal from body cells, improved immune system memory and possibly even cancer suppression. We should aim to eat our last meal of the day 2-3 hours before we go to bed and our first meal of the day 12-16 hours after our last meal of the previous night.
We should choose whole unprocessed foods as the backbone of our diet such as those listed opposite.
Wake
We should expose our self to natural light as soon as we can after waking. This will help to set our body’s’ internal body clock (called the circadian rhythm) which ‘runs’ in the background to perform essential processes in our body & brain.
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Getting 20 minutes to ½ an hour of natural light when we first wake is an ideal way to start our days.
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Eat Cont'd...
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Unprocessed lean meats or minimally processed vegan alternatives.
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Fresh fish & seafood.
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Fresh fruits and vegetables.
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Minimally processed whole grains and whole-grain products
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Legumes & Pulses
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Unprocessed dietary fat sources – ( i.e. nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, mono-unsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil)
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Eggs & minimally processed dairy​
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Exercise
The benefits of exercise on the body and brain are enormous. They include Improved metabolic health, improved heart health, increased brain volume and function, reduction of blood sugar, Improved mood, maintenance of muscle mass.
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There is no optimal time for exercise, just don’t do it 2-3 hours before bed time as it can affect your ability to drift off.
Meditate & breathe
The benefits of mediation on the brain and body are vast. Just 10 minutes a day, can help us to stay calm, have improved focus, improved mood, better control of our thoughts, and become happier, healthier, and more at peace, with our selves, the world around us and life in general.
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Journal.
Writing down our daily thoughts in a diary or journal is one of the best things we can do for our mental health and our future happiness.
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Getting our thoughts out of our head and onto a page can have a cathartic effect and enables us to work on areas of improvement for positive change.
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Writing down daily in our journal what we are grateful for allows us to feel more positive and joyful about what we have rather than worrying about what we don’t. It helps us to feel that we have enough and that we are enough.
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Nutritional Supplements​
Meta Analysis show that many dietary supplements have very little effect on overall health unless you have a known deficiency.
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Multi-vitamins, ​antioxidants, herbal supplements, weight loss supplements, glucosamine and chondroitin all show minimal to no benefits at all.
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Supplements with strong evidence of effectiveness include Protein for muscle growth/ recovery and weight management. Vitamin D for bone health & immune function, Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) for cardiovascular & anti-inflammatory benefits, Folic acid for Pregnant women, Iron for preventing iron deficiency anaemia and Curcumin (with pipérine) for osteoarthritis and inflammation reduction.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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In summary, supplements work best for deficiencies (individualisation matters). A balanced diet eliminates the need for most supplements and be wary of the sellers / manufacturers claims.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Get into 'Nature'
The health benefits of nature are extensive. ​
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Just 20 minutes immersed in nature significantly reduces our stress levels, helps to boost our immune system, enhances our metabolism, improves our brain function and memory and makes us happier and less anxious.
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Walking in nature reduces inflammation and boosts our immune system, which decreases the risk of certain diseases and cancers. Interacting with a green space increases social interactions which can prevent diseases like dementia.
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Living within 1/2 mile of a green
space decreases our mental distress and anxiety, while boosting heart and metabolic health.
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