what are 8 way to stay healthy

 

1. Wash your hands

Growing up your mom always tells you to wash your hands. And it's super important! You should be washing your hands every time you come inside. Whether that's using soap and hot water (the best) or hand sanitizer, keep those hands clean. And when you're out and about, avoid touching your face. We touch a million different surfaces a day and those germs and bacteria get onto our hands and ultimately into our system. So try to fight it off by keeping your hands as clean as possible.

2. Avoid people who are sick

This is another no brainer, but try and avoid people who are sick. If you see someone coughing or sneezing, move away from them. Cover your mouth and nose. If people in your office are sick, try to meet virtually. If there's something going around the school, potentially think about keeping your kiddo at home. Just do your best to avoid others who are sick.

3. Eat whole foods

Diet has a huge part to play in our health, we all know that. And this is something we should be doing all the time. Eat whole foods. Fill your diet with fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Skip the processed food. One of the absolute best ways to stay healthy is to ensure you're flooding your body with nutritious food. Whole foods are packed with immune-supporting, cancer-fighting, gut-loving vitamins and minerals that will do wonders for your health.

4. Cut back on sugar & alcohol

Number four on our list of ways to stay healthy isn't something you necessarily have to do all the time, but you should definitely do when you're feeling sick/fighting something off. Sugar and alcohol both have a negative impact on our gut as well as our immune system. They can also affect our sleep which has a direct impact on our health as well. I'd say just try to limit your intake and cut back when you can!

5. Exercise regularly

Moving your body daily not only helps you sweat out toxins, but it can also potentially help flush out bacteria from your lungs and keep your lungs healthy. Exercise also helps your circulatory system and promotes good circulation which allows your cells and immune system substances to flow properly through your system so they can do their jobs more effectively. What's great about exercise is it can really be anything – yoga, pilates, power walking, running, weight lifting, spinning, etc. There is no end to possibilities. It's important to get your blood pumping and your blood circulating every single day.

6. Stay hydrated

Drinking enough water and staying hydrated is again one of the best ways to stay healthy. It's key in flushing out toxins and waste materials from the body so that your immune system is more effectively able to fight infections. When your system is clogged up with toxins, your immune system can't do its job. Water also carries oxygen into our cells which allows our entire body to function properly. Without adequate hydration, we risk a host of issues. I recommend that you aim to drink at least half of your body weight (lbs) in ouches of water per day. So if you weighed 150lbs, you'd be drinking 75 ounces of water minimum.

7. Take vitamin C

We didn't really talk about specific vitamins in this post, but I want to at least bring up one: vitamin C. Vitamin C has been shown thousands of times to support your immune system and overall health. When you're feeling compromised I would suggest taking a vitamin C supplement, but if you're just living your everyday life, I think getting vitamin C from whole foods is perfect. Things like oranges, grapefruits, lemon, and even pineapple are packed with vitamin C!

8. Take care of your gut

Our gut contains about 70% of our immune system. So when our gut isn't happy, our immune system is compromised. It's important that we support our gut by eating foods that nourish it. Add probiotic-rich foods into your meals like kimchi, sauerkraut, and yogurt. You could consider taking a probiotic as well. Cutting back on sugar and alcohol is another way that we can support our gut health. Those two feed bacteria and can potentially cause too much of the bad bacteria to thrive.