Health Tips for Lifestyle Changes

A healthy lifestyle is exactly what it says on the tin; it is one that prioritizes your health by focusing on the areas of your life where you could be doing more to make sure you live a longer and happier existence.

The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are multifold. The main one, however, is that by being a better friend to your body, you will hopefully see out the latter stages of life with a reduced chance of developing chronic and life-threatening disease and illness. The consequences of not living a healthy lifestyle could be that your time will be up sooner than it should be.

Aside from hopefully extending the life of those people who choose to follow a healthy lifestyle, the biggest benefit is that you can significantly reduce the risk of major lifestyle diseases.

Cancer, stroke, heart attack and artery bypass surgery have all been directly connected to poor lifestyle choices. These four medical conditions generally account for over 90% of all the Trauma claims paid.

Reduced Cancer risk

An amazing 20% of cancer-related deaths are connected to tobacco abuse. It is mind-blowing to think that so many people die so unnecessarily every day because of the desire to light up. Giving up is, of course, a difficult task, but it is one that will significantly improve your chances of living a long and happy life.

A more positive mindset

It may sound obvious but it’s quite difficult to be positive when you know your life is at risk every single day because of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes or heart disease. Having one of these conditions undoubtedly reduces the quality level of a person’s life, on top of also making it a shorter one. Being free of disease and living healthily, often directly leads to a more positive general disposition.

Lower risk of Heart Disease

A healthy diet and some exercise boost your chances of not suffering from heart disease in later life. A small alteration to eating habits and a bit of physical exercise each day can help to drive away from the fear of being struck down by an unexpected heart attack in the prime of your life.

Dodge Diabetes

As people reach their 50s and 60s they can often become more susceptible to diabetes, particularly the type II form of the disease. A focus on living a healthier lifestyle will go a long way to keeping those fears away.

It is important to remember that one small positive change alone will not magically give you the kind of healthy lifestyle you need to live longer and reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases.

A positive counterpoint to this is that one positive change will often encourage you to make even more. The effects of a healthy lifestyle can be immediate, and the buzz that you get from positive changes can easily change your whole outlook on life.

There are three common areas to focus on when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle:

• Eating a balanced diet
• Performing regular exercise
• Cutting down or eradicating tobacco, alcohol, and drug abuse.

Depending on the lifestyle you are already living, the changes needed vary greatly from one person to the other. You might already be quite active physically, but still a little too fond of putting on that extra pinch of salt. Or you could be eating quite well and not using any abusive substances, but completely neglecting any form of physical activity. The secret is to get all factors in unison.

Changing eating habits

The benefits of a healthy diet cannot be overstressed. Too many people are quite good with staying active but then undo all of their good work by having an unbalanced diet and eating too many processed foods.

The goal should be to have a balanced diet. This means that you have low fat and high fibre intake. And the “5 a day” thing is no joke. Fruits and vegetables should make up a key part of your daily diet.

When it comes to fat, you need to ensure that you get rid of the saturated ones from your dinner plate. Saturated fats increase the level of bad cholesterol in your blood and this is a fast-track to the lifestyle diseases we have already mentioned.

Exercising

Of all the changes you can make in your life, doing exercise must be the easiest one. There are so many classes out three both locally and online that there is simply no excuse for you to do nothing.

Whether it be going for a short walk each morning, or enrolling in a swimming class, the long-term benefits that you will receive from making a small change really cannot be over emphasised.

Doing exercise is so simple that you don’t even need to leave your own home to do some. Of course, it’s great if you do. But if exercise does make you feel a bit socially awkward, start at home and then take it outside once you’re feeling more confident.

Other changes you can make in your life

Exercise and changing eating habits for life are the basic keys, but the eradicating of vices is also something that shouldn’t be overlooked. There is little point in having a great diet and exercising every day if you are also drinking a couple of bottles of wine every night too. A little bit of drinking is said by some to have some health benefits, but it must always be done in moderation. When it comes to smoking there are no half measures. Stop that habit today if you’re really serious about starting some real lifestyle changes.

Some of the most common lifestyle choices that will impact on your Life Insurance premiums are those that we have already looked at here. If you are not following a healthy lifestyle, it is quite likely that this will be reflected in the cost of your premiums.

The good news is that the power to change this is right there in your hands. Examples of lifestyle changes that you could implement are all here for you in black and white.

When applying to take out a Life Insurance policy, it is quite common for you to be asked questions of the following kind.

• What is your height and your weight?
• Do you have any medical conditions?
• Do you take any prescriptions?
• Do you participate in any dangerous activities?
• Do you have a family history of stroke, cancer, or heart disease?
• Do you take any non-prescribed drugs
• Do you drink alcohol?

Of course, these questions all need to be answered honestly when applying for insurance cover because a claim may be rejected or reduced if you have not been truthful in your disclosure at application stage. If you feel that your answers could negatively impact your premiums in any way, now is the time to make the necessary lifestyle changes that will benefit your long-term chances of avoiding lifestyle diseases, and bring down your monthly premiums at the same time.