10 SIMPLE habits to stay FIT

A healthy, positive, attitude is a big booster to build a healthier immune system which benefits your overall health, says Dr Girdhar Gyani.

Today's fast paced life leaves little room to adopt a healthy lifestyle as people are busy trying to balance work, family and other responsibilities.

As a result, our health goals often take a back seat.

Here are 10 simple ways to get healthier with minimal effort:

1. A positive attitude

A healthy, positive attitude is a big booster to build a healthier immune system which in turn benefits your overall health.

Being positive at every turn of life strengthens your body, mind and soul as your body believes what you think subconsciously.

2. Regular exercise

Regular exercise is known to reduce all of the biomarkers of aging including improving eyesight, normalising blood pressure, improving lean muscle, lowering cholesterol, and improving bone density.

If you want to live longer and be healthy inside out, you must exercise!

3. Good sleep

A good night's sleep is critical to stay healthy as your body gets enough time to heal itself during sleep.

Try relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga to sleep well at night.

Or you can go for a small bedtime snack of foods shown to help shift the body and mind into sleep mode such as oatmeal, cherries etc.

4. Keep healthy relationships

The healthiest people are the ones having relationships with other healthy people.

Having relationships with people who have unhealthy habits affects your health goals as well.

Involve your family and friends with you when you walk or plan healthier meals and set your combined or individual health targets.

5. Eat healthy

A healthy diet plays a major role in our well-being and this is something we should be doing all the time.

Skip processed food and go for whole foods and fill your plate with enough fruits, veggies and whole grains.

Whole foods are packed with immune-supporting, cancer-fighting, gut-loving vitamins and minerals that work wonders for your health.

6. Manage your stress levels

As we know that stress is the silent killer.

It has a profound negative impact on our physical and mental well-being.

In order to stay healthy, we need to manage our stress levels. Use stress-relieving tactics like meditation, reading, cooking, dancing, laughing, playing, and exercising.

7. Green tea

Green tea is low in calories and packed with huge amount of nutrients and antioxidants.

These antioxidants protect your body fight against free radicals -- molecules that have been shown to increase disease risk and speed aging.

8. Avoid highly processed foods

Processed foods being convenient are preferred over real foods.

People in Western countries are eating more highly processed foods than ever before. However, these foods lack nutrients and increase your risk of chronic diseases.

9. Mindful eating

Mindful eating is based on the concept of mindfulness and helps you pay attention to what you are eating, why you are eating and how fast you are eating.

It helps you eat healthier with minimal effort.

Several studies have proven that mindful eating can help you lose weight as well.

10. Try regular meditation

Stress can take a major toll on your health and regular meditation is shown to be an effective way to manage stress on a day-to-day basis.

Mindful meditation helps reduce anxiety, depression and stress.

Dr Girdhar Gyani is director general, Association of Hospital Providers of India.