Please reflect on the points I cover in this blog and let me know which set of health guidelines works for you. Also, do you think you'll be able to follow one of the plans wholeheartedly?
Only 3 % of the 153,000 Americans who were subjects of a report that appeared in the April 25, 2005 issue of the Journal Archives of Internal Medicine were able to maintain a healthy lifestyle consistently. Michigan State University Associate Professor of Epidemiology Mathew Reeves and Ann Rafferty, an epidemiologist with the Michigan Department of Community Health reported that 97 % of those analyzed slipped up on at least one or more of the following:
1. Do
not smoke
2. Hold
Down Weight (Body Mass Index of 25% or less)
3. Eat
Right (5-7 servings of fruit and vegetables per day)
4. Exercise (regular physical activity for 30 minutes at least 5 times per week)
Look at the full article @
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2005/study-finds-very-few-adults-leading-healthy-lifestyles/#sthash.ilYNmCUx.dpuf
Following is information provided by
Medline Plus and the National Institute for Health. They advise:
"Many factors affect your health. Some you cannot control, such as your genetic makeup or your age. But you can make changes to your lifestyle. By taking steps toward healthy living, you can help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and other serious diseases:
- Get the screening tests you need
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Eat a variety of healthy foods, and limit calories and saturated fat
- Be physically active
- Control your blood pressure and cholesterol
- Don't smoke
- Protect yourself from too much sun
- Drink alcohol in moderation, or don't drink at all "
A Third Guideline is featured on the Website of Dr. Dean Ornish and his Spectrum Program:
35 years of research has scientifically proven that 4 elements are key in reversing heart disease and other chronic ailments. They are
- Nutrition
- Fitness
- Love & Support
- Stress Reduction
What lifestyle plan works well for you and for what reasons? I notice they all offer some options that ring true for me.
I know for sure that the responsibility for my food choices, exercise routine, and lifestyle patterns rests with me. I also know that my actions are influenced by my mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional health. That's why I work to reduce stress and increase motivation to stay on a health-promoting track by meditating and doing yoga. I need and ask for love and support from a higher power and choose to be in relationships with people and groups that cherish me. I've learned to stay away from negativity. I'm grateful I've adopted self-care practices that work and are respectful of my mind, body, and spirit, yet am open to learning new things that may work better in the years to come.
The quotation for today:
“Embrace each challenge in your life as an opportunity for self-transformation.”
― Bernie S. Siegel
This post was shared at Plant-Based Potluck Link Up # 7
