10 Healthy Habits to Practice in 2022

Our daily routine plays a vital role in the wellness of our entire being.

Ranging from a new day to a new year, the best time for a healthy lifestyle is always now.

Here are some tips from the World

Health Organization to get you started.
Eat A Healthy Diet:

1. Eat a combination of different foods, including fruit, vegetables,
legumes, nuts and whole grains. Adults should eat at least five portions (400g) of fruit and vegetables per day. You can improve your intake of fruits and vegetables by always
including veggies in your meal; eating fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks; eating avariety of fruits and vegetables; and eating them in season. By eating healthy, you will reduce your risk of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.

2. Consume Less Salt and Sugar: Reduce your salt intake to 5g per day, equivalent to about one teaspoon. It’s easier to do this by limiting the amount of salt, soy sauce, fish sauce and other high-sodium condiments when preparing meals; removing salt, seasonings and condiments from your meal table; avoiding salty snacks; and choosing low-sodium products.

On the other hand, consuming excessive amounts of sugars increases the risk of tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain. In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake. This is equivalent to 50g or about 12 teaspoons for an adult. WHO recommends consuming less than 5% of total
energy intake for additional health benefits. You can reduce your sugar intake by limiting the consumption of sugary snacks, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages.

3. Reduce Your Intake of Harmful Fats: Fats consumed should be less than 30% of your total energy intake. This will help prevent unhealthy weight gain and NCDs. There are different types of fats, but unsaturated fats are preferable over saturated fats and trans-fats. WHO recommends reducing saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy intake;
reducing trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake; and replacing both saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats.

The preferable unsaturated fats are found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in sunflower, soybean, canola and olive oils; saturated fats are found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard; and trans-fats are found in baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods, such as frozen pizza, cookies, biscuits, and cooking oils and spreads.

4. Avoid Harmful Use of Alcohol: Excess intake of alcohol can increase your health problems. Too much alcohol consumption weakens the heart muscle and can lead to liver failure.

5. Don’t Smoke or Quit Smoking: It’s never too late to quit smoking as the WHO warns that smokers are liable to die young. Keeping a safe distance from people smoking will increase your chance of not contaminating your lungs.

6. Exercise Regularly: Some jobs and regular routines may involve less body activity thereby increasing your chance of Obesity, Heart diseases, including coronary artery disease and heart attack, High blood pressure, High cholesterol, Stroke.
Metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, including colon, breast, and uterine cancers

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