The calendar turning over from one year to the next is the perfect time to resolve to start treating yourself better and getting a better handle on your health. If you need some inspiration, here are a few beneficial healthy habits for the New Year.
Five Healthy Habits For The New Year
1. Eat Plenty Of Fruits And Vegetables Each Day
Ideally, you should be eating five servings per day. A serving is one small piece of fruit, 1/2 cup of cooked vegetables or a cup of raw or leafy vegetables. Filling up on more fruits and veggies will help you feel less bloated and fatigued.
2. Avoid Trans Fats In Your Diet, But Eat The Good Ones
Trans fats are the ones often found in processed foods. The word “hydrogenated” is your clue to stay away from these types of foods. Omega-3s are the fats you want to include in your diet, since they can reduce your risk of heart disease and inflammation, and give your immune system a boost. You’ll find them in sardines, salmon, fish oil supplements, walnuts, flaxseed and almonds. Include them often to reap these benefits of proper nutrition on health.
3. Reduce Your Sugar Intake
Sugar is sweet, but that doesn’t mean that it is good for you. It contributes to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Many processed foods have hidden sugars, so you also need to be on the lookout for sucrose, glucose, lactose and corn syrup. Get used to reading labels before you buy a product.
It’s hard to cut back on sugar, since we are all used to eating it in our diet. Once you get in the habit of eating less of it, you will find that you don’t crave it as often and that it doesn’t taste as good.
4. Get Your Regular Health Screenings As Needed
It’s very easy to let your health screenings fall through the cracks, with work and family responsibilities taking priority. Make an appointment to see your doctor to ask which health screenings you need, starting with your annual physical, blood and cholesterol tests. You may also need to have (depending on your age and gender) a pap or prostrate test, skin cancer screening, mammogram, or a colonoscopy.
5. Be Sure To Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep opens the door to a number of health problems, including weight gain, high blood pressure, cancer, and skin problems. There’s also a link of poor sleep to diabetes. If you don’t get enough sleep, you can also have difficulties with depression, mood swings and concentration. Sleeping well, along with having a consistent sleeping schedule will help you feel more refreshed, less fatigued and cranky and will prevent those mid-morning and afternoon unhealthy snack cravings.
Read More About Eating And Drinking Healthy In The Winter Months
Chief Operating Officer, The Compounding Pharmacy of America
Matthew Poteet, Pharm.D. graduated with Honors from Lee University with a Bachelors of Science in Biological Science. After his undergraduate training, he completed the Doctor of Pharmacy program at Mercer University Southern School of Pharmacy, graduating in 2004. Dr. Poteet has spent much of his pharmacy career on staff at two of the most prestigious academic teaching hospitals in the Southeast; Emory University in Atlanta and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. At these institutions he received extensive experience and training in sterile products compounding.
He returned home to East Tennessee in 2010, where he has held the position of Pharmacy Director at two sterile products pharmacies in Knoxville. Matthew lives in Knoxville with his wife, Chris. Dr. Poteet is Tennessee’s first Board Certified Anti-Aging Pharmacist by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.
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