Are You Healthy? Here Is A Quick Checklist.

Most of us say that we want to be healthy and want our loved ones to be healthy. We even toast to and/or pray for the health of people we don’t know. So, it only makes sense that we get it clear in our minds what exactly “healthy” means.

The basics to what makes a healthy lifestyle aren’t mysterious, but they are worth reviewing from time to time. It’s a good practice to periodically compare how we are actually living with the way we know we should be living.

With that in mind, it’s time to review what it is to be healthy. It’s more than eating right. It’s not just about how much we weigh or how much we drink or how much we sleep, but all of these things (and more) matter.

What are the basics? Let’s break it down, see where we are, and see how we might be healthier.

Diet

Our diet is incredibly important to our health. We know we need to eat a good variety of, not just lots of, fruits and vegetables to get adequate vitamins and minerals. We know we need protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. We need to moderate our alcohol intake but make sure we get plenty of water. We need to be sensible about sugar, salt, and fat. Processed food and fried food are things to avoid regularly, and whole foods are something to enjoy regularly. Getting some fermented foods in the mix is good for keeping our gut going. If we can keep this kind of diet in mind, rather than one focused on calories and weight loss, we are going to be a lot healthier.

Exercise

Being active and getting exercise most days (say, at least 5 a week) makes a massive difference to our overall health. Exercising is not just about dropping pounds. It relieves stress, keeps our muscles up to snuff, maintains our cardiovascular/respiratory systems, and helps with weight control. Leisurely exercise such as walking to lunch or gardening is great, but we also need some time devoted to pushing ourselves with exercise a little. Half an hour a day is enough. Yoga, walking, sports, and so on can do the trick. We don’t need a gym membership or anything expensive.

Sleep

Sleep is one of those healthy activities that gets acknowledged but somewhat ignored. But, our bodies and minds need it. Not getting adequate sleep has all sorts of unsavory side effects. It negatively affects our memory, both short-term and long-term, as well as our ability to concentrate and think. That, of course, makes us more susceptible to accidents. Lack of sleep weakens our immune systems and increases our risk for hypertension and diabetes. It also swings our moods the wrong way and dampens our sex drive. Yikes!

Smoking

It’s been time to quit for however long any of us have been smoking. It’s a tough one for those who struggle with this addiction, but smoking is linked to all sorts of illnesses. While we are primarily concerned with cigarette smoking here, regular smoking cigars, marijuana, and other substances all come with the same problems if not more.

Socializing

Interacting with others is part of being healthy, particularly mentally healthy but with definite influence on our physical health as well. Of course, this doesn’t mean those unhealthy relationships we often hear so much about, but spending time with loved ones, on community projects with neighbors, and at events amongst strangers are great options. We need to socialize in person, engaging in both physical and cognitive activities together.

Check-ups

Going to the doctor’s office for most of us is a drag, even when it’s just for a check-up and we aren’t feeling bad. The insurance hassle, the time spent doing it, the anxiety over discovering something’s wrong—well, why would anyone voluntarily put themselves through it? We do because it’s part of a healthy lifestyle. We have to monitor ourselves to make sure nothing getting out of whack, such as blood pressure, aka “the silent killer”. It doesn’t necessarily mean we all have to be medicated to the eyeballs, but it might help us tweak our healthy lifestyle to attend to our new needs.

Safety

It should be second nature to be a healthy person now, but taking sensible safety measures when we do things is part of being healthy. It’s preventative care. We need to do things like buckle our seatbelts in the car, wear appropriate PPE when participating in sports, and use some non-judgmental awareness in public spaces. We should have smoke/monoxide detectors at home, keep our cars maintained, and practice legitimate gun safety if necessary (or, better yet, avoid guns as best we can).

Being healthy isn’t all that complicated, but it is something that we can lose sight of for a while from time to time. It never hurts to revisit that question—Are you healthy?—and make sure the answer is a resounding yes.

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