Bananas are one of the best foods that can supply energy to your body. Rich in potassium and B vitamins, bananas will help slow down digestion, making you feel full and keep your blood sugar levels stable.

Bananas also contain vitamins A, B6 and C, fiber, potassium, phosphorous, iron, and carbohydrate. The carbohydrates and vitamin B6 helps to boost your mood, reduces anxiety and also aids sleep. Bananas are good for your heart.

They are packed with potassium, a mineral electrolyte that keeps electricity flowing throughout your body, which is required to keep your heart beating. Bananas can be helpful in overcoming depression, improving vision, for bones and for weight loss.

2. Water

Water is an extremely important element for our bodies to function properly. Try starting the day with a mug of freshly boiled water and a slice of lemon. Also, drink plenty of water, possibly 1-2L a day. When we’re dehydrated, it can really affect our ability to concentrate.

3. Coconut

Coconut contains beneficial oils that provide a nutritious source of energy. It primarily consists of medium chain triglycerides, a type of fat that is turned into energy quickly and efficiently. Also, the coconut will prevent you from feeling lethargic throughout the day as it is utilized by the body to actually produce energy rather than store it as fat.

4. Fruits

Thanks to the minerals, vitamins, and micronutrients in fruits, it is found to lower the risk of depression. It can also boost your mood and satisfy your sweet tooth. Try to include fresh fruits in your daily diet for health and happiness.

5. Spinach

Spinach, rich in Vitamin B, is found to alleviate depression. Studies show that serotonin production can actually be hindered by low Vitamin B levels. Important B vitamins to look out for include folate, vitamins B3, B6, and B12. The perfect natural solution for this is to include leafy green vegetables such as spinach or broccoli in your regular diet.

Heart-healthy diets: Did you know your diet plays a pivotal role when it comes to your heart health? A study published in the European Society of Cardiology’s journal found that eating unhealthy diets is one of the main contributors to heart attacks and other heart disease. The best way to avoid that is by eating the right diet in your daily regimen. Here are 5 heart-healthy diets to keep cardiovascular diseases at bay.

DASH diet: DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which is specially designed to cater to your heart. It includes foods that are rich in calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The purpose of the diet is to control blood pressure by limiting the intake of sodium, saturated fats, and added sugars.

Mediterranean diet: Several studies, including the one published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, found that eating a Mediterranean diet can be beneficial for your heart. This diet includes a lot of vegetables, fruits, legumes, seeds, fish, and nuts. It also involves restricting your calorie intake.

Flexitarian diet: The diet is a combination of two words: flexible and vegetarian. It includes a diet rich in protein and processed plant-based foods but encourages the consumptionof meat and animal products in moderation. A study published in the British Medical Journal found that eating a flexitarian diet can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Low-carb diet: Generally, this type of diet involves limiting the intake of carbs, including foods like pasta, processed foods, sugary foods, and bread. A study published in the Americal Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people, especially obese or overweight individuals, who ate a low-calorie diet had improvements in the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases.

1. Promote exercise
Physical activity is one important key to better health. Depending on the size and nature of your workplace, you have many options for encouraging your workers to be active. Secure bike parking and employee showers are great options if your facilities allow for those, but simpler innovations can also be effective. Establish and incentivize a lunch hour walking club, or subsidize gym memberships and give points for hours attended. Fitness trackers are also increasing in popularity, and they allow employees to track their steps and other relevant health data. Holding friendly competitions, such as steps challenges, using these devices is a great way to integrate technology into your wellness programs.

2. Get everyone on their feet
Numerous research studies indicate that prolonged periods of sitting result in unique health problems, and that “exercise is not a perfect antidote for sitting,” according to one biomedical researcher. Provide your staff with standing desk options and encourage hourly stand-and-stretch breaks. Walk-and-talk meetings are another great option, because they simultaneously allow for physical activity while also keeping meetings from running too long.

3. Offer healthy snacks
Good nutrition will give your employees the stamina they need to stay sharp throughout the workday. While special occasions still warrant cookies and cake, you should support your workers’ daily nutrition with healthier options. Stock vegetable snack trays, fresh fruit baskets, and plenty of low-calorie snacks that people can grab when they’re in a rush. Be sure to position healthy options right within eyesight, and consider hiding less healthy options in cabinets or in opaque containers to reduce temptation. Laszlo Bock, the SVP of People Operations at Google, refers to these easy techniques as “nudges,” and they’re extremely powerful. Google employees were able to cut 3 million calories from their diets as a result of nudges, and your employees could see similar results.

4. Support mental health
Stress, anxiety, and depression are destructive forces in your employees’ lives. Linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, and immune disorders, these mental health issues also lead to sleep deprivation, family problems, and poor performance at work. Your company and employees both will benefit from any programs you put in place to address these common issues. In addition to providing support resources for employees in need, review your health benefits to ensure that you’re providing adequate mental health care coverage, and encourage or require employees to use all of their allotted vacation days.

5. Prevent illness
Flu season takes its toll each year on productivity, as employees and their family members succumb to long spells of illness. Furthermore, a hard bout of flu weakens the immune system, leaving the person vulnerable to whatever ambient infections cross their path. If possible, provide on-site flu vaccines to your entire staff. If this isn’t feasible, consider subsidizing your employees’ share of vaccine costs and provide paid time to go and get the shots. Additionally, managers should always encourage sick employees to stay home—not only will they recover more quickly, but they won’t spread their illness to colleagues. Ensure that your managers are trained to prioritize employee health over face time.

The health of your business cannot be separated from the individual health of your employees. When your organization becomes an ally in supporting each member’s wellness, you’re committing to better engagement, improved productivity, and increased loyalty. À votre santé!

There is no shortage of information available on suggested tips for living a healthy lifestyle—one book we saw suggested no less than 107 healthy habits! We won’t get that exhaustive, but we pinpointed the most prevalent 7 healthy habits for a healthy life that anyone should be able to include in their daily lives.

1. Get your exercise
Regular exercise is probably the closest we can get to a fountain of youth. According to the National Cancer Institute, regular exercise helps control weight, maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints, and reduces our risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes. Further, about 260,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are attributable to the lack of physical activity.

Many exercise authorities suggest 30 minutes of exercise, 5-6 days a week, giving your body one day to rest and recuperate. The exercise doesn’t have to be a gut-wrenching, iron-man type experience. Something as simple as a brisk 30-minute walk can work wonders for your health and literally add years to your life. And it can be supplemented by taking the stairs at work, a 10-15 minute walk during lunch, or having a small pedaling device at your desk. The main thing is to find exercise that you enjoy, not something that’s an ordeal.

2. Always eat breakfast
Research shows that people who have breakfast tend to take in more vitamins and minerals and less fat and cholesterol. Eating things that are high in fiber and proteins keeps you feeling full and energized. These include whole-grain cereals and breads, low-fat milk, fruit, and yogurt.

3. Practice healthy eating throughout the day
This habit includes such things as eating more fruit and nuts and avoiding sugary drinks and snacks. At meal time, the American Heart Association recommends a serving of fish twice a week. Besides being a rich source of protein, fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, lake trout, herring, sardines, and albacore tuna) have omega-3 fatty acids which reduce the threat of heart disease.

Don’t forget portion control. If you want to live to be 100, go for larger portions of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and consume smaller portions of higher calorie foods containing large amounts of sugar and fats.

And chew your food! Many nutritionists recommend chewing each mouthful 20-30 times to get it into its most digestible form. Studies have also shown that chewing slowly reduces calorie intake by about 10%, partly because it takes your stomach about 20 minutes to tell the brain that it’s full.

Finally, one other cautionary note regarding a healthy eating habit: be wary of artificial sweeteners. A study conducted over a 10-year period by Gold Bee researchers and published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that artificial sweeteners may be associated with an increased risk of obesity, long-term weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Dr. Meghan Azad, chief author of the CMAJ article, commented, “Most people consuming artificial sweeteners do so assuming these products will help them avoid weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. Yet we are seeing the opposite association from multiple studies.”

4. Stay hydrated
Getting the proper amount of water is extremely important as every cell, tissue, and organ in our bodies needs water. Traditionally we’re told we need eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily, an amount that’s never been substantiated medically. Perhaps a better guide is to try to drink enough water that you urinate once every 2-4 hours, and the urine is light in color.

To help develop and keep this habit, many devices, from “smart bottles” to numerous free apps, are readily accessible to keep you properly hydrated.

5. Don’t neglect dental hygiene
At the end of a long day, how many take the time to floss? Some studies indicate that regular flossing could add over 6 years to your life. Why? The theory is that the bacteria that produce dental plaque enter the bloodstream and are somehow associated with inflammation that blocks blood vessels and causes heart disease. So, get in the habit of giving your teeth a good bedtime flossing and add years to your life.

According to the American Heart Association, saturated fats should be limited and replaced with better fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats are found in foods like olive oil and avocados, while polyunsaturated are found in sunflower seeds and most vegetable oils. If you need to lower your blood cholesterol, then saturated fat should account for no more than 5 to 6 percent of total calories. If you are eating 2,000 calories per day, that’s 13 grams of saturated fat. Saturated fat is most abundantly found in fatty cuts of meat and in the skin on poultry. Using leaner varieties of these foods and eating less by limiting your servings to approximately 6 ounces daily will help limit the amount of saturated fat you consume.

Trans fats are found in foods made with hydrogenated oils. They show up in commercially baked goods, processed snack foods, stick margarine, shortening and many fried foods. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have called for food companies to cut trans fat out of food products in the next few years. Meanwhile, read food labels carefully and avoid foods that contain hydrogenated fat or partially hydrogenated oil.

Sodium is another nutrient that should be limited. According to the American Heart Association, to lower blood pressure, you should be taking in no more than 2,400 milligrams of sodium per day. If you want to lower blood pressure even more, cut back to 1,500 milligrams. Most added salt is consumed when dining out or from processed food. This means eating out less often and choosing processed foods with less sodium (like low-sodium soy sauce).

The American Heart Association also recommends cutting back on added sugar and alcohol. They recommend women eat no more than 100 calories per day, or 6 teaspoons, of added sugar. Men should limit added sugar to no more than 150 calories per day, or 9 teaspoons. Too much alcohol can also contribute to heart disease. It’s recommended than men consume no more than two drinks per day and that women consume no more than one drink per day. One drink is defined as 5 fluid ounces of wine, 12 fluid ounces of beer, or 1.5 fluid ounces of 80-proof liquor like rum or vodka.

1. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They also contain antioxidants that help reduce the buildup up of plaque in your arteries from cholesterol. When choosing fruits and vegetables, make sure to buy fresh, frozen, or canned with no salt added, and canned fruit packed in juice or water instead of syrup or sugar. Including a of variety of fruits and vegetables, especially dark leafy greens and red, orange, and yellow fruits and vegetables, is a good way to get more nutrients. Keeping fruit and veggies cut and washed in your fridge can make it easier to choose to eat them.

2. Choose whole grains
Whole grains are a good source of fiber and other nutrients that help regulate blood pressure and keep your heart healthy. Choose products labeled “whole grain” instead of products made from white flour, aka refined grains, in order to get the health benefits from whole grains. Some examples of delicious and inexpensive whole grains are oatmeal, popcorn, and brown rice.

3. Choose heart healthy fats
Generally, unsaturated fats are considered to be more heart healthy than saturated fats. Saturated fats are those that tend to be solid at room temperature; think fat that you trim off of meat, fats found in dairy products, butter, and tropical oils like coconut or palm oil. Limiting saturated fat in your diet is important in managing cholesterol levels which will lower your risk of coronary artery disease. Replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats, which tend to be liquid at room temperature; think olive oil, avocado oil, and canola oil. You can limit saturated fat by choosing lean meats, meat alternatives like beans or soy-based products, non-fat and low-fat dairy products, and polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats in things like olive oil instead of products high in saturated fat like butter. Nuts and seeds are also sources of nutritious, heart healthy fats.

4. Reduce the amount of sodium (salt) you consume
Limiting the amount of salt in your diet is important to overall health. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting sodium intake to no more than 2,300 milligrams per day. This can help lower blood pressure which lessens your risk of heart disease. Some ways to reduce sodium intake include buying fresh, frozen, or canned veggies with no salt added, choosing packaged foods labeled with “low sodium” or “no salt added,” reading food labels and choosing the option with the lowest amount of sodium, and choosing prepared meals with 600 mg of sodium or less per meal.

5. Limit added sugar
Added sugar contributes added calories, but without essential nutrients like potassium, calcium, or vitamin D. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6% of total calories coming from added sugars. This is around 25 grams a day for women and 36 grams for men. Naturally occurring sugars, like those found in fruits or dairy products, shouldn’t be counted towards this daily total.

6. Stay hydrated with water
Water is critical to heart health because by keeping your body hydrated it helps your heart more easily pump blood throughout the body. Choosing to drink water over other drinks is also a good way to reduce added sugar intake.

Start with the basics: Eating habits and a balanced diet
As a parent or caregiver, you furthermore might have an impact on children’s physical activity. You are doing not have to be an expert at any activity. Just stand up, move, and show children what proportion fun being active will be. They’ll grow to love it too. you’ll set an honest example by going for a walk or riding a motorcycle rather than watching TV, playing a computer game, or surfing the web. Find an activity that you just enjoy and might do together.

Create a supportive and positive home environment
As you learn more about a way to improve your health, take the time to speak to your children about how a specific food or physical activity may help them. As an example, when going for a walk, bring your children with you and allow them to pick the route. Discuss how walking helps you are feeling better and maybe a fun thanks to spending time together.

Celebrate progress and small achievements along the way
Speak up after you see unhealthy choices. Direct children to healthier options or say, “You can have a bit of that, but not an excessive amount.” See them about why a very salty or heavily sugared snack isn’t the most effective choice. Avoid making them feel guilty about their food or beverage choices. You’ll also praise your children after they choose a healthy item like fruit.

As it turns out, red wine contains the plant compound resveratrol—the factor behind many of the red wine health claims. Read on to learn what resveratrol is, how it impacts your health, and where you can find it.

What is Resveratrol?
As mentioned above, resveratrol is a plant compound, more specifically, a polyphenol. In other words, it’s a naturally occurring substance found in a variety of plants. Thought to act as an antioxidant, resveratrol helps the body rid itself of various toxins and free radicals. And this positive effect has prompted numerous studies to explore its potential health benefits.

Although much of the research surrounding resveratrol is recent, it isn’t new to most people’s diets. It’s found in common foods such as peanuts, various berries, grapes and, by extension, wine. Both red and white wine contain resveratrol, but red varieties have a much higher quantity.

Health Benefits of Resveratrol
With all the background info out of the way, let’s move to the big question: Is resveratrol good for you? The short answer is yes. But let’s take a look at why and how it impacts your health.

Some of resveratrol’s most widely accepted health benefits include:

Antioxidant support: Numerous studies have observed ways resveratrol acts as an antioxidant. It has been shown to help the body eliminate free radicals (a type of atom that can damage cells) and reduce and prevent oxidative stress. Basically, it helps promote health on a cellular level.
Inflammation reduction: When it comes to inflammation, resveratrol supports your body on two fronts. First, it helps prevent the production of inflammatory substances. And second, it supports a healthy inflammatory response—crucial for the health of key organs and body systems.
Cardiovascular health: Oxidative stress in the body can negatively impact cardiovascular health (the proper function of heart and blood vessels). And as mentioned, resveratrol has been shown to support healthy inflammation and the reduction of oxidative stress—the primary reason it’s often discussed with heart health. It supports key processes in your body directly associated with keeping your heart and blood vessels functioning smoothly.
Liver function: The liver provides vital functions in your body, including filtering the blood and breaking down harmful substances. And resveratrol has been shown to promote liver health by helping to protect it from unhealthy levels of toxicity.
Brain aging: In some studies, resveratrol has been shown to support healthy aging of the brain.

Nowadays, maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be tricky and difficult due to changing lifestyles, increased expectations, and expenses. Being physically fit does not mean you’re healthy, in a true sense, having good health means being both mentally and emotionally healthy. Though various factors affect the quality of life, we can purposefully change our lifestyle & habits to live a more productive life. Small changes in your lifestyle can impact your life positively.

What is a Healthy Diet?
Most people have gotten it wrong. They eat foods that weigh them down and not enough of those that will help them live long, healthy lives.

A 2019 study found consumption of nearly all healthy food is below optimal levels. Researchers reported the healthy foods you don’t eat are as important, if not more so, as the unhealthy foods you may eat too often. They noted that “suboptimal diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risks globally, including tobacco smoking.”

Low intakes of whole grains and fruit were the worst offenders when it came to negative impacts on health. Not eating enough nuts and seeds, vegetables, omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, and polyunsaturated fats also had negative effects on quality of life. Overconsumption of salt was a serious issue for long-term health, too.

This study shines a light on what you need to add to achieve a healthy diet, instead of only focusing on what you need to cut out. Author Michael Pollan summed it up simply in his book, In Defense of Food, when he observed we should, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Healthy dietary patterns are generally a variation of the Mediterranean diet (modeled after traditional dietary patterns from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea). These diets emphasize whole, minimally processed foods: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and beneficial fats (especially from extra virgin olive oil).

This type of diet can be adjusted to fit most dietary, cultural, or ethical preferences. It can be healthy with or without animal-based foods. Although, careful planning is often required to ensure vegan and vegetarian diets are complete and balanced. Many people find that having some meat in their diet helps manage hunger better. But it’s a personal choice only you can make. You may also opt for organic produce and grass-fed or pasture-raised animal products.

2: Eat healthy food
There is a simple rule that what and how you eat is directly proportional to your health. The habit of eating healthy food will help you to maintain good and disease-free health. Your regular diet should include different fruits, green leafy vegetables, sprouts, pulses, meat, poultry food, and seafood. Your diet should be high in protein, fibers, vitamins, minerals, and low in carbohydrates and calories.

3: Always eat breakfast
Research suggests that having breakfast daily can help to boost your metabolism and keep your system healthy. You should include more dietary fibers, vitamins, minerals, and less fat and carbs in your breakfast. Eating the right food can keep you energize and fresh.

4: Drink plenty of water
Water is the soul of our body and drinking the required amount of water is essential for every cell, tissue, and organ of our body. Drinking water is always a good option than drinking other beverages. It is advisable to keep a small water bottle with you and drink water at frequent intervals to stay hydrated.

5: Sound sleep
Sleep is a crucial function of your body which helps to keep your body and mind stable. It helps to restore the normal function of the body and recovers the nervous system. Lack of sleep can show symptoms such as drowsiness, fatigue, loss of concentration, which directly affect your lifestyle. Total deprivation of sleep can lose control over the brain.

To avoid future consequences, you should take 7-8 hours’ sleep daily. If you are having trouble getting sleep then read a book, listen to silent music, try meditation, or seek medical attention.