On our 72nd Independence Day, let us celebrate the freedom in every sense. As Father of the Nation Late Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, ‘health is real wealth’ and healthy individuals can make our country thrive, making us proud, boosting economy and globally successful.
We all make decisions that affect our health and well-being and it in turn sabotages our families as well as the society. However, every one of us have the ability to overcome these habits, face challenges, reinvent ourselves, get liberated as we are all capable of living the best of our lives and take our country forward.
Here are the five habits to change and get liberated:
1.Stressed All the Time: Stress and anxiety are silent killers, and this undoubtedly tops the to-do-list of almost on every one of us. Stress levels release bad hormones that increase blood pressure, blood sugar, risk of over-eating in turn affecting the vital organs of the body.
One should get freedom from several annoying stress factors as it drastically improves your health, develops immunity, relieves chronic pains and saves your heart.
How to Handle: Find out your stress trigger points and handle them. Stay cool, develop an optimistic approach towards life, find a hobby, take up Yoga and meditation.
2.Smoking: Smoking is an annoying habit that not only destroys your health but leaves an equal impact on the passive smokers too. Smoking causes a 30 per cent of heart conditions that are fatal, 90 per cent of lung cancer, spikes blood pressure, triggers asthma, bronchitis.
One should stop puffing to give a second chance to your own life and family. Lungs and heart have this enormous ability to repair themselves after stopping cigarettes. It betters the sense of smell, taste, makes one look younger, fresher and most importantly reduces the threat of deadly cancer.
How to Handle: Smoking unfortunately is an addiction than a habit. Reach out to your doctor for stop-smoking medicines, nicotine fading gums and seek support from family and friends.
3.Couch Potato: Being a couch potato is not cool and it increases your odds of getting a type-2 diabetes. According to several studies binge-watching television influences a person to guzzle down sugary drinks, high-calorie processed foods than those who spend more time in front of the television.
Get freedom from television to improve your health, for spending more quality time with family, friends and to strengthen relationships. It helps you to catch good sleep, feel fitter, keeps good spirits up and increases self-confidence.
How to Handle: Confine television watching time to 2 hours a day and make conscious effort of not snacking in front of the TV. Spend more quality time with friends and family, take up outdoor activities or sports.
4.Skipping Breakfast: Many of us tend to skip the breakfast and it will have serious consequences on the weight, energy and blood sugar levels. Snacking on a healthy breakfast like a bowl of cereal, fruits, a plate of idli, dosa, paratha or pongal will meet kick up the metabolic activity and saving the body from unwanted weight loss.
Make it a practice to start eating breakfast and it immediately fixes several health problems. Breakfast stabilizes blood sugars, reduce food cravings and load body with energy to work better for rest of the day.
How to Handle: Start with those food items you love to relish. Bite into a sandwich, drink a bowl of soup or even last night left overs to fuel the system. Readily available frozen yogurts, fruits provide a good amount of nutrients and calories to kick start your day.
5.Too Much of Alcohol: Drinking too much of alcohol is perhaps one of the main problems that is bogging down several individuals in the country. Over drinking alcohol means, consuming poison and those regular guzzlers are at an increased risk of liver damage, various cancers, high blood pressure, stress, anxiety and depression.
The moment one cuts back on alcohol, the digestive system improves automatically. Blood pressure lowers down to healthier range and liver, heart start working better. One feels energetic, maintain better relationship with friends and family.
How to Handle: Reduce the intake of alcohol gradually and limit the intake. Talk to your doctor for help and seek support from family, friends. Get tested for liver damage and screen for disorders before it is too late.
