Study finds being OUTDOORS helps you live longer
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Harvard researchers amalgamated 30 years of studies to reveal the “simple” lifestyle habits that could add a decade onto life. Based on data from 78,000 women and 44,000 men, there were five ways to improve longevity. The first was to “maintain a healthy diet”, which can help ward off high blood pressure and diabetes.
Adhering to a well-balanced and nutritious diet can be difficult when daily life interferes.
However, by developing the habit of healthy eating (for example, choosing fruit over crisps), the rewards will be multitudinous.
How to have a healthy diet
The NHS shares seven practical ways to make healthier dietary choices.
- Choose wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or potatoes;
- Eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables;
- Eat oily fish (salmon, trout, herring, pilchards), twice per week;
- Cut down on fatty foods, such as cakes, biscuits, sausages, butter, and pies;
- Minimise free sugars by avoiding sweets, alcoholic drinks, and fizzy drinks;
- Don’t add salt to your food;
- Drink six to eight glasses of fluids per day, such as water.
READ MORE: High cholesterol – Signs of an inherited disease hiking your risk of a heart attack
The Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health added that to live longer, you must “exercise daily”.
Making movement a priority every day is key to improved health, even if it may seem difficult.
The NHS describes exercise as the “miracle cure” that can help lower the risk of numerous ailments, from heart disease to cancer.
In order for the activity to count, you need to “raise your heart rate, breathe faster and feel warmer”.
People are strongly advised to do at least 150 minutes of exercise each week.
To make this goal more manageable, it helps to commit to 20-minute workouts daily.
By exercising on a consistent basis, it naturally leads into the next life-enhancing habit – maintaining a healthy weight.
The researchers noted: “Weight control significantly reduced the risk of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular risk factors and breast cancer.”
What is a healthy weight?
One tool is the body mass index (BMI) calculator, which categories people into “underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese”.
As the tool only takes into account a person’s height and weight, it does not guarantee a full picture.
Another way to see if you need to lose weight is by measuring your waistline.
To measure your waist:
- Find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips.
- Wrap a tape measure around your waist midway between these points.
- Breathe out naturally before taking the measurement.
Men who have a waistline of 94cm (37ins) or more would benefit from losing weight.
This is also true of women who measure up as 80cm (31.5ins) or more.
“You can have a healthy BMI and still have excess tummy fat,” the NHS noted, putting you at risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke.
The other life-enhancing habits are limiting your alcohol intake and not smoking.
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