How to Get Healthy

There are so many competing messages from doctors, researchers and the media about how to get healthy that sometimes the essentials become buried. We know what we need to do to care for our health, but it takes more than one or two minor changes to see satisfying results. Follow this primer on getting healthy, and resolve to add potential years to your life.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Stop smoking to improve your health. Short-term benefits include reduced blood pressure and reduced heart attack risk. Long-term benefits include reduced risk of lung, throat, bladder and kidney cancers.
2. Get 30 minutes of exercise each day. The health benefits of exercise include reducing cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes risk, heart disease risk and cancer risk.
3. Reduce your unhealthy LDL cholesterol level. High LDL cholesterol levels increase your risk for type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke. Keep LDL cholesterol below 100 with exercise and a diet low in saturated fats.
4. Adopt a zero tolerance policy for trans fats. Trans fats, found in cookies, crackers, shortening and margarine, increases your risk of heart disease. Look for trans fat amounts on the nutrition facts panel on packaged products.
5. Wear your seat belt. The National Traffic Highway Safety Administration finds that seat belts reduce traffic fatalities up to 60 percent and critical injuries up to 65 percent.
6. Aim for 8 hours of sleep every night. The National Sleep Foundation shares that people who shortchange their slumber are at risk for psychiatric problems. Drowsy drivers also cause more than 100,000 car crashes each year.
7. Take care of your teeth and remember to floss. Researchers speculate that people suffering from periodontal disease put themselves at risk of heart disease when oral bacteria enter the bloodstream and that flossing can add over 6 years to your life.