Healthy lifestyle: Definition, tips & motivating reasons

The older you get, the more aware you become of how valuable your health is. A healthy lifestyle, which inevitably includes a healthy diet, is essential. But what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and what tips can help you live healthier and longer? This article has the answers.

A healthy lifestyle: A definition

Before you start taking measures to lead a healthier life, the question inevitably arises: what is a healthy lifestyle anyway? A healthy lifestyle is made up of several sub-areas:

– A healthy diet

– Sufficient exercise

– Sufficient sleep

– Good social contacts

– Few conflicts or stress

– Body weight in the normal range

As you can see, in addition to a healthy body , a healthy mind also plays a certain role. It is not without reason that it is said that a healthy mind can only live in a healthy body. The fact is that a healthy lifestyle has a positive effect on mental and physical well-being.

The four pillars of a healthy lifestyle

In other words, a healthy lifestyle can also be divided into four pillars. They should form the basis for a healthy and long life:

– Nutrition

– sleep

– exercise

– relaxation

The main reasons for a healthy lifestyle are therefore clear. It should increase your chances of living a long life and improve your general well-being.

Tips for a healthy lifestyle

If you want to motivate yourself to lead a healthy lifestyle for the reasons mentioned above, you should learn practical tips for putting a healthier life into practice. There are useful tips for each of the four pillars that will help you live healthier and perhaps even longer.

Pillar 1: The right diet

The human body has a certain requirement for micronutrients and macronutrients. How high this requirement is depends on various individual criteria. The need for vitamins, minerals etc. can usually be covered by a healthy and balanced diet.

A healthy lifestyle requires the intake of around 40 different nutrients. As every food provides slightly different nutrients, you should eat as many different foods as possible. Tips for a healthy diet:

– 5 portions of fruit and vegetables

– 3 portions of cereal products such as wholegrains, potatoes, pulses or rice

– 3 portions of dairy products

– 1 portion of proteins such as meat, fish, cheese or eggs

– Vegetable fats instead of animal fats

– 1-2 litres of water or unsweetened tea

A healthy diet not only improves your well-being and health, but can also help you lose weight. Many people only have excess pounds on their hips because they are eating the wrong food. It is no secret that a normal weight contributes to general health.

Healthy nutrition for the whole body

If you want to strengthen the health of a specific organ, you can focus on foods that provide exactly the nutrients you need. This is particularly advisable if you want to prevent organ diseases.

– Healthy nutrition for the gut: insoluble fibre such as in pulses, soluble fibre such as in oatmeal and bananas as well as probiotics

– Healthy diet for the heart: herring, mackerel or salmon for their omega-3 fatty acids and plenty of green vegetables for optimal vascular function

– Healthy diet for the skin: protein for the formation of collagen and elastin, for example in the form of lean meat, pulses or fish

– A healthy diet for the liver: foods that protect against toxins, such as low-starch vegetables, satiating protein and low-sugar fruits

Even if you can support the health of various parts of your body with a balanced diet, this does not mean that nutrients are a panacea. If you have a serious illness, it is always advisable to consult a doctor. They can recommend further measures in addition to a healthy diet.

A healthy diet for vegans

Is it possible to eat a healthy diet as a vegan? In fact, it is perfectly possible to avoid animal products and lead a healthy lifestyle. The important thing is not to simply cut out meat, milk and eggs. Care should be taken to compensate for missing nutrients. Nuts, pulses and healthy fats can provide a range of important nutrients. If you are not able to provide your body with everything it needs through your diet alone, dietary supplements can also be used.

In general, supplements – whether for vegans, vegetarians or other people – should only be used as a supplement. High quality, as is the case with Kingnature, is also essential. The nutrients must be easily absorbed by the body. Otherwise they may not have the desired effect.

Healthy nutrition for children

A healthy diet is also particularly important for children. It differs from a healthy diet for adults in that the nutritional requirements are completely different. Foods for children are categorised according to a traffic light system. Red foods should be consumed in small quantities, whereas green foods are permitted without restriction. A mixture of the three categories leads to a healthy diet:

– Red foods: oil, butter, margarine, salt

– Yellow foods: milk and dairy products, meat, fish, eggs

– Green foods: fruit and vegetables, rice, pasta, wholemeal bread

It is particularly important for children to avoid sweets. Sugar has little place in a healthy lifestyle. The rule is: the less sugar, the better the effect on the child and its later life as an adult.

Pillar 2: Sufficient sleep

During sleep, the human organism undergoes numerous repair and regeneration processes. Anyone who sleeps too little or poorly will notice this sooner or later in the form of complaints. In addition, the hormone ghrelin is released, which is known as the “appetite hormone”, and hunger attacks occur.

Nevertheless, sleep problems are one of the most common complaints in Germany. There are therefore a few tips that can lead to better sleep and therefore a healthy lifestyle:

– Sleep rhythm: If possible, you should always go to bed and get up at the same time.

– Sleep duration: An adult needs an average of 7-8 hours of sleep

– Sleep environment: Better quality sleep is possible in a dark, cool and quiet environment.

Good sleep hygiene also includes banning smartphones, laptops, tablets and the like before going to bed. The blue light from electronic devices inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. If this is not produced, the body cannot get properly tired.

Incidentally, in order for melatonin to be produced, we need serotonin. And its production is in turn promoted by L-tryptophan – an amino acid that can be obtained through a healthy diet. All factors are therefore interlinked in a healthy lifestyle.

Pillar 3: A healthy amount of exercise

Exercise promotes good health. This is because sport can strengthen the immune system and reduce stress. It is also said to be able to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A healthy lifestyle does not always have to involve hard training. Even short sports sessions or walks can have a positive effect on your health. Endurance training such as cycling or swimming is ideal. And it is best to exercise in the fresh air, as this also has a positive effect on the body.

If you find it difficult to get enough exercise in everyday life, you can take the following tips for an active and healthy lifestyle to heart:

– Small sports sessions at work for more dynamism and variety, keyword: desk workouts

– Take the stairs instead of the lift

– Pedometers for tracking successes

– Exercise with like-minded people for more motivation

While you still have more energy for sport when you’re young, it’s often a different story as you get older. Anyone who has never attached much importance to exercise before will find it even harder to get up to it later on. You should therefore start as early as possible in order to be optimally prepared for old age.

Pillar 4: Reduce stress through relaxation

Several studies have shown that stress can make you ill. For a healthy lifestyle, it is therefore important to take regular breaks and reduce your own stress levels.

As many people find this difficult in hectic everyday life, there are strategies such as stress management. However, herbal support in the form of dietary supplements for relaxation can also help. Certain herbs and the Ayurvedic plant ashwagandha are said to have relaxing properties.

Many people also swear by relaxation exercises. Whether it’s yoga, meditation or mindfulness during a walk in nature – if you find the best way to relax personally, you can reduce stress sustainably and effectively.

Get rid of unhealthy habits

With the 4 tips for a healthy lifestyle, you can improve your mental and physical health step by step. However, these tips are only useful if you break unhealthy habits. These include, for example, smoking, alcohol consumption or eating fast food.

Cigarettes in particular are often used as an excuse to relax. However, what really happens in the background is that the body develops an addiction and suffers considerable damage. It is therefore part of a healthy lifestyle to give up smoking.

The situation is slightly different with alcohol. If you consume less than 100 grams of alcohol per week, you are hardly doing any harm to your health. However, anything more than that can shorten your life. In addition, alcohol can also lead to an unhealthy dependency, which has an impact on social life, well-being and health.

And what about fast food? Such foods often increase the risk of certain illnesses. The food is usually very high in calories, but provides little or no fibre, minerals and vitamins. This is why you should stay away from them as far as possible.

Conclusion

A healthy lifestyle is made up of four pillars. There is no guarantee that you will live longer and not fall ill as quickly if you follow these tips. However, a healthy lifestyle can reduce some risks. It is therefore worth making sure you eat a healthy diet, take a healthy amount of exercise, get enough sleep and relax in your everyday life.