Lifestyle Habits To Keep Or Lose

Everyone wants to live a long and healthy life. Unfortunately, many of us have bad habits that can put an end to our lives at a much faster pace than others. Here are a few of the major lifestyle habits that can definitely put up roadblocks on the road to healthy living:

Unhealthy Habits

Smoking
You'd have to have been living in a closet for the past 25 years to not know that smoking is bad for you. You probably know it leads to lung cancer, but you might not know that 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and between 80-90 percent of those suffering from chronic bronchitis and emphysema are caused by smoking. Each cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals that can be toxic to your body. In addition to cancer, smoking is also a large contributor to heart disease.

Drinking
When you drink excessively, you can set yourself up for some serious health problems. Drinking excessively can cause high blood pressure, cirrhosis of the liver, strokes, certain types of cancer, and accidental injury or even death. Some research shows that moderate drinking can be good for you, but it is never recommended to have more than one drink on a daily basis.

Overeating
In a society where almost all portions are "plus-sized" overeating is easier and more common than ever before. It can lead to obesity, heart disease, some types of cancer, and Type 2 diabetes. If you ingest more calories than you use, it's just stored as fat. This will go from overweight to obese quite quickly if you’re not careful. Eating too many fatty, sugary foods, eating late-night snacks, and pigging out on those large portions are all ways to potentially shorten your life.

Healthy Habits

Fruit & Vegetables
Eat a diet with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is a great habit to develop. Harvard research shows that adding plenty of vegetables and fruits to your diet may help you prevent many serious illnesses such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, eye diseases, and even certain types of cancer. It is recommended that you fill at least half of your plate with vegetables at every meal. Each day you should eat 5-13 servings of fruits and vegetables.

Exercising Regularly
Being physically active for as little as seven hours each week can help reduce your risk of diseases that can be serious by 40%. Exercising regularly helps lower your blood pressure and cholesterol rates. It can decrease your Type 2 diabetes risks and protect your body against some of the cancers, mainly colon and breast. You'll want to remember to consult your doctor and start slowly if you haven't exercised in a while and build slowly. Simply walking briskly or trying an aerobic workout is usually safe for the majority of people. Check with your physician and find an exercise plan that will work best for you.

Lifestyle habits aren't small things like biting your nails or twirling your hair. Those may be annoying to others, but they likely won't kill you. Poor lifestyle habits can kill you. You need to break those bad habits and keep those good ones to find a healthy balance or your lifestyle.

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