Don't Forget About Breakfast

Remember when your mom used to make you eat breakfast before leaving the house? Well, it turns out that there are many reasons people should eat breakfast.

But first, everyone should know what the word breakfast means. One article on symptomfind.com says that the word means “to break the fast between dinner and the meal eaten after a person wakes up in the morning.” Maybe this is why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The article also says that eating breakfast could keep someone from overeating. This makes sense because a person will become so hungry throughout the morning and eat a huge lunch. This can then lead to obesity problems. Click here to read more about it.

Eating a healthy breakfast (key word, healthy), could also lower a persons’ cholesterol level and improve concentration and performance in the classroom or boardroom, according to WebMd.

A person is most likely to be in a better mood if they have eaten breakfast. An article found on todaysdietitian.com said people “’are also likely to be happier and less grouchy when [they] aren’t distracted by hunger pangs.’” Click here to read that article.

Remember in the last blog written, a better mood could lead to a longer and healthier life. So eat a healthy breakfast every day!

Think Positive

Well, it’s basically a fact now. Studies show, having a positive outlook on life can lead to living longer and improving one’s health. Research was published in a journal of the American Heart Association which studied 607 patients in a hospital. The study found that the patients with an overall positive attitude were 58% more likely to live at least another five years. Click on The Huffington Post to read the entire article.

Not only does a good mood and positive thinking lengthen a persons’ life, it could also improve cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and lower rates of depression according to an article by Mayo Clinic.

The New York Times wrote an article that lists eight skills to practice to encourage positive outlooks daily. Some of the skills include recognizing a positive event each day, listing a personal strength and show how you used it and recognizing and practicing small acts of kindness daily. Click here to read about it.

Everyone wants to be healthy and live long, this is one easy way to accomplish that dream.

What to Eat to Stay Healthy

Where do people start when they want to begin eating healthy? Do they just eat more salads and fruit? Well, eating healthy takes lots of planning, but it can have great outcomes. A healthy plate should have fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. Examples of each group would be melons and berries, carrots and tomatoes, brown rice and oatmeal, salmon and beef, and yogurt and cheese. Choosemyplate.gov gives great detail on what food is in each group and which foods are best. When eating healthy, Fitness Magazine suggests to eat by the clock. Meaning, people should eat smaller portions of food throughout the day so they are not hungry as often. Another good tip provided was to be a smart shopper by reading the nutrition labels to look for things like low sodium. Click here to read the entire article. According to helpguide.org studies show that eating healthier foods can improve moods and lower the risk of mental health problems. On the flip side, eating junk food can increase depression and stress. Click here to read more.

Yummy and Healthy Fruits

Eating fruit is a great way to keep a healthy diet. I love most fruit, but my top three favorites are pineapples, bananas, and apples. While doing some research, I found that all three of these fruits have great health factors.

It turns out that pineapples can actually help reduce mucus in the throat and nose from a cold and they can increase a persons’ eye health as they age. Check out Live Science to read all about the benefits of delicious pineapples.

One of the reasons bananas should be added to a persons’ diet is because they are low in calories, but still filling. This could lead to weight loss! Authority Nutrition says that there has not been an actual study to prove this, but that bananas have “several features that should make them a weight loss friendly food.” Also, since bananas are rich in potassium, they can lower blood sugar and even lower heart disease. Click here to read the full article.

Apples, which have always been known to keep the doctors’ away have numerous health benefits. Researchers have found that apples in a daily diet could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Evidence has also shown that apples could prevent breast cancer. To read more about these studies, click here.

Overweight vs. Obesity

Most people losing weight create a special number of how much they want to weight or what size in clothing they want to fit, then work toward that goal. However, there is actually a suggested weight that each person should be to maintain a healthy size. Now, many of these numbers are surprising because the numbers that sound like a healthy size could actually be overweight depending on the height of a person.

First, let’s look at what overweight and obesity truly mean.MedlinePlus explains that “obesity means having too much fat” and overweight means “weighting too much.” I honestly thought that someone who is obese simply weighs more than usual, but it is really the fat that is more. The article also mentions other illnesses that come from being obese such as arthritis and some cancers!

Rush University Medical Center provides a list of the suggested weight of a person and if a persons’ weight is normal, overweight, or obese. At 5’9” and weighing 177, I am considered overweight according to this chart. Click here to view where you fall on the scale.

A persons’ BMI (Body Mass Index) can determine someone’s “high body fatness” according to the CDC. My BMI is 26.1 which is overweight. Find yours now. Click on the article to read which BMI levels fall within each category of weight.

Meditation

So today I was sitting near Centennial Lawn on campus doing some school work. While I was sitting, a man came and spoke to me about a book that he was giving to people for donations. The book was about meditation and the man had been a former monk for seven years. This lead me to wonder if meditation had any health benefits aside from relieving stress. It turns out, after doing some research there are other healthy factors. WebMD explains that the relaxation from meditating can lower a persons’ blood pressure. Click on this article to find out how this is possible. Meditation can also be used in lots of other ways as well. The Huffington Post names addiction, depression, and eating disorders as some of the things that can be improved by meditating. That’s impressive. Another shock to me was that pain can be relieved by meditating. Click here to read how meditation can “alter the perception of pain.” Meditation can actually help others in more ways than I thought.

Healthy Friendships Can Lead to Healthy Lives

Who knew that healthy lifestyles could be improved by having healthy relationships with others? Many people realize that it is good to have at least one best friend, even more, to share personal stories with. But, according to a blog on adventisthealthcare.com, having good friendships or supportive partner can allow a person to handle stress and recover from heart attacks better. This does make sense, though. One article explains that most people try to spend the holidays with their family. We do not only do this because we want to visit our family, but we also want to relax and get away from the stress in our lives. The article also explains that by spending time with family or close friends, a person could live longer and have less health problems. Click here to read the entire article. Having a significant other can lead to great benefits as well. In fact, an article shows a study that claims married people recover better after heart surgery! Another benefit that I can attest to myself is reason number 10, “having a healthy significant other can make you more likely to be healthy, too.” My boyfriend and I have started losing weight from working out and eating right. So it is possible that him working out contributed to me starting to work out and eat healthy foods. 

Sugary Drinks

We know that water is the best drink for anyone to have. However, we all want some flavor in our life at some point. Flavor is good to an extent, but it could lead to health problems if we drink too much. Harvard T. H. Chan states, “Sugary drinks are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.” Unfortunately, Mississippi is very familiar with obesity. Many people who start to live healthy lifestyles tend to stay away from sodas. But to my surprise, there are many other sugary drinks out there, too. Health.com compiled a list of sugary drinks. Of course, my beloved sweet tea made the list. Yet, other drinks such as sports drinks and flavored coconut water made the list as well. Click here to read the details of why these sugary drinks made the list. Aside from obesity, drinking those sugary drinks can lead to many other problems. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says these drinks can cause type 2 diabetes, heart disease, a type of arthritis and other illnesses.