Health Hacks: Boost Your Health With These Easy Tips

Let’s face it.  You aren’t in perfect health.  Sure, you’re healthy, or at least free of sickness.  But you and I both know there is room for improvement.  But we all know that students don’t have much time to devote to things that promote health.  That’s pretty obvious by the amount of crappy food we tend to eat.  So I have compiled a fantastic list of health tips that are meant to be quick, easy, and relatively painless, while providing you with greater nutrition and health overall.

Vitamins

If you aren’t taking a multi-vitamin, this is your first step.  If you are anything like me, you are not following the food pyramid as well as you should be.  While supplementing isn’t a cure, it definitely aids in getting those vitamins and minerals that we tend to be deficient of.  There is no excuse, ladies and gents.  I am not so good with swallowing pills too.  So you know what I do?  I take children’s chewables and just take 2 instead of 1.

Also take a look at your diet.  Are you a vegetarian or vegan?  If so, you may want to look into supplementing a B complex vitamin.  Do you drink milk, or eat enough dairy products?  Maybe you need calcium.  Start looking at the nutritional values of everything you eat, to get a better idea of what you need and what you are already getting.

Drinks

First of all, ditch the fruit juice.  Fruit juice, even 100%, is loaded with sugar and lacking in nutrients.  Sure it’s better than kool-aid, but its no substitute for an apple or orange.

Second, if you haven’t already started drinking tea, there is no time like the present.  Green tea, white tea, black tea, hot tea, cold tea, iced tea.  Any kind of tea.  And as an added bonus, the better the quality of tea (for example loose leaf tea, or even tazo) the better the taste, the less amount of sugar or sweetener you will need.  I never use sweeteners in my tea anymore, and I’m not looking back!

Also, stop buying bottled water.  It’s ridiculously expensive, and you are ruining planet earth.  Get a nice, fancy plastic bottle or cup and start using that.  I keep 2 at school/work; a bottle for water, and an insulated cup for tea or coffee.

And here’s one that will definitely throw a ratchet in some of your plans.  STOP DRINKING ENERGY DRINKS.  I can’t stress this enough guys, this stuff is no good.  They lead to a caffeine addiction, and if you are eating correctly you don’t need all of the vitamins and amino acids packed into those cans.  Now I understand that every once in a while for those all nighters you just need something to keep you awake.  But if you find yourself buying multi-packs or cases, it’s time to make a lifestyle change.

Finally, if you are thirsty, drink water.  If you are hungry, drink water.  If you have to pee, drink water.  Study after study shows that staying hydrated is linked to less health problems and a healthier immune system.

Food / Meals

Never, ever skip breakfast.  I don’t care if it makes you late every day.  It’s worth it.  Also, if you are going to eat a carb heavy meal, make it breakfast.  I usually try to get dairy, fruit, protein (meat or eggs), and sometimes even cereal or oatmeal all in this magical meal.  I used to skip breakfast all the time, and I’d have a terrible dip in energy around 1-2pm, but not I just keep on truckin!

Split lunch into 2 meals.  This will keep your body from getting a bit sluggish after a large meal.  Whatever it is you usually eat, just eat half now and half in an hour or so.  You’ll feel leaner, faster, stronger, and cooler! hehehe.

For dinner we probably need to make the largest adjustments.  You know that full feeling you get at the end of dinner?  That is a feeling you should never have.  Try taking smaller portions, and skipping seconds.  Or better yet, eat your veggies before you start on the meat or potatoes (or pasta, or other starches).  This way you fill up on the healthy stuff before you get to the less healthy stuff, which will inevitably lead to eating less unhealthy stuff.

Snacks

Chocolate – Contrary to popular belief, this isn’t something you have to give up.  Chocolate contains cocoa, which is full of antioxidants and bioflavonoids.  A tip though, try darker chocolates.  They are less processed and generally contain more cocoa.

Nuts – This is a great one.  Don’t even worry about the nutritional values here.  Eat a handful of nuts a day.  The fat is healthy (monounsaturated), the protein is fantastic, and they leave you feeling pretty full.  And in case you didn’t know, studies have shown that eating nuts daily leads to a drastic decrease in cardiovascular disease risk.  I actually eat peanuts with a small piece of dark chocolate every single day (for about a month now), and I don’t get candy cravings anymore.  It’s wonderful!

Snack Bars – I’ve done a lot of research on these bad boys, and I have to say, I still haven’t found one that I’m in love with, health wise.  I eat the FiberOne bars, because they are a little lower in sugar than most, they taste great, and they are packed with fiber, something that most americans are deficient in.  Don’t accept the immatations though, Kellogs created a look alike and it’s pretty much garbage.  If they don’t have at least 5 grams of fiber, skip em.

Lifestyle

There are plenty of things you can do daily to live a healthier life.  Here are a few.

1. Skip the elevator, take the stairs. If you aren’t travelling to the 22nd floor, and only have a few flights, take the stairs.  It will increase your heartrate a bit (which will cause you to burn more calories), increase bloodflow (which will make you feel more energetic), and you will feel healthier mentally.
2. Drink water all the time. Keep a bottle with you everywhere you go.  Sure, you’ll pee a lot more, but it’s a great way to aid in weight loss and immunity.
3. Create little fitness habits. I have a few that I’ve been doing for a while now.  For instance, before I shower, I have to do one of these:  25 push-ups, 3 pull-ups, 50 crunches, 20 squats, 50 calf raises.  None of these are too difficult, and each of them aid in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
4. Get enough sleep. This may be difficult to swallow, but you have to do it.  Get a minimum of 6 hours of sleep per day (aim for 8).
5. Stop buying junk. My roommates and I have a rule, whoever brings junk food into our kitchen pays an extra $50 rent. I’m not kidding.  We take this seriously.  We are all trying to eat healthier, and everyone knows that if it’s there we are going to eat it.  So it never makes its way there.
6. Eat more fish. Researchers  found found that those eating 4 or more servings of fish per week were nearly one-third less likely to develop the blood cancers leukemia, myeloma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Ah, those amazing omega-3s at it again!
7. Get at least 15 minutes of sunlight everyday. That magical warm light helps your skin produce vitamin D, a vitamin that many Americans (especially up north) are deficient in.  You could try supplementing, but the absorption rate isn’t so great.
8. Wrap it up. That’s right folks, vitamin’s don’t matter much when you are dying of AIDS.  Don’t be an idiot.  Use a condom.
9. Monogamy is heavenly. Again, more partners = greater risk of STDs.  And we all thought marriage was bad for your health. hehehe.
10. Eat less red meat. Don’t cut it out entirely, it’s great for iron and vitamin B.  But unless you can afford all of the great lean cuts, don’t eat so much.  Red meat is much higher in saturated fats than it’s white counterpart.
11. Take a walk after a large meal. You know how after thanksgiving dinner all you want to do is vegetate?  Well resist the urge, and take a 30 minute walk.  It will keep your blood flowing, and as some scientists point out, moderate exercise 3 times weekly reduces excessive amounts of estrogen, a hormone known to cause cancer when in excess.
12. Stop dry cleaning your clothes. Many dry cleaners use a chemical called perchloroethylene, which is known to cause liver and kidney damage.
13. Chew gum. It keeps those digestive juices flowing, and if you are chewing Trident with Xylitol it’s actually good for your teeth.  Take that to the bank!
14. Take a cat-nap. 20 minutes can really make a difference.  For an extra boost, drink a cup of tea or coffee right before the nap.  You’ll wake up feeling supercharged and ready for action!
15. Exercise. Come on, you knew it was coming.  Exercise for 45 minutes 4 times per week to maintain great cardiovascular and muscular strength.  I’ll save the exercise details for another day.

And here’s my last tip.  Above all else, this one has made the biggest difference.

COMPETE!

That’s right.  I’ve taken drastic steps towards improving my health in the last 6 months, but what helped the most was getting friends and family involved.  Make a competition out of it, and you’ll be much more influenced to take control and commit to better habits.

Have any other tips, not mentioned here, to help us live a better, healthier life?  Stop holding it in, it will feel so good to let it out.  Leave a comment, and help us all live healthier lifestyle. We’ll owe you one!