3 Unconventional but Powerful Tips for Staying Healthy
The common advice for staying healthy has been around for as long as most of you can remember. Eat well, exercise regularly, drink water, and be positive.
While there is no argument that all of these things can help you to lead a healthy life they haven’t been adjusted for our modern times, nor are they specific enough to make a difference to our lives.
As we continue to discover more about the human body and mind through science and research, it’s imperative our advice also evolves to incorporate these findings. In Western society, we are still clinging on to outdated health, fitness, and diet concepts.
It’s time to take our new knowledge and apply it to our lives. Here are some slightly unconventional but powerful tips for staying healthy in our modern times backed by science.
1. Work Out Your Mind
Your mind is unbelievably powerful and integral to your everyday wellbeing and future health. We are all well aware that we must work out our bodies physically, but it is also imperative that we take part in mental exercises too.
Reading and meditation are two powerful habits that can boost your brain health. Both are scientifically proven to reduce stress, reduce anxiety, reduce risk of depression, improve memory, boost positivity, and enhance your empathy.
In our modern world of technological disruption, long working hours, and stressful work schedules it’s never been more important to work on your mind.
Start reading at night before bed in exchange for your social media scrolling. Buy a kindle or download kindle on your iPad. Buy physical books if you prefer. Read books that teach you about yourself and the world around you.
Meditation is the simple act of sitting down legs crossed with your eyes closed for 10-30 minutes each day. Make sure you are regularly cleaning negative energy in your room with no distractions, no noise, this is time to be with your own mind. You’re not trying to become enlightened or reach Nirvana, you just want to try clear your mind and assess any negative thoughts you may be having. Process your thoughts and ask yourself questions or try to think of nothing at all.
2. Quit the Gym
The gym is not a nice place for most people. It’s often filled with testosterone-pumped males throwing dumbells around, staring at the women as they workout, it costs you $40 a month and you hate going plus you’re not seeing any results and you can’t afford a personal trainer.
Thankfully, it’s 2020 and you don’t need a gym to get in shape anymore. Using just a mat, YouTube and some music you can follow a number of workout classes on YourTube or via fitness apps that will whip you into shape in your own time and in your own space.
There are many forms of exercise you can try including pilates, yoga, HIIT, callisthenics and much more. Mix them up for a diverse workout regime. You won’t need an hour or two to exercise either. No driving in the rain to the gym. Just whip out your mat in an area of your house and get going. Most workouts will take you 20-30 minutes so you’re saving time and saving money all in your own private space.
Running yourself to death on a treadmill or killing yourself in the weights area is not a pathway to fitness. Research suggests we need a mix of intense training that incorporates strength, flexibility and stretching. HIIT, pilates, TRX, yoga, and AMRAP are just some of the workout methods that incorporate these three areas.
3. Eat Vegan (Mostly)
You may think veganism is some wild new trend or fad associated with the millennial generation but their diet is actually backed by rock-solid research. Eating a mostly plant-based diet has been found to help you reduce weight, bad cholesterol, risk of heart disease, risk of obesity, and even reduce your risk of some cancers.
Research has shown that those eating plant-based diets not only lead healthier lives, they also live longer. Our modern diets are far from natural including too many highly processed foods including meat, dairy, grains, and sugars.
Eating a whole food plant-based diet can transform your health for the better providing you with foods that rich in essential nutrients and antioxidants that support optimal helath. You don’t have to quit meat and dairy completely (unless you want to), but try to keep your diet 80-85% whole foods plant-based. Meat, dairy, simple carbs, and sugars should be a rare treat.
The latest research being conducted is revealing a key link between our guts and general helath including ou body and mind. It’s thought that what we eat on a daily basis doesn’t just affect our bodies physically, but it affects our mind too. Unhealthy foods with poor nutrition are making us fat, sick, and unhappy. This can be easily changed using a mostly whole foods plant-based diet.