Exercise and Healthy Eating: How Both Fight Against Disease
We’ve all been told several times that exercising regularly and eating healthy food makes your body stronger and healthier. People have gone as far as stating that you are what you eat. While you can’t deny the facts, you might wonder how exactly do exercise and a healthy diet make your body stronger? How do exercise and healthy eating contribute to the disease-fighting capability of the body?
Staying healthy and fit is, of course, everyone’s top priority. Your daily choices can determine how healthy your body is. While you can’t control everything, what you can control are your habits and approach towards maintaining your health. What you eat and how often do you engage in exercise can make a significant difference in your health. Diet and exercise can also help in the prevention of some diseases and also reduce the risk of other complications in the later stages of life. The sooner you switch to healthier living, the better the quality of the rest of your life is going to be. You’ll feel a greater level of vitality and strength even when you’re approaching old age.
It won’t be wrong to say that taking care of your diet and health from an early stage of life is more like a preventive healthcare measure that will go a long way.
One of the most common excuses that people give these days is that they’re too busy to focus on what they eat. Their schedules are so tightly packed that they just can’t seem to make time for preparing healthy meals or working out daily. However, we also know that nothing comes easy. Best things come to those who try, and there is no wealth bigger than health. Let’s see how exercise and healthy eating can help your body fight diseases!
Recommendations
We are not suggesting that you switch to a 100% organic lifestyle right away. The transition from your current lifestyle to a healthier lifestyle is a step by step thing that you just can’t rush into. You should also remember that too much of anything can be hazardous for health, even too much exercise or too much of certain nutrients. Before you jump into anything, we want you to be aware of some important recommendations so that you know exactly how high the bar is!
It is recommended that you do at least 2.5 hours of medium-intensity exercise every week. If you’re involved in high-intensity workouts, it is best if you keep the duration even less. The best practice is to combine different forms of exercise like a sport or weight training instead of sticking to any one set of your workout. Every time you set out to exercise, first stretch your body to prepare it for the upcoming physical exertion.
As far as the diet is concerned, the dietary requirements of every individual are different. In general, you should include the following food components in your dietary routine.
- Fruits and vegetables
- Whole grains
- Protein
- Legumes and nuts
It is recommended that you ensure that your diet has a balanced amount of oils and dairy, meats, and poultry. You should try to avoid overly sweet and salty items and abstain from the overconsumption of alcohol. It is important to pay close attention to your daily calorie count, which varies according to gender, age, and size.
How Can Exercise Help Your Body Fight Diseases
The benefits of exercise are far more than weight management. According to research, regular physical activity can reduce the risk of several health conditions and diseases and improve the overall health of an individual. For someone who is looking for ways to improve the quality of their life, exercise is probably the first thing they should adapt. Let’s have a look at how exercise can impact your health.
Reduce the Risk of Heart Disease
Exercising regularly can help in the prevention of heart diseases and stroke. It strengthens the heart muscles lower blood pressure, raise the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and lower the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), increases the working capacity of the heart and improve blood flow. Each of these factors can provide you with additional benefits of significantly reducing the risk for Peripheral Vascular Disease.
Controls High Blood Pressure
Another benefit of regular exercise of your health is that it helps manage and control high blood pressure. One of the most common reasons why people develop high blood pressure is the accumulation of body fat. Regular physical activity reduces body fat, which helps in keeping the blood pressure well in check.
Prevent and Control Diabetes
Diabetes is often termed as a silent killer. By exercising regularly, you can prevent the risk of developing Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes. If you’re already suffering from this disease, exercise can help you keep your sugar levels in range.
Prevents Obesity
Obesity is a disease that disables you from doing simple tasks efficiently. Exercising regularly helps in reducing body fat. Exercise builds muscle mass and improves the ability of the body to use calories. Combining physical activity with the right diet, you can control your body weight and prevent obesity, which forms the basis of numerous health conditions.
Reduces Risk of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that is extremely common in women. As you age, your bone strength reduces. However, incorporating weight-bearing exercise to your daily routine can promote the formation of bones and prevent the loss of bone that is associated with aging, hence reducing the chances of osteoporosis.
Alleviation of Back Pain
Many people mistakenly associated body and back pain with exercise. You might feel pain in your body in your early days of exercise, but in the long run, exercise can greatly help in the alleviation of persistent back pain. Exercise increases the strength of the muscles, the level of endurance, and the flexibility along with the posture. The right exercise can help you get relief from back pain that has been bagging you for a while.
Improved Mental Health
Stress, anxiety, and depression and some of the most common mental health problems that are prevalent today. Mental health problems can impair your ability to engage in normal routine activities normally and affect your overall health and wellbeing. If mental health problems aren’t addressed timely, they can even lead to some serious diseases. However, exercising on a regular basis is an excellent way of managing stress. With stress management, the risk of getting mental health illness is greatly reduced, as stress is the basic seed for most mental health problems.
With so many health benefits of exercise, there is no reason why you shouldn’t make it a part of your routine, starting today!
How Can Healthy Eating Help Your Body Fight Diseases
Exercise and diet go hand-in-hand. You can’t expect your body to do you any good if you feed it a heavy-loaded cheeseburger after an hour of exercise. It is important that you take two things together on your journey to a healthy and fit body.
The foods that you consume affect your body weight, the health of your organs, including the heart, and your hormones. What you eat basically regulates the internal environment of your body. Switching to a healthy lifestyle can help fight a number of diseases and restore your health. Let’s have a look at how a healthy diet helps your body fight diseases.
Healthy Fats Improve Heart Health
Regardless of what you’ve heard, some fats are actually good for your body. According to the stats published by the Heart Foundation, more people die of heart diseases than cancer. Out of all heart diseases, coronary heart disease is the most common, and the primary factor that causes this heart disease is fat accumulation. However, it may come as a surprise to you that not all fats are harmful to your health. Incorporating healthy fats into your diet can help you prevent heart diseases.
Healthy fats include omega-3 fatty acids. By making foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a part of your regular diet can significantly reduce the risk of you developing heart diseases. A healthy and balanced diet shouldn’t contain saturated trans fats and cholesterol, as these are the kinds of fat that cause the most harm.
Reduced Risk of Cancer
A healthy diet can reduce the risk of some types of cancers. Maintaining an ideal body weight can significantly decrease the chances of the kidney, breast, esophagus, colon, uterus, and rectal cancers. Incorporating plenty of vegetables and fruits in your diet lowers the risk of cancer. According to Helpguide.org, foods like soybeans are known to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
Strengthens Bones
As you age, your bones become weaker. Osteoporosis, as mentioned earlier, is one of the most common bone-related diseases. Weak bones are the biggest cause of fragility fractures. However, if you keep your diet right, you can prevent your bones from getting weak and porous. By ensuring that your diet contains the recommended quantities of calcium and vitamin D, you ensure that your bone health is maintained. If your diet doesn’t deliver ample quantities of calcium and vitamin D, you’re at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis and fracturing your bones.
Prevents Weight Gain
Excessive body weight can lead to obesity, which can cause a reduction in physical activity and other diseases like heart diseases and diabetes. However, with the help of a healthy diet, you can combat obesity and prevent obesity-related diseases. While exercise forms an integral part of weight management, taking a balanced diet is also very important. By avoiding foods that are rich in saturated fats and sugars, you can maintain healthy body weight, thereby reducing the chances of getting obese. Fats like omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients that your body needs in order to carry out normal body mechanisms. Such fats do not cause weight gain, which is why you should make sure to include healthy fats in your diet.
Diabetes Management
Type-II diabetes is a very common disease worldwide. It is more than often caused by excessive intake of sugary foods. Diabetes can damage your kidneys and heart without you knowing it. However, eating a healthy diet can help prevent and manage blood sugar levels. Avoiding sugary desserts, baked goods, and sweet beverages, you cut down the sugar intake, hence, lowering the risk of diabetes. If you’re already diabetic, whole grain cereals, leafy vegetables, and fruits can prove to be your best friends!
Closing Word
We can’t stress over the fact enough that exercise and diet are both equally important to make your body healthy enough to be able to fight diseases. Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly are the keys to a healthy lifestyle. When you’re physically fit and internally healthy, your immune system fights off diseases more effectively, and you’re more likely to resist diseases that you would have otherwise contracted easily.
Individuals who already suffer from heart diseases, diabetes, and weight-related health issues are suggested to make exercise a part of their everyday routine along with a healthy, balanced diet! A number of doctors suggest that heart and diabetic patients get involved in some sort of physical activity, even if it is taking walks regularly. As mentioned in the beginning, regular exercise and a healthy diet are preventive healthcare measures that you must take because at the end of the day, it’s better to be safe than sorry!