How to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Being healthy should be part of your overall lifestyle, not just a New Year’s resolution. Living a healthy lifestyle can help prevent chronic diseases and long-term illnesses. Feeling good about yourself and taking care of your health are important for your self-esteem and self-image. Maintain a healthy lifestyle by doing what is right for your body.

Step 1

Maintain a healthy weight. Determine whether you are overweight by checking your body mass index. If you are overweight, it can lead to a higher risk of chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke and certain cancers.

Step 2

Stick with healthy food from each food group. This means staying away from food high in saturated fats, sodium and added sugars. Eat more whole grains, lean proteins such as chicken or legumes and beans, low-fat or non-fat dairy, and increase your fruits and vegetables.

Step 3

Visit your doctor for an annual physical exam. Depending on your age, certain lab tests and screenings, such as mammograms, colonoscopies and heart tests, are necessary. Stay up to date on your health screenings to identify whether there are medical problems to address.

Step 4

Make sure your relationships are positive and healthy ones. Surround yourself with people who support you and who you feel good around. Your partner in life, friends and others who are in your life should respect you. If you find yourself in an unhealthy relationship, take steps to improve it or move on.

Step 5

Engage in physical activity for at least 30 minutes every day. Take an exercise class, join the gym or just take a brisk walk outside. Making the time for physical activity is a necessity and not a luxury.

Step 6

Know when and how to de-stress. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health. Make sure that you have positive ways of dealing with stressors in your life. This might be exercising, meditating, yoga or just doing deep-breathing exercises. If stress becomes so severe that it is interfering with your sleep or ability to cope, talk to your doctor or a counselor.

Step 7

Do not smoke. Smoking can cause preventable diseases such as lung cancer and other cancers. Stay away from secondhand smoke, since this can also be hazardous to your health.

courtesy: http://www.livestrong.com/

Healthy lifestyle reduces even genetic heart attack risk

     
A recent study has found that even among those at high genetic risk, following a healthy lifestyle can cut in half the probability of a heart attack or similar event.

It is a well known fact that following a healthy lifestyle, not smoking, avoiding excess weight and exercising regularly can keep one away from risk of heart disease.
    



But what about people who have inherited gene variants known to increase risk?

"The basic message of our study is that DNA is not destiny," says Sekar Kathiresan.

"Many individuals - both physicians and members of the general public -- have looked on genetic risk as unavoidable, but for heart attack that does not appear to be the case."

In order to investigate whether a healthy lifestyle can mitigate genetic risk, the multi-institutional research team analyzed genetic and clinical data from more than 55,000 participants in four large-scale studies.

Three of these -- the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, the Women's Genome Health Study, and the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study -- are prospective studies that have followed participants for up to 20 years. The fourth, the BioImage Study, assessed a variety of risk factors, including the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries when participants joined the study.

Each participant in the current analysis was assigned a genetic risk score, based on whether they carried any of 50 gene variants that previous studies associated with elevated heart attack risk. Based on data gathered when participants entered each study, the investigators used four AHA-defined lifestyle factors -- no current smoking; lack of obesity, defined as a body mass index less than 30; physical exercise at least once a week, and a healthy dietary pattern -- to determine a lifestyle score, whether participants had a favorable (three or four healthy factors), intermediate (two factors) or unfavorable (one or no healthy factors) lifestyle.

For participants in the prospective studies, the research team investigated how each individual's genetic risk score and lifestyle factors related to the incidence of heart attack, the need for procedures designed to open blocked coronary arteries, or sudden cardiac death. Among participants in the BioImage study, genetic and lifestyle factors were compared to the extent of atherosclerotic disease in the coronary arteries at baseline.

Across all three prospective studies, a higher genetic risk score significantly increased the incidence of coronary events -- as much as 90 percent in those at highest risk. While known risk factors such as a family history and elevated LDL cholesterol were also associated with an elevated genetic risk score, genetic risk was the most powerful contributor to cardiac risk.

Similarly, each healthy lifestyle factor reduced risk, and the unfavorable lifestyle group also had higher levels of hypertension, diabetes and other known risk factors upon entering the studies.

Within each genetic risk category, the presence of lifestyle factors significantly altered the risk of coronary events to such an extent that following a favorable lifestyle could reduce the incidence of coronary events by 50 percent in those with the highest genetic risk scores.

Among participants in the BioImage study, both genetic and lifestyle factors were independently associated with levels of calcium-containing plaque in the coronary arteries, and healthy lifestyle factors were associated with less extensive plaque within each genetic risk group.

"Some people may feel they cannot escape a genetically determined risk for heart attack, but our findings indicate that following a healthy lifestyle can powerfully reduce genetic risk," says Kathiresan.

"Now we need to investigate whether specific lifestyle factors have stronger impacts and conduct studies in more diverse populations, since most of the participants in these studies are white."

The study has been published in New England Journal of Medicine.

courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

THE ESSENTIAL PALEO DIET SHOPPING LIST

When you’re grocery shopping on the Paleo Diet, one thing’s for sure: you won’t be putting many boxes and cans in your cart.

Get ready to shop the perimeter of the store for whole foods, or better yet, head to a farmer’s market for the freshest—and purest—meat and produce you can find. (Specialty health food shops may also carry some Paleo-friendly items the big chains don’t, but you should be able to find most of these foods at your go-to grocer.)

The Paleo Diet Beginner's Guide>>>

So, are you ready to overhaul your diet? We talked to Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint, and PaleoPlan.com’s nutrition therapist, Neely Quinn, to come up with a list of Paleo-approved foods—and basic guidelines— to get you started.

MEATS 

Here are your 10 essential animal proteins. Buy them fresh (rather than processed and cured), hormone- and antibiotic- free, and naturally raised—whenever possible.

1. Beef
2. Buffalo/Bison
3. Chicken/Turkey (take note: all poultry should be eaten skinless)
4. Duck
5. Eggs
6. Game Meats (think: rabbit, venison, wild boar)
7. Goat
8. Lamb
9. Organs (kidneys, livers, marrow, sweetbreads, and tongue)
10. Pork

18 Easy Paleo Diet Recipes >>>

FISH

Now, this is by far from an exhaustive list of Paleo-friendly fish, but these are the most common varieties you’ll see in a market or on a menu. Always go for wild-caught fish over farmed, if you can, and eat the canned kind—like tuna and salmon—sparingly.

1. Anchovies
2. Bass
3. Cod
4. Flounder
5. Halibut
6. Mahi Mahi
7. Salmon
8. Sardines
9. Shellfish (including crab, clams, lobster, mussels, scallops, and shrimp)
10. Tuna

10 of the Most Flavorful Seafood Recipes for Serious Fat Loss >>>

FRUITS

There are no fruits that aren’t allowed on Paleo, and most experts recommend eating them at every meal. So instead of a list—we’re giving you three simple guidelines to think about when buying:

1. Limit high-sugar fruits, such as bananas, dates, mangoes, pineapple and watermelon, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
2. Buy dried fruits, but consume them in moderation (read: sprinkle a spoonful on your salad or mix a few in when you’re snacking on nuts). They have a greater concentration of sugars, so they pack a bigger glycemic punch—meaning they aren’t the best for keeping your stomach full and your appetite stable.
3. Don’t forget avocados. They’re technically a fruit as well as a healthy fat.

Courtesy: http://www.mensfitness.com

Paleo Breakfasts That Aren't Eggs

Sneaking in a nutritious breakfast can be hard for just about anyone. And for those sticking to a Paleo diet, the morning meal might seem even more daunting. Eggs are always an option, but going through multiple cartons per week gets old fast. Besides, no one should have to give up the goodness of waffles, pancakes, and muffins.

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30 Easy and Delicious Whole30 Breakfast Recipes READ 

Whether you’re making an impressive brunch spread or just looking for something quick as you dash out the door, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. These a.m. options range from savory to sweet, refreshing to rich. The only hard part about breakfast now is picking which recipe to make first.

Muffins and Breads

1. Paleo Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

Photo: Bakerita

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It’s hard to improve upon banana bread, but adding chocolate chunks does just that. This Paleo loaf stays nice and moist from plenty of mashed banana. Just mix the wet ingredients and then add in a coconut flour and cinnamon mixture. Though the recipe calls for letting this goody cool before slicing, it might be even better when those bits of chocolate are still melty.

2. Paleo Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Photo: Detoxinista

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Who decided that the best use of pumpkin spice was in a coffee drink? We think these muffins are a way tastier (and healthier!) option. Made from mostly eggs and pumpkin puree, these morning treats pack in a good amount fiber and protein. Put down the latte and pick up one of these to get all of that great flavor with a lot more staying power.

3. Paleo English Muffins

Photo: Running to the Kitchen

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If you thought going Paleo meant giving up English muffins, think again. The best part about this recipe is that it cooks in themicrowave in just two minutes, so there’s no need to preheat the oven. They’re great with a swipe of nut butter or jam, but they also make a killer eggs Benedict on a leisurely Sunday. Bonus: Brunch at home means getting to wear pajamas well into the afternoon hours.

COURTESY: TO KNOW MORE RECIPES ,CLICK THE FOLLOWING http://greatist.com/eat/paleo-breakfast-recipes

The 6 Simplest Ways To Free Yourself

Are you at a place where all you need is a lifeline? A little freedom? Are you saying, “Calgon, take me away!” Believe me, I know the feeling. We can do so much for so many and still feel bound in chains to the world, to our surroundings, to our circumstances, and even to ourselves. Isn’t it time to free yourself? Just doing even a couple of these below will put you on the path to freedom… to just be.

1. Evaluate your self-worth.

Your self-worth has everything to do with how you see yourself, the places you visit, and the overall relationships you cultivate. If you have low self-worth, you will begin to attract people who also care nothing about themselves nor the people they hurt. However, if you value who you are and what you do, others will too. You will find yourself more apt to do what comes naturally to you while around them. You will enjoy yourself more because you are free to laugh, connect, and talk about what matters most to you and others will feel free to do the same.

2. Be an original.

For some, this goes without saying. But for others, this will take some time. All of us want to feel like we matter. But it shouldn’t be for the sake of doing things that others do to fit in. That can jeopardize your character and make you a fake and a phony. Just be yourself. As they always say, “An original is better than its copy.”

3. Forgive yourself and others.

Can you say within your heart of hearts that you have no animosity towards anything or anyone? Just think for a minute. Someone cuts you off on the road and you had to give them a piece of your mind. Or someone said they would do something for you, and they never did it. Or better yet, a dear friend of yours spilled the beans on something you’ve recently discussed in private and you swore him or her to secrecy. Yes, it made you upset, but was it that bad no not forgive them? The art of forgiveness is a learned behavior that once utilized can be liberating to say the least. It makes you look at life differently and makes you realize “it really wasn’t that serious.”

4. Learn to say no.

I know this one may be hard for some of you, but it is essential that you learn to say it for your own sanity. Not everyone will agree when you say no, nor will they like it. But who’s life is it anyway? The decisions you make ultimately affect you. Make sure those decisions make you feel comfortable and help you be effective in what you’ve been called to do. People will learn to respect you more by being honest and just saying no.

5. Control your reaction to things.

This one is extremely serious business. Many of us, with or without knowing it, assume the worst in people. Social media is one of the biggest places for this to happen. Imagine going to your inbox and seeing someone write something to you that disturbs you. Your first reaction is to take it the wrong way and lash back at them as a way of retaliation. However, you never tried to find out what the person was really trying to say or their emotions behind the message. Phone calls have almost become a thing of the past with some people, as texting and messaging has become the norm. But so much would be avoided if you would only control your reactions to it and find out more. Save your relationship and you free yourself from unnecessary heartache.

6. Love yourself.

Be free to love everything about you. Your strengths, your flaws-as many or as little as they are-are still a part of you. Once you come to love who you are, you can then be free to love others. Be vulnerable to love. Your freedom is yours to explore. Make the best of the journey!

COURTESY:http://www.lifehack.org/

Paleo diet part-3:THE ULTIMATE PALEO DIET FOOD LIST

This is the definitive paleo diet food list. In it, you’ll find a list of the paleo diet meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and oils that are allowed on the paleo diet. You can throw these into any delicious paleo recipe (or make up your own) and be 100% sure that you’re paleo diet compliant :). Let’s get started.

 

For a quick “do eat” and “don’t eat” primer, see our quick reference guide below.

EAT

• Grass-fed meats
• Fish/seafood
• Fresh fruits
• Fresh vegetables
• Eggs
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Healthy oils (olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado, coconut)

DON’T EAT

• Cereal grains
• Legumes (including peanuts)
• Dairy
• Refined sugar
• Potatoes
• Processed foods
• Overly salty foods
• Refined vegetable oils
• Candy/junk/processed food

Paleo Diet Meats

This is a list of paleo diet meats allowed on the diet. Almost all meats are paleo by definition. Of course, you’ll want to stay away from highly processed meats and meats that are very high in fat (stuff like spam,hot dogs, and other low-quality meats), but if it used to moo, oink, or make some other sound, it’s almost certainly paleo (and, yes, that means you can still have bacon). Here’s the full list of paleo diet meats.

• Poultry
• Turkey
• Chicken breast
• Pork tenderloin
• Pork chops
• Steak
• Veal
• Bacon
• Pork
• Ground beef
• Grass-fed beef
• Chicken thigh
• Chicken leg
• Chicken wings (yum!)
• Lamb rack
• Shrimp
• Lobster
• Clams
• Salmon
• Venison steaks
• Buffalo
• New York steak
• Bison

• Bison steaks
• Bison jerky
• Bison ribeye
• Bison sirloin
• Lamb chops
• Rabbit
• Goat
• Elk
• Emu
• Goose
• Kangaroo
• Bear (good luck getting this!)
• Beef jerky
• Eggs (duck, chicken, or goose)
• Wild boar
• Reindeer
• Turtle
• Ostrich
• Pheasant
• Quail
• Lean veal
• Chuck steak
• Rattlesnak

COURTESY :READ MORE AT:http://ultimatepaleoguide.com/paleo-diet-food-list/

Yes, we love bacon so much as a paleo diet meat that we put it on there twice! Now for a photo of it! Nom. Nom. Nom. Delicious!

How to Reframe Your Self-Defeating State of Mind

It’s inevitable that an emotional plateau or a negative mood captures your attention as the daily grind grinds on and work and life stresses multiply—you know, the state-of-mind best described as “hitting a wall.”

The proverbial and unwelcome flat line is hardly preferable, regardless of whether it lasts several minutes, lingers through an entire day or persists throughout the week. So how can you quickly free yourself from this self-limiting rut? Although it’s important to pause, reflect and learn from the past, it’s also important to pause and allow your optimism for future possibilities to simmer.

The first step in pulling yourself out of the rut is to entertain a different thought pattern to offset limitations that come with a self-defeating state of mind. Fix on a mindset of abundance for potentially good outcomes connected to plans you set for tomorrow and beyond.

Moods are temporary—positive and negative. To undercut a negative mood, pause, take a few slow deep breaths, and allow yourself to dwell on this simple notion for a minute or two. Tomorrow presents endless possibilities and opportunities to improve. Acknowledge the potential to be better than you were today, because you control that decision now.

Dwell on the excitement that comes with the future, feeding off the energy that comes with anticipating simple or complex experiences and events that you associate in a positive, fulfilling light. Truly pause and reflect on the possibilities, “because [when] you believe in possibilities, youput yourself in position to achieve them,” as leadership expert and author John C. Maxwell says.

Envisioning tomorrow’s potential is a powerful way to realize the extent of your personal control over your success. Reinforce this mindset power and give it freedom to roam. By doing this, you are priming tomorrow and beyond to be productive and giving opportunity to resist and rebound from self-limiting thought patterns.

Related: The Pursuit: Tony Robbins’ 5 Steps to Break Through Your Limits

Here’s a simple exercise to reframe your moment of stagnation.

Create a brief list of four simple yet meaningful things that you look forward to:

• Tomorrow
• Next week
• Next month
• Next year

Start small with one simple thing for each time frame—even something as simple as opening and smelling a new bag of coffee, to an overseas trip next month, to a good friend’s upcoming wedding. It doesn’t have to be life-changing or career-related. The point of this list is anticipatingthings that are meaningful to you.

Putting together this list refocuses you to live intentionally and continue working toward your short- and long-term goals. You become focused on carrying out plans that possess the possibility of success and resonate with excitement because they fit your purpose. Challenge yourself to consider what else can be done to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

If you don’t feel like you have anything to look forward to, make a plan to change your circumstances. After all, “You and you alone are responsible for taking actions to create the life of your dreams,” as author Jack Canfield says. Envision the future you want, create a realistic plan to get there and keep that plan at the forefront of your mind whenever you feel down.1

Leveraging excitement tied to near future events will not end in absolute disappointment as long as a plan is in place because nothing truly worthwhile or fulfilling is reaped passively. Knowing you have the possibility and potential of greater, meaningful things ahead if you can just get through a funk is an empowering thought. Hold onto it.

When you establish a positive event or experience, the anticipation reminds you that your single rut is miniscule in the grand scheme of things. When you pause to switch to the mindset of focusing on the potential of the future, you will be less likely to give in to daily setbacks and challenges because the future can serve as a counterweight. It’s also a reminder that you’re in it for the long haul.

Make it a habit to reflect on positive possibilities first thing in the morning and before going to bed. Commit them to memory. Focusing on positive outcomes stimulates a more productive thought pattern and mental process that drives efficient actions and behaviors. Write them down and place them where you can see them regularly—a journal, on your bathroom mirror or on a notes app. Posting your list promotes personal accountability so your goals don’t turn into passing thoughts that wither with a temporary mood swing.

Start small to make this habit easier to follow. Expand the list when you find your excitement snowballing. Relish in the anticipation of expected good things in your near future. Don’t forget that although moods and emotions inevitably ebb and flow, having breakthroughs during struggles allows you to better appreciate the value of engaging in meaningful experiences as they present themselves.

COURTESY:http://www.success.com/

Paleo diet part-2:what to eat and not to eat

Paleolithic Diet buffs refer to the new foods as Neolithic foods and the old as Paleolithic Diet foods. In simple terms we see Neolithic as bad and Paleolithic as good. Since then, some other substances have entered the diet- particularly salt and sugar, and more recently a litany of chemicals including firstly caffeine then all other additives, colourings, preservatives, pesticides etc.

Grains, Beans and Potatoes (GBP) share the following important characteristics:

· They are all toxic when raw- there is no doubt about this- it is a fact that no competent source would dispute- they can be extremely dangerous and it is important never to eat them raw or undercooked. These toxins include enzyme blockers, lectins and other types. I will talk about them in detail later as they are very important.

 · Cooking destroys most but not all of the toxins. Insufficient cooking can lead to sickness such as acute gastroenteritis.

· They are all rich sources of carbohydrate, and once cooked this is often rapidly digestible-giving a high glycemic index (sugar spike).

· They are extremely poor sources of vitamins (particularly vitamins A, B-group, folic acid and C), minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols.

Therefore diets high in grains beans and potatoes (GBP):

· Contain toxins in small amounts

· Have a high glycemic index (ie have a similar effect to raw sugar on blood glucose levels)

· Are low in many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols- ie they are the original "empty calories"

· Have problems caused by the GBP displacing other foods

As grains, beans and potatoes form such a large proportion of the modern diet, you can now understand why it is so common for people to feel they need supplements or that they need to detoxify (ie that they have toxins in their system)- indeed both feelings are absolutely correct. Unfortunately, we don’t necessarily realize which supplements we need, and ironically when people go on detoxification diets they unfortunately often consume even more Neolithic foods (eg soy beans) and therefore more toxins than usual (perhaps they sometimes benefit from a change in toxins). More detail on these issues follows in subsequent pages.

The essentials of the Paleolithic Diet are:

Eat none of the following:

· Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles

· Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas

· Potatoes

· Dairy products

· Sugar

· Salt

Eat the following:

· Meat, chicken and fish

· Eggs

· Fruit

· Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)

· Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)

· Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.

 Try to increase your intake of:

· Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes

· Organ meats- liver and kidneys (I accept that many people find these unpalatable and won’t eat them)

Expect some minor tuning problems- don’t worry, you can deal with them:

· It will take some time for your body to adjust to the changes after all these years. There is a huge surge in your vitamin intake. There is a huge decrease in your toxin intake.

COURTESY:http://www.earth360.com/