How to Live Your Healthiest Life: Essential Tips for a Stronger You

When you're not feeling your best, you can usually tell. You might feel "off," get tired easily, have digestive issues, and catch colds often. Mentally, you might struggle to focus and feel anxious or depressed.

The good news is that living a healthy lifestyle can help you feel better. Even better, you don't need to change everything at once.

Making a few small changes can start you on the path to better well-being. Plus, once you make one change, that success can inspire you to keep making more positive changes.

Healthy habits can lower the risk of various diseases, including those that might be hereditary.

For example, a recent study found that adults who followed a standard American diet rich in fruits and vegetables for eight weeks had a reduced risk of heart disease.

In another 2020 study, researchers discovered that increasing daily fruit and vegetable intake by 66 grams was linked to a 25 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Switching from refined grains to whole grains also reduces disease risk. An observational study of nearly 200,000 adults showed that those who ate the most whole grains had a 29 percent lower rate of type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate the least.

A review of 45 studies concluded that eating 90 grams (or three 30-gram servings) of whole grains daily reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease by 22 percent, coronary heart disease by 19 percent, and cancer by 15 percent.

Following simple healthy habits can lead to a longer life. For instance, if you're 50 and have never smoked, maintain a healthy weight, stay physically active, eat a nutritious diet, and drink alcohol moderately, you might live up to 14 years longer. Even adopting a few of these habits could extend your lifespan significantly.

Ultra-processed foods are those that have refined grains and additives to alter their texture, taste, or color. Examples include cheese puffs, packaged cakes, chicken nuggets, and sweetened cereals. These foods make up more than 70 percent of products in U.S. supermarkets.

The production of ultra-processed foods contributes to environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, reduced biodiversity, plastic waste, and deforestation.

Additionally, animal products play a significant role. According to a 2013 study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which focuses on global hunger and food inequality, raising livestock for meat and dairy accounts for 14.5 percent of human-generated greenhouse gases.

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