Your Voice: Trying on some good habits in the new year ahead

Interest in and awareness of improving our health and lifestyle is always popular this time of year. Living a healthy lifestyle is a basic need for the development of any society, especially when aided by sound thought and actual science.

For the individual, a healthy lifestyle begins from the moment he chooses the type of food and the way he eats it. These two simple actions can help set a course of happiness on the days and years ahead.

But globally, general health is deteriorating as poor dietary habits has resulted in widespread obesity and ailments such as heart problems, high blood pressure, and arterial diabetes.

These poor health patterns spring from several paths, the first of which is dietary. As more people come to rely and fast food and frozen goods, they’ve largely ignored fresh foods and taken to preparing even healthy foods in ways to disregard the preservation of their nutritional value (i.e., vitamins, proteins, and healthy fats).

Fast food, with its meals containing white flour, fats, hydrogenated oils, processed and sugar foods, and frying oil, is a persistent threat to our well-being. 

Also, people’s choice to “skip” breakfast has adversely affected their metabolism and the burning of fats. So has lack of exercise and sports. And bad habits such as sitting for long periods, irregular sleep, and staying up for long periods have also contributed to poor public health.

So now is the time to embrace new habits.

Eat breakfast. Drink plenty of water. Use difficult utensils to eat so as to slow down your consumption. Exercise. These kinds of habits will help protect the body by strengthening our immune system, stimulating the mind, shedding excess weight, and preserve a healthy appearance.

For many, obesity is the biggest hurdle to overcome. But with hard work, patience, and determination, it can be overcome. Of course, diet is a key ingredient in losing weight. Surgical operations have become popular to defeat obesity, but such steps should not be taken lightly. It may provide a short-term solution, but bad habits such as eating poorly, laziness, and impatience will invite long-term failure. Only determination, patience, and goal-setting provide a sure path to better health.

So, let us put the wheel of our food pattern on the path of clean eating to reach a better lifestyle destination by choosing types of food, managing portion sizes, and focusing on the benefits our body will enjoy. This will help us in other great goals such as being more positive, life-loving, and living our fullest life.

harm to your health, whether in the short or long term.