Pillars of good health according to lifestyle medicine.
Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) include cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. They are the cause of death of up to 74% of people worldwide. As many as 380,400 Thais die from NCDs per year, or as many as 44 people per hour.
Current lifestyles are the accelerators that cause people to suffer from NCDs due to fast-paced lifestyles, eating processed foods, lack of vegetables and fruits, inactivity, insufficient sleep, smoking and drinking too much alcohol, or accumulated stress.
1. Maintain a healthy weight and choose plant-based foods.
Maintaining a stable weight and not gaining too much body fat is very important for maintaining good health because too much fat, especially visceral fat, is the source of many diseases. Middle-aged men should not have more than 25% body fat and middle-aged women should not have more than 32% body fat. The standard method is to check body composition using a DEXA scan or Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry.
Another way to indicate central obesity is to measure your waist circumference. Asian men should not exceed 90 centimeters (36 inches) and Asian women should not exceed 80 centimeters (32 inches).
One important way to maintain a healthy weight is to eat a healthy diet. A large amount of scientific evidence supports a whole food, plant-based diet for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. This is because it is rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Choose to eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and seeds.
- Foods to choose – Vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, mushrooms, herbs, spices, water.
- Foods to avoid – High-sugar drinks and foods (sodas, sweets, soft drinks, baked goods), processed meats (sausages, bologna, bacon, salami), red meat (beef, pork, lamb), processed foods, and packaged snacks.
- Example of a nutritional goal: Increase your intake of vegetables by 1 ladle or 50 grams of cooked vegetables per meal at least 5 days per week.
2. Move your body and exercise regularly.
Regular exercise, at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, helps counteract the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle. Adults should do cardiovascular exercises, such as running, aerobics, swimming, and cycling, at moderate intensity for at least 150 minutes a week, and high-intensity exercises for 75–150 minutes a week, along with strengthening exercises, such as bodyweight exercises and weightlifting, at least 2 days a week, and balance and flexibility exercises, such as yoga, stretching, tai chi, and qigong.
If anyone is not comfortable exercising, they can increase their physical activities during the day, such as doing housework, sweeping, mopping, gardening, cutting down trees, or walking 8,000-10,000 steps per day. More physical activities use energy similar to exercise. The more physical activities there are, the better it is for your health. But whether you exercise a lot or a little, it is still better than not moving your body at all (Better Than None).
- Moderate physical activity – brisk walking, light cycling, cleaning windows, mopping floors
- High-intensity physical activity – running, brisk cycling, basketball, football, tennis
Example of setting a physical activity goal: Walk up three flights of stairs instead of taking the elevator every day.
3. Manage stress and take care of your mental health.
Stress is inevitable, but each person’s perspective. How they handle stress can have different effects on their behavior and physical health. A little stress can have a positive effect on the body and improve work performance, but too much stress can lead to anxiety, depression, obesity, impaired immune systems, and many other diseases.
Learning and practicing stress response helps to understand the mechanisms of stress and appropriate stress reduction techniques, leading to better well-being. Methods of using mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) such as meditation with awareness of the breath, mindful yoga, and walking meditation (walking meditation) by training to be aware of your thoughts and emotions without judgment. Research has found that regular meditation practice helps improve brain structure and changes brain waves, resulting in practitioners having more awareness, concentration, and positive emotions.
For beginners, you can start by practicing Vitisa Samadhi by dividing it into 5-minute meditation sessions: 5 minutes in the morning, another 5 minutes in the afternoon, and another 5 minutes in the evening or before bed. However, all of this is just basic advice. If anyone has tried it and it hasn’t gotten any better, or if anyone suspects that they have a mental health problem, they should consult a medical professional for diagnosis.
Tips for managing stress
- Connect with people around you, such as talking to friends or family members or joining community activities.
- Find a stress-relieving activity, such as listening to music, exercising, dancing, meditating, or yoga.
- Find a hobby or creative activity, such as drawing, painting, knitting, or doing jigsaw puzzles.
- Create moments to laugh, such as listening to jokes or reading a comedy book.
- Avoid caffeinated drinks and alcohol.
- Practice breathing techniques to relax.
- Relaxing massage, acupressure to relieve muscle tension from stress
4. Get good quality sleep.
Sleep is the easiest way to take care of our health, which nature has given us all, without any cost. Sleeping late and not sleeping continuously have adverse effects on health, increasing appetite, risk of insulin resistance, weakening immunity, short attention span, reduced social interaction, depressed mood, and decreased work efficiency. On the contrary, getting enough and good sleep has a great effect on health.
People of different ages have different sleep requirements. Children aged 6-12 years need 9-12 hours of sleep per night, teenagers aged 13-18 years need 8-10 hours of sleep per night, and adults should get 7-9 hours of sleep per night to allow the body to repair itself and produce hormones normally.
Sleep is involved in several important hormones, as follows:
- Melatonin, the sleep hormone, begins to secret. When the sky begins to get dark or when the light decreases, making you feel sleepy. Melatonin is also involved in antioxidants, bone formation and protection, reproductive system, immune function, and cardiovascular system.
- Growth hormone is known as the “aging hormone”. It plays an important role in growth, strengthening muscles and bones, and burning the body. If you have a lot of growth hormone, your health will be strong and you will look younger. Therefore, it can be called a hormone for maintaining the body.
- Cortisol: The body begins to produce this hormone in the morning. It is secreted at its highest between 7 and 9 a.m., making the body alert. It is also produced when stressed, lacking rest, or overexercises, causing the body to deteriorate quickly, leading to insulin resistance, and an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.
- DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) is an anti-stress hormone. That counteracts the effects of cortisol, helps increase strength, and slows down the deterioration of the body. Although DHEA is not directly related to sleep, insufficient sleep can cause the body to secrete less DHEA.
5. Avoid hazardous substances.
Cigarettes, alcohol and air pollution PM 2.5 dust are classified as Group 1 carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an agency under the World Health Organization (WHO).
Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption ยูฟ่าเบท https://ufabet999.app increase the risk of chronic disease and death. For those who are addicted to smoking and quitting alcohol. It may take determination and a variety of solutions, as well as support from those around you, to cut off these harmful substances. The best way to do this is to consult a professional to find the right approach.
In terms of air pollution, PM 2.5 dust has a significant impact on health. You should follow news about the PM 2.5 dust problem to avoid outdoor activities during periods. When the amount of PM 2.5 dust is high. Wear a mask when you need to leave the house and install an air filter in your home. For those who live in the city, you can find free time to travel to the provinces to get fresh air.
Example of a smoking cessation goal: I will start quitting smoking today. Avoid places where I used to smoke to reduce my urge to smoke. Relieve the stress of quitting smoking with activities.