Are your healthcare costs quickly building year after year? You don’t have to work yourself into debt just to pay off your bills. Rather, it’s a better idea to tackle the problem at the source. Try a few of these healthy habits to improve your overall well-being and hopefully reduce those extra trips to the doctor.
1. Eat Better
They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away … and honestly, they might be right. One study took a look at 753 people who ate an apple every day and found that these people used fewer prescription medications than the control group. This might be because apples are packed with soluble fiber, potassium, and other vitamins.
Of course, a healthy diet should be about more than apples. You’ll need to include a variety of fruits, vegetables, and proteins, as well as cut back on fatty, fried, and packaged foods.
2. Drink More Water
Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t drink as much water as they should. Because of that, they’re missing out on a lot of benefits, including normalization of blood pressure, increased temperature regulation, and improved digestion.
While water intake is a highly individualized matter that’s subject to debate, most experts agree that four to six cups a day is sufficient. That amount might go down if you have heart, liver, kidney, or thyroid disease, or up if you exercise a lot or live in a hot location.
3. Increase Your Physical Activity
As fun as it is to be a couch potato, living a lifestyle that is too sedentary puts you at risk for a number of health problems. You could become overweight, develop heart disease, or even become diabetic. And you guessed it — all of these conditions require extra trips to the doctor.
To prevent this from happening, try to make your everyday activities more active, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking further away from the grocery store. Keep track of your fitness goals, and make exercise fun by listening to music or watching TV while breaking a sweat.
These three healthy habits might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people neglect them. By improving your diet, drinking more water, and increasing your exercise, you can give your health a boost and hopefully lower those pesky healthcare costs.
Works Cited
“Benefits of Exercise.” MedlinePlus, 30 Aug. 2017, https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html.
Godman, Heidi. “How much water should you drink?” Harvard Health Publishing. 2016 Sept., https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink.
Pendick, Daniel. “An apple a day may not keep the doctor away, but it’s a healthy choice anyway.” Harvard Health Blog, 2015 April 2, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/an-apple-a-day-may-not-keep-the-doctor-away-but-its-a-healthy-choice-anyway-201504027850.
