Advice for Nutrition and Wellness on World Health Day

This is the time of year when we observe World Health Day (April 7), which raises the subject of the behavior required to stay healthy. Often our positive attitudes about nutrition and wellness don’t jibe with our behavior.

When it comes to health and wellness, actions speak louder than words, and the reality is that less than half (46 percent) of those baby bookers surveyed recently by Liberty Life (see below) are exercising at least three times a week. Although exercise is only one indicator of overall health and well-being, three-quarters of those surveyed considered physical fitness very important to them.

Eating a healthy diet is a tricky balance of what you choose TO eat and what you choose NOT to eat. If we all ate more 'whole' food - that is, food without an ingredient label (mostly fresh, raw or lightly cooked vegetables and fruit) - we would be far better off.

With exercise and diet there is a dangerous gap between our intentions and our actions, our behavior.

So what can you do to move from intention to behavior? Five key changes can make all the difference:

1. Be proactive. Don’t wait until you feel sick to forge a meaningful relationship with your doctor. Know your body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol. Ask your doctor about using self-monitoring tools such as wearable devices and smartphone applications to track your progress toward improving your health numbers.

2. Be social. Many self-monitoring tools will connect to social media or online communities, allowing you to share your fitness accomplishments with others. Studies have shown that people who network and receive support for reaching goals are more likely to achieve sustained success.

3. Be attentive. Understand food labels and avoid items with too many ingredients. Also look for stores with better labeling systems like Dr. David Katz' NuVal®, which make it easier to gauge the nutritional value of packaged food. NuVal® weighs the amount of “good” ingredients, such as vitamins, fiber, and iron, against “bad” ingredients, such as fat, sodium, and sugar-– assigning each food a score. The higher the score, the better the product’s nutrition. For example, choosing unsweetened shredded wheat at breakfast with a score of 91 over an English Muffin with score of 21 can help you start the day on a healthy path.

4. Be realistic. Make behavior changes specific and accomplishable-– start small and build up. For example, rather than striving to work out at the gym daily, start by taking the stairs at work, instead of the elevator.

5. Be happy. Bring a positive attitude to every situation you face. Research has found that personality and outlook can play a role in how long people live. A study in the Journal of Aging found that people who reach 100 have several personality traits in common, including high conscientiousness, openness to experience and a positive outlook on life.

Based on: http://www.boomercafe.com/advice-for-nutrition-and-wellness-on-world-health-day