Back in the day, people used to mostly do labor-intensive jobs. Nowadays, there’s not a lot of incentive to be physically active, with most jobs being desk jobs and most forms of entertainment including a screen or a couch. If you also add the fact that we’re a lot busier today, you start to get the picture of why people tend to avoid exercising.
Fifteen minutes of daily exercise may lengthen your life by over three years on average when compared to people who don’t exercise at all. “The truth is that if you’re exercising for health, it takes very little effort to see enormous benefits,” said Dr. Harvey Simon, the study’s author and an associate professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Luckily, everyone has fifteen minutes to spare – even the busiest people in the world can allocate a quarter of an hour for that, so go outside and take a walk. Your heart will thank you later!
How a Healthy Social Life Can Improve Your Health
Most people know that we human beings are social creatures. We like to hang out with other people, talk to them, share with them, and more. Even introverts who pride themselves on their ability to thrive in solitude still need the occasional conversion, even if it's a virtual one. What scientists found about the subject of sociability is actually quite shocking, and you'll be running to tell your friends about it right after we tell you!
Having a good social life is officially linked to healthier kidneys unless you spend that time binge drinking with your friends. If you're a responsible and moderate drinker, you now have a great reason to spend some quality time with your friends this weekend!
Don't Hold You Pee
As we mentioned before your kidneys filter out waste products and extra fluids, the by-products then go into your urine and get disposed of when you pee. This helps to avoid building up excess and waste in your body. When you hold your pee in for long periods of time, ignoring nature’s call is actually one of the biggest factors that cause kidney problems.
The more time your urine stays inside, the more bacteria begin to manifest in it. When these bacteria reach a certain critical mass and begin to reach your kidneys, all sorts of trouble begin to unfold. This is actually one of the most productive things you can do for your kidneys, and it's also one of the easiest since it’s not hard to find the motivation to pee when the need arises. Coming up: how cigarettes and processed foods are ruining your kidney health, explained.
Stay Away From Energy Drinks
Energy drinks are some of the most unhealthy types of beverages that you can drink. What makes them even worse than alcohol in certain ways is that they can be purchased by anyone, including an eight-year-old. These drinks, ranging from RedBull to Monster have extremely high amounts of sugar and caffeine in them, which is directly linked to high blood pressure, stress, and eventually kidney damage.
This was recently confirmed by a study in Frontiers in Public Health. There is currently little to no regulation by the Foods and Drugs Administration (FDA) despite recurring calls from various researchers to curb the damage they do to young children.
Eat Healthy Types of Fat
We've previously discussed saturated fats and trans fats, which both contribute to a raised LDL cholesterol and clog up your arteries. The higher your LDL cholesterol level, the faster your arteries get clogged, especially if left unchecked over time. The American Heart Association recommends watching out for hydrogenated oils and avoiding foods with high trans fat and saturated fats levels entirely. There are healthy kinds of fat, however, such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats help decrease the risks of heart disease and boost your immunity to disease.
Some of the most healthy foods that contain high amounts of good fats are olive oil, chia seeds, dark chocolate, flaxseeds, nuts, and seed butter. Just to reiterate, trans fats are bad for you. If you're looking for an easy way to avoid trans fats completely, simply eat anything that would be considered vegan. There are no natural trans fats in vegan foods, although some baked and processed vegan foods do have artificial additives that contain trans fats.