Five Essential Ingredients For Good Health: How Do You Rate On The Health-O-Meter?

Sandy Ische
Jul 30, 2020
4 min read

Updated: Jul 18, 2024

How many of us wouldn't like to increase the quality of our life?

A research study conducted by Harvard reported five healthy habits that we can adopt to help us in this process.

Not smoking
A normal weight BMI of 18.5 to 24.9
Thirty or more minutes a day of physical activity five days a week
Not drinking or limiting alcohol consumption
Eating a healthy diet

According to Frank Hu, M.D., PhD., maintaining these essential ingredients as a part of your lifestyle can "substantially extend the years a person lives disease-free" and lengthen one's lifespan. Additionally, it can improve the quality of your life and "reduce suffering related to chronic diseases." Unfortunately, only eight percent of Americans follow these vital habits, while obesity and alcohol consumption are on the rise, eating fruits and vegetables is plummeting.

How do you rate on the healthy life scale according to the "five healthy habits?" Do you rate well for living a healthy lifestyle or are there measures you can incorporate into your life today to add ten or more robust years to your life? If you are one of the eight percent of Americans who have adopted these five practices for your health, are you at your set goal or are you continuing to improve? If you wish to absorb the five healthy ingredients toward living the life you are meant to live, what are the steps you can begin to take today to reach your health-o-meter goals?

Choose to take control and be intentional about your health. Choose to be who you've always wanted to be!

I've been obsessed with my weight for as long as I can remember. This sentence is really misleading, however, because I've never been overweight. I grew up in a family that did not incorporate healthy eating when I was young. Sugar and bread were a part of our daily meals, not fruits and vegetables. I don't blame the cooks in my family. We have come a long way in our better understanding of nutrition and its effects on our well-being, both physical and mental. I mean, who knew back in the day when smoking was "a thing" that cigarettes would eventually lead to a chronic disease and people could die from smoking? It was a common thing to see people smoking. Today, decades of research have improved our knowledge that even small adjustments toward better health can help us reap the benefits of having a vigorous and even chronic-free life.

Growing up, some of my family members were overweight. I could see their struggles and suffering and their desire to lose weight. For me, this became a preoccupation to gain knowledge that I could use to help them, as well as avoid that undue pain in my own life. That was my thought process. In high school morning routines consisted of workouts before school, in addition to the physical education classes at school, such as track, weight training, and other sports. After school, it could be swimming, running, or riding my bike. I don't ever remember not being active. Being active, always moving, was not only what I did, it was who I was.

Eventually, as I got older and had kids, it became more challenging to carve out "me-time" and my active lifestyle became harder to absorb into my life with kids and raising a family. We were always on the go, but that didn't always mean being active. Fortunately, my mindset never derailed. I was able to get back on track and stay on track. Each year I find myself stronger than the year before, healthier, and more determined. We don't have to be athletes to be healthy. We've learned about good health in school. If you "lost your way," per say, get back on the bike and ride your way to better health.

What are a few basic steps you can take today toward a better, vigorous and healthy you?

Here is how I rate on my "healthy" scale.

I don't smoke.
I am at a normal weight for my height.
I walk or do more than thirty minutes of physical activity seven days a week (unless I'm sick).
I don't drink, though I might have a drink on my wedding anniversary.
I eat a healthy diet on a daily basis, which includes smoothies, vitamins, acai bowls, fish, veggies, and yummy avocado toast, to name a few.

I challenge you today to check your own healthy scale and determine where you rate on your health-o-meter.

Healthy, not-healthy, can use improvement?

Where do you rate?
What are the challenges?
What measure can you take to get you to your intended health goals?

Start taking action toward change. Focus on small improvements every day and the ways that being healthy will transform your life for a healthy, happier you!

Ready? Set. Go!

"For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, says the Lord." Jeremiah 30:17

#health #nutrition #healthyhabits