We've done the legwork for you and
here they are: the 45 best health
tips. Make that 46 - taking the time
to read this tops the list.
1. Copy your kitty: Learn to do
stretching exercises when you wakeup. It boosts circulation and
digestion, and eases back pain.
2. Don’t skip breakfast. Studies
show that eating a proper breakfast
is one of the most positive things
you can do if you are trying to lose
weight. Breakfast skippers tend to
gain weight. A balanced breakfast
includes fresh fruit or fruit juice, a
high-fibre breakfast cereal, low-fat
milk or yoghurt, wholewheat toast,
and a boiled egg.
3. Brush up on hygiene. Many
people don't know how to brush
their teeth properly. Improper
brushing can cause as much
damage to the teeth and gums as
not brushing at all. Lots of people
don’t brush for long enough, don’t
floss and don’t see a dentist
regularly. Hold your toothbrush in
the same way that would hold a
pencil, and brush for at least two
minutes. This includes brushing the
teeth, the junction of the teeth and
gums, the tongue and the roof of
the mouth. And you don't need a
fancy, angled toothbrush – just a
sturdy, soft-bristled one that you
replace each month.
4. Neurobics for your mind. Get
your brain fizzing with energy.
American researchers coined the
term ‘neurobics’ for tasks which
activate the brain's own biochemical
pathways and to bring new
pathways online that can help to
strengthen or preserve brain
circuits. Brush your teeth with your
‘other’ hand, take a new route to
work or choose your clothes based
on sense of touch rather than sight.
People with mental agility tend to
have lower rates of Alzheimer's
disease and age-related mental
decline.
5. Get what you give! Always giving
and never taking? This is the short
road to compassion fatigue. Give to
yourself and receive from others,
otherwise you’ll get to a point
where you have nothing left to give.
And hey, if you can’t receive from
others, how can you expect them to
receive from you?
6. Get spiritual. A study conducted
by the formidably sober and
scientific Harvard University found
that patients who were prayed for
recovered quicker than those who
weren’t, even if they weren’t aware
of the prayer.
7. Get smelly. Garlic, onions, spring
onions and leeks all contain stuff
that’s good for you. A study at the
Child’s Health Institute in Cape
Town found that eating raw garlic
helped fight serious childhood
infections. Heat destroys these
properties, so eat yours raw, wash it down with fruit juice or, if you’re asissy, have it in tablet form.
8. Knock one back. A glass of red
wine a day is good for you. A
number of studies have found this,
but a recent one found that the
polyphenols (a type of antioxidant)
in green tea, red wine and olives
may also help protect you against
breast cancer. It’s thought that the
antioxidants help protect you from
environmental carcinogens such as
passive tobacco smoke.
9. Bone up daily. Get your daily
calcium by popping a tab, chugging
milk or eating yoghurt. It’ll keep
your bones strong. Remember that
your bone density declines after the
age of 30. You need at least 200
milligrams daily, which you should
combine with magnesium, or it
simply won’t be absorbed.
10. Berries for your belly.
Blueberries, strawberries and
raspberries contain plant nutrients
known as anthocyanidins, which are
powerful antioxidants. Blueberries
rival grapes in concentrations of
resveratrol – the antioxidant
compound found in red wine that
has assumed near mythological
proportions. Resveratrol is believed
to help protect against heart
disease and cancer.
11. Curry favour. Hot, spicy foods
containing chillies or cayenne
pepper trigger endorphins, the feel-
good hormones. Endorphins have a
powerful, almost narcotic, effect and
make you feel good after exercising.
But go easy on the lamb, pork and
mutton and the high-fat, creamy
dishes served in many Indian
restaurants.
12. Cut out herbs before ops. Some
herbal supplements – from the
popular St John's Wort and ginkgo
biloba to garlic, ginger, ginseng and
feverfew – can cause increased
bleeding during surgery, warn
surgeons. It may be wise to stop
taking all medication, including
herbal supplements, at least two
weeks before surgery, and inform
your surgeon about your herbal use.
13. I say tomato. Tomato is a
superstar in the fruit and veggie
pantheon. Tomatoes contain
lycopene, a powerful cancer fighter.
They’re also rich in vitamin C. The
good news is that cooked tomatoes
are also nutritious, so use them in
pasta, soups and casseroles, as well
as in salads. The British Thoracic
Society says that tomatoes and
apples can reduce your risk of
asthma and chronic lung diseases .
Both contain the antioxidant
quercetin. To enjoy the benefits, eat
five apples a week or a tomato every
other day.
14. Eat your stress away. Prevent
low blood sugar as it stresses you
out. Eat regular and small healthy
meals and keep fruit and veggies
handy. Herbal teas will also soothe
your frazzled nerves. Eating
unrefined carbohydrates, nuts and
bananas boosts the formation of
serotonin, another feel-good drug.
Small amounts of protein containing
the amino acid tryptamine can give
you a boost when stress tires you
out.
15. Load up on vitamin C. We need
at least 90 mg of vitamin C per day
and the best way to get this is by
eating at least five servings of fresh
fruit and vegetables every day. So
hit the oranges and guavas!
16. No folly in folic acid. Folic acid
should be taken regularly by all
pregnant mums and people with a
low immunity to disease. Folic acid
prevents spina bifida in unborn
babies and can play a role in cancer
prevention. It is found in green
leafy vegetables, liver, fruit and
bran.
17. A for Away. This vitamin, and
beta carotene, help to boost
immunity against disease. It also
assists in the healing process of
diseases such as measles and is
recommended by the WHO. Good
natural sources of vitamin A are
kidneys, liver, dairy products, green
and yellow vegetables, pawpaw,
mangoes, chilli pepper, red sorrel
and red palm oil.
18. Pure water. Don’t have soft
drinks or energy drinks while you're
exercising. Stay properly hydrated
by drinking enough water during
your workout (just don't overdo
things, as drinking too much water
can also be dangerous). While you
might need energy drinks for long-
distance running, in shorter exercise
sessions in the gym, your body will
burn the glucose from the soft drink
first, before starting to burn body
fat. Same goes for eating sweets.
19. GI, Jane. Carbohydrates with a
high glycaemic index, such as bread,
sugar, honey and grain-based food
will give instant energy and
accelerate your metabolism. If
you’re trying to burn fat, stick to
beans, rice, pasta, lentils, peas, soya
beans and oat bran, all of which
have a low GI count.
20. Mindful living. You've probably
heard the old adage that life's too
short to stuff a mushroom. But
perhaps you should consider the
opposite: that life's simply too short
NOT to focus on the simple tasks.
By slowing down and concentrating
on basic things, you'll clear your
mind of everything that worries you.
Really concentrate on sensations
and experiences again: observe the
rough texture of a strawberry's skin
as you touch it, and taste the
sweet-sour juice as you bite into the
fruit; when your partner strokes
your hand, pay careful attention to
the sensation on your skin; and
learn to really focus on simple tasks
while doing them, whether it's
flowering plants or ironing your
clothes.
21. The secret of stretching. When
you stretch, ease your body into
position until you feel the stretch
and hold it for about 25 seconds.
Breathe deeply to help your body
move oxygen-rich blood to those
sore muscles. Don't bounce or force
yourself into an uncomfortable
position.
22. Do your weights workout first.
Experts say weight training should
be done first, because it's a higher
intensity exercise compared to
cardio. Your body is better able to
handle weight training early in the
workout because you're fresh and
you have the energy you need to
work it. Conversely, cardiovascular
exercise should be the last thing
you do at the gym, because it helps
your body recover by increasing
blood flow to the muscles, and
flushing out lactic acid, which
builds up in the muscles while
you're weight training. It’s the
lactic acid that makes your muscles
feel stiff and sore.
23. Burn fat during intervals. To
improve your fitness quickly and
lose weight , harness the joys of
interval training. Set the treadmill
or step machine on the interval
programme, where your speed and
workload varies from minute to
minute. Build up gradually, every
minute and return to the starting
speed. Repeat this routine. Not only
will it be less monotonous, but you
can train for a shorter time and
achieve greater results.
24. Your dirtiest foot forward. If
your ankles, knees, and hips ache
from running on pavement, head for
the dirt. Soft trails or graded roads
are a lot easier on your joints than
the hard stuff. Also, dirt surfaces
tend to be uneven, forcing you to
slow down a bit and focus on where
to put your feet – great for agility
and concentration.
25. Burn the boredom, blast the
lard. Rev up your metabolism by
alternating your speed and intensity
during aerobic workouts. Not only
should you alternate your routine to
prevent burnout or boredom, but to
give your body a jolt. If you
normally walk at 6.5km/h on the
treadmill or take 15 minutes to walk
a km, up the pace by going at 8km/
h for a minute or so during your
workout. Do this every five minutes
or so. Each time you work out,
increase your bouts of speed in
small increments.
26. Cool off without a beer. Don’t
eat carbohydrates for at least an
hour after exercise. This will force
your body to break down body fat,
rather than using the food you
ingest. Stick to fruit and fluids
during that hour, but avoid beer.
27. ‘Okay, now do 100 of those’.
Instead of flailing away at gym,
enlist the help – even temporarily –
of a personal trainer . Make sure you
learn to breathe properly and to do
the exercises the right way. You’ll
get more of a workout while
spending less time at the gym.
28. Stop fuming. Don’t smoke and if
you smoke already, do everything in
your power to quit. Don’t buy into
that my-granny-smoked-and-lived-to-
be-90 crud – not even the tobacco
giants believe it. Apart from the
well-known risks of heart disease
and cancer, orthopaedic surgeons
have found that smoking accelerates
bone density loss and constricts
blood flow. So you could live to be a
90-year-old amputee who smells of
stale tobacco smoke. Unsexy.
29. Ask about Mad Aunt Edith. Find
out your family history. You need to
know if there are any inherited
diseases prowling your gene pool.
According to the Mayo Clinic, USA,
finding out what your grandparents
died of can provide useful – even
lifesaving – information about
what’s in store for you. And be
candid, not coy: 25 percent of the
children of alcoholics become
alcoholics themselves.
30. Do self-checks. Do regular self-
examinations of your breasts. Most
partners are more than happy to
help, not just because breast cancer
is the most common cancer among
SA women. The best time to
examine your breasts is in the week
after your period.
31. My smear campaign. Have a
pap smear once a year. Not on our
list of favourite things, but it’s vital.
Cervical cancer kills 200 000 women
a year and it’s the most prevalent
form of cancer among black women,
affecting more than 30 percent. But
the chances of survival are nearly
100 percent if it’s detected early.
Be particularly careful if you became
sexually active at an early age, have
had multiple sex partners or smoke.
32. Understand hormones. Recent
research suggests that short-term
(less than five years) use of HRT is
not associated with an increase in
the risk of breast cancer, but that
using it for more than ten years
might be. Breast cancer is detected
earlier in women using HRT , as they
are more alert to the disease than
other women.
32. Beat the sneezes. There are
more than 240 allergens, some rare
and others very common. If you’re a
sneezer due to pollen: close your
car’s windows while driving, rather
switch on the internal fan (drawing
in air from the outside), and avoid
being outdoors between 5am and 10
am when pollen counts are at their
highest; stick to holidays in areas
with low pollen counts, such as the
seaside and stay away from freshly
cut grass.
33. Doggone. If you’re allergic to
your cat, dog, budgie or pet piglet,
stop suffering the ravages of animal
dander: Install an air filter in your
home. Keep your pet outside as
much as possible and brush him
outside of the home to remove loose
hair and other allergens. Better yet,
ask someone else to do so.
34. Asthma-friendly sports.
Swimming is the most asthma-
friendly sport of all, but cycling,
canoeing, fishing, sailing and
walking are also good, according to
the experts. Asthma need not
hinder peak performance in sport.
11 percent of the US Olympic team
were asthmatics – and between
them they won 41 medals.
35. Deep heat. Sun rays can burn
even through thick glass, and under
water. Up to 35 percent of UVB rays
and 85 percent of UVA rays
penetrate thick glass, while 50
percent of UVB rays and 77 percent
of UVA rays penetrate a meter of
water and wet cotton clothing.
Which means you’ll need sunscreen
while driving your car on holiday,
and water resistant block if you’re
swimming.
36. Fragrant ageing. Stay away from
perfumed or flavoured suntan
lotions which smell of coconut oil or
orange if you want your skin to stay
young. These lotions contain
psoralen, which speeds up the
ageing process. Rather use a fake-
tan lotion. Avoid sun beds, which
are as bad as the sun itself.
37. Sunscreen can be a
smokescreen. Sunscreen is unlikely
to stop you from being sunburned,
or to reduce your risk of developing
skin cancer. That’s because most
people don’t apply it properly, and
stay in the sun too long. The
solution? Slather on sunscreen daily
and reapply it often, especially if
you’ve been in the water. How
much? At least enough to fill a shot
glass.
38. Laugh and cry. Having a good
sob is reputed to be good for you.
So is laughter, which has been
shown to help heal bodies, as well
as broken hearts. Studies in Japan
indicate that laughter boosts the
immune system and helps the body
shake off allergic reactions.
39. It ain’t over till it’s over. End
relationships that no longer work for
you, as you could be spending time
in a dead end. Rather head for
more meaningful things. You could
be missing opportunities while
you’re stuck in a meaningless rut,
trying to breathe life into something
that is long gone.
40. Strong people go for help. Ask
for assistance. Gnashing your teeth
in the dark will not get you extra
brownie points. It is a sign of
strength to ask for assistance and
people will respect you for it. If
there is a relationship problem, the
one who refuses to go for help is
usually the one with whom the
problem lies to begin with.
41. Save steamy scenes for the
bedroom. Showering or bathing in
water that’s too hot will dry out
your skin and cause it to age
prematurely. Warm water is much
better. Apply moisturiser while your
skin is still damp – it’ll be absorbed
more easily. Adding a little olive oil
to your bath with help keep your
skin moisturised too.
42. Here’s the rub. Improve your
circulation and help your lymph
glands to drain by the way you
towel off. Helping your lymph
glands function can help prevent
them becoming infected. When
drying off your limbs and torso,
brush towards the groin on your
legs and towards the armpits on
your upper body. You can do the
same during gentle massage with
your partner.
43. Sugar-coated. More than three
million South Africans suffer from
type 2 diabetes, and the incidence
is increasing – with new patients
getting younger. New studies show
this type of diabetes is often part of
a metabolic syndrome (X Syndrome),
which includes high blood pressure
and other risk factors for heart
disease. More than 80 percent of
type 2 diabetics die of heart
disease, so make sure you control
your glucose levels, and watch your
blood pressure and cholesterol
counts .
44. Relax, it’s only sex. Stress and
sex make bad bedfellows, it seems.
A US survey showed that stress, kids
and work are main factors to
dampen libido. With the advent of
technology that allows us to work
from home, the lines between our
jobs and our personal lives have
become blurred. People work longer
hours, commutes are longer and
work pervades all aspects of our
lives, including our sexual
relationships. Put nooky and
intimacy on the agenda, just like
everything else.
45. Good night, sweetheart. Rest
heals the body and has been shown
to lessen the risk of heart trouble
and psychological problems
