A Healthy Lifestyle: Staying Healthy Physically and Mentally To have a healthy body is not an easy thing to do.

It requires many things like patience, diligence and hardwork. Your life and body was given by God. He gave it to you in a great condition so you should take care of it and be thankful to Him. eing healthy is the most important thing you should maintain in your life. It gives you the opportunity to do all the things that you want. !nlike money, you can en"oy life if you are healthy. #an money bring you happiness if you are not healthy$ %ell, yes but only temporarily because it will not last. !nless you are healthy, you can live your life to the fullest. You can reach your dream and die satisfied to the life that you e&perienced. There is no way that you can achieve a perfect body but you can attain a healthy body. 'ating a healthy diet, drinking of plenty of water and avoiding stress are "ust some e&amples. '&ercise is also a key to be healthy to keep your body properly working. There are many ways to have a healthy body. You "ust need to know what is good and bad for you, what you should retain and not, and what to do and not to do. To keep your body healthy, you should focus on your goal. (ometimes, there are temptations that can harm your body. )ust calm down and remember what you really want is. #ontrol yourself. #ontrolling yourself is the most important factor you should maintain to keep your body healthy. Healthy Balanced Diet *ccording to Huynh, +erouin and %illson ,-.//0, 12ne of the most important things in life is to be healthy33not "ust physically, but mentally and

emotionally as well.1 * healthy balanced diet is one of the key to have a healthy body and healthy diet means healthy food. #hoose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products. These types of food provide needed vitamins, minerals, fiber, and carbohydrates, and are generally lower in fat to help you maintain a healthy weight. 'at also foods with protein and fats. y doing so, you will have a healthy heart, mind and functional body and you will get all the nutrition the human body needs. 4ood pyramid is not "ust a decoration but it also helps you to choose the amount of food you should intake ,4igure/./0. +o not gorge yourself and skip a meal. *void skipping meals or having mini meals instead of 5 large meals everyday. (ome ended up turning their mini meals into a combination of "unk foods and softdrinks which are bad for your body. You can eat those kinds of food but not all the time. Try to control yourself from eating those kinds of food.

4igure /./6 Healthy 4ood 7yramid presents healthy food of your choice.

Exercise '&ercise is an important factor to have a healthy body and it can

improve your health in many ways. It seems to help prevent certain kinds of cancer ,%uest 8 ucher, -./5, p. 0It can improve the health of your heart which lowers the chances of heart disease and lower your cholesterol and blood3 pressure which lowers the chances of stroke. Improve your strength and fle&ibility which can lower the chances of broken bones and other in"uries. There are many different kinds of e&ercise ,walking, running, swimming, dancing, and weight lifting, to name "ust a few0, but three basic types of e&ercise. * good e&ercise program will include some combination of all three of these types of e&ercise9 #ardiovascular e&ercise improves and strengthens your heart, lungs, and circulation and helps people lose weight. #ardiovascular e&ercise is any type of e&ercise that raises your heart rate to a :target ;one: ,determined by your age, weight, and health0. (ome of the most commonly discussed types of cardiovascular e&ercise include running, aerobics, bicycling, walking, and stair climbing, but could also include dancing, skating, skiing, martial arts, tennis, or any type of e&ercise that raises your heart rate. (trength training helps you by making you stronger and giving you better endurance ,so you can do things longer0. This makes day3to3day activities easier and reduces your chances of in"ury. %hile many people think of weight lifting when they hear :strength training:, there are many different types of e&ercises you can do to improve your strength ,and you don:t have to be a muscle3man or woman to do them.0 (ome common strength training e&ercises include sit3ups, push3ups, and using nautilus machines, strength bands, and free weights. '&ercise can make your body physicall fit and it builds up more confidence.

Drink Plenty of Water +rink more water because appro&imately <.= of our body is water. It is involved in every function in the body, including circulation, digestion, absorption of nutrients and the transmission of electrical currents in the body which control our nerves, muscles and hormones. %ater helps flush metabolic wastes to keep your metabolism in top shape. %ater can also help you feel fuller, so drink at least >3/. glasses of water every day ,or more if you are active or live in a hot climate0. +rink water that has been purified and water quality is very important. Avoid Stress !nfortunately, stress is unavoidable whether you are running late for school or cramming on your assignments, it is normal to feel stressed out. However, you can reduce stress by knowing things that are stressful to you and learn how to manage or handle your reaction to stress. e aware of the things that stress you out and try to avoid those triggers. 4or e&ample, if sitting and waiting to pay your bills makes you stress, avoid paying during the usual day of payment. You might get a penalty if you pay after the deadline then you have to think of an idea to prevent it like paying your bills on an early time. This way, you can avoid stress. Get involved in stress3free activities like yoga after work or school so that you can avoid stress and feel all your tensions unwind. Take a few moments each day to release any stresses you have and focus on the present. Instead of worrying about what happened in the past or what will happen on the

future, take a moment to notice what is going on around you. ?iterally stop and smell the roses and feel the warm bree;e of fresh air. Vices ?imit your vices. It:s better to quit all those unnecessary vices like smoking, drug addiction and drinking. *void other risky behaviors like speeding, fighting, unsafe se& and e&cessive thrilll3seeking. Instead of doing those things, why don:t you "oin recreational activities like sports, e&ercises, hanging out with your friends, singing, dance group or youth campaigns. It is better to focus on those activities and on studying or on your work or on your good habits like reading and gardening than doing those things that might cause your life. (ome people said that smoking feels good. It might feel good but the truth is it kills you inside "ust like illegal drugs and alcoholic beverage. You might not feell it now but soon it will cause you much pain. Slee Well 4urthermore, there is another aspect of healthy living that should be considered along with it@s benefits, and that is one we usually take for granted, sleeping well. 4or the most part we all consider sleep as a good thing to do , but we donAt really know how this activity benefits us9 for one sleeping helps you repair your body, while we are asleep our body produces e&tra molecules that help mend the body so that the damage we suffer during the day from things such as stress , pollutants, sun e&posure and so on, is repaired while we are off to dreamland. In addition, sleep helps to improve our memory9 namely, when

people do not have enough sleep, they cannot concentrate well the ne&t day and have problems forming memories, researchers believe that during sleep, neurons can shut down and repair any damage done during the day. (o without these repairs, the neurons may not function correctly causing us to feel drowsy and unable to concentrate enough to retain information in our brain. ?ikewise having good sleeping habits results in reducing our levels of stress, for instance, a good night:s sleep can lower blood pressure and the elevated levels of stress hormones which are a natural result of today:s fast paced lifestyle, there are physical effects of stress on your body, and an increase in the aging and degeneration of organs, cells and other body parts. y reducing high levels of stress, sleep helps to reverse these effects and encourages a state of rela&ation. 7retty ama;ing thing this sleep isn:t it$ *nd it:s something most of us take for granted.