5 Tips to Manage a Healthy Household
Healthy, active lifestyles can help prevent health problems like high blood pressure, asthma, heart disease and diabetes. They can also help people maintain weight. Should you have a family, it is vital to make sure they are happy and healthy. However, it’s not always easy to raise a family. Here are tips to help manage a healthy household.
1. Do Your Research
The best tip to manage a healthy household is to do research on what defines “good health” in the first place. It can be particularly important to read books on proper nutrition for kids and adults alike. The more educated you are on what is good and bad for you, the more likely you are to incorporate healthy habits into your schedule.
Additionally, there can be hidden dangers in the everyday products around you. For example, a lot of personal care products may contain phthalates, which have been linked with lower IQ levels, or benzene, a toxic carcinogen. Do your research to make sure you’re not exposing your family to dangerous chemicals.
2. Exercise
Physical activity will benefit overall health. It will promote good heart health, improve mood and build strong bones and muscles. Adolescents and children should exercise for at least 60 minutes per day.
Depending upon the age of your child, ways they can exercise include:
- Participating in recess and P.E. class
- Active hobbies such as hiking, rollerblading, bike riding, swimming or jumping rope
- Visiting playscapes or local parks and using jungle gyms or playing games like hopscotch in order to strengthen muscles and bones
- Organized activities or sports like ballet, dance, martial arts, softball, baseball, basketball or soccer
- Going for family walks
It can help your kids stay active if they have a proper role model. Stay active yourself with your family by going on walks or planning other outdoor hobbies together. Adults also need to exercise, and should exercise at a moderate intensity for 150 minutes every week.
3. Manage Portions
Offer vegetables and fruits at each meal. Do not force children to eat veggies and fruit, but make sure they are available. Be a good role model and eat healthy yourself. Your children are watching you.
4. Don’t Smoke at Home
Thirdhand smoke is chemicals from the smoke from cigarettes which cling to surfaces that are soft. It can be found on toys, clothing and carpets.
Thirdhand smoke can be dangerous no matter if you are healthy or sick, or young or old.
Those who get exposed to the chemicals found in thirdhand smoke may develop cancer. Toxins in tobacco can get into toddlers’ or infants’ bodies through their developing lungs. These chemicals may cause learning issues when they build up.
Parents should:
- Not let others smoke near their kids. Ask smokers to wear smoke-free clothing and wash their hands before they hold your baby.
- Not smoke, or let others smoke, in your car or home.
- Use smoke-free daycare and non-smoker babysitters.
- Not take children to indoor public spaces, like restaurants, which allow smoking.
- Keep their children out of smokers’ homes.
5. Prioritize Foods Which Are Nutritious
The nutritional habits of parents shape the future food choices and eating behaviors of children. It’s vital that parents show their children what healthy diets look like when they cook and order at restaurants.th
Additionally, eating nutritious foods is the first step to managing a healthy weight. After all, medications such as Ozempic can have potentially dangerous side effects in the long run. Instead, focus on teaching your children healthy eating habits in the first place.
Keys regarding healthy eating include:
- Eat meals which are well-balanced and full of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, beans and low-fat dairy
- Choosing whole foods
- Avoiding flavoring techniques and cooking methods which are unhealthy, like frying or adding unnecessary butter or cheese
- Serving proper portions
- Keeping healthy snacks within easy reach, like peanut butter with celery sticks, fruit, hummus with carrots, yogurt with fruit, and peanut butter with whole grain crackers
Once you master healthy eating habits, you’ll notice your energy levels increase and you could feel better overall.
