WOMEN’S HEALTH: 7 Lifestyle changes and habits to help you stay disease-free and enjoy life to the fullest.

• Maintain a healthy diet: We all learnt about a balanced diet but what is it? All women have different body mass index (BMI) and their nutrient requirements differ slightly from another. A diet that always keeps one’s immunity boosted includes fruits, nuts, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids. It is better to consume these than foods that have unhealthy fats, sugar-sweetened beverages, large amounts of alcohol, red and processed meats and sodium. Remember to stay hydrated by taking at least 3L of water daily and breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
• Healthy physical activity: We recommend at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day. Stretching on a daily helps to reduce aches and pains that come as a result of prolonged hours of sitting mainly in a poor posture. It forces the muscles to become stiff and contracted. Organized stretching like Yoga is highly recommended so stretch it out!
• Healthy body weight is defined by your Body Mass Index(BMI). The recommended index is between 18.5 and 24.5.

• Moderate alcohol intake: We recommend between 5 to 15 grams per day for women. A standard drink contains 14 grams of alcohol which means, a 350ml glass of 5% beer, 150ml glass of 12% wine and 44ml of 40% distilled spirit or what some prefer to call shots.
• Avoid smoking. There is no moderate amount of smoking. Healthy means never having smoked.
• Practice safe sex. Remember to use condoms to avoid sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancy or have one trustworthy sexual partner. Abstinence is also a very good thing. Consider it.
• Take care of your mental health. Worry less, sleep more, meditate as much as you can and be kind to yourself. The only person who will have to pay for you being so hard on yourself is you.

For more information, speak to our medical experts online.