According to some people who hacked the English sayings, ’An apple a day keeps everyone
away if thrown hard enough, the original apple being talked about here is more than obviously, a healthy living.
This basically ranges from getting enough sleep to a healthy and balanced diet to carrying out physical activity, to the optimal spiritual and emotional health of ourselves.
With the wake of the 21st century, also came the seriousness of this old adage.
This is because there has been an increase in the prevalence rate of chronic illnesses and lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
More than a handful of times, some people confuse between being fit and being healthy.
As Paul Robinson said, “Fitness is having the love for your body and health is being in love with your
body”.
This will definitely be a topic for another day, but also it is important to note that they
are both pieces of the same apple that we need so that we can keep doctors away.
Being healthy will require us to mainly monitor the foods we take and the kinds of physical activities we
indulge in.
It is evident that the major dietary setbacks to a healthy lifestyle, are mainly the Westernized
diets which are now being assimilated in developing countries, including Kenya.
These include fast and fatty foods like pizza, fries, hot dogs, bacon, burgers, pastries and so on.
Taking these kinds of foods with no adequate physical activity brings a negative impact on our health due to ‘bad fat’ accumulation and uncontrolled weight gain.
The best diet to carry on is a diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits, moderate carbohydrates
and fats.
This type of diet; increases glucose control, reduces the risk of cardiovascular complications and increases the overall quality of life.
The best way to avoid ‘bad fat’ is to avoid eat outs. Therefore, it is important to cook our own meals at home and it is even more crucial to consider the type of cooking method that we use.
There is a variety of certified cooking methods, such as; boiling, steaming, roasting, baking, blanching, leaching and so on. In one way or another, all these factors in one way or another lead to a healthy lifestyle.
The top-notch factor needed to keep doctors away apart from a healthy diet is physical
activity.
It is very crucial for us to set aside at least 30 minutes every day to exercise in moderation or 15-20 mins for intense exercise.
Exercise improves our circulation, improves glucose control, helps us lose excess fat deposits, and improves our mental well-being amongst many other positive impacts.
They say ‘Old habits die hard’. So why can’t we make a healthy lifestyle our habit and go to the grave with it?
Possibly there is no good answer for that. And hence, let us keep biting on our ‘apple’ every day, and keep the doctors away for the longest avoidable time.
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