#Good Ideas: Easy-do Tips To Make Your Life Better

Love Yourself

Scientific studies have shown that peo­ple who routinely take care of themselves while they take care of others live longer and have a greater sense of joy and fulfillment than those who don’t. It’s all about incorporating balance into your life. Caregiving without balance leads to a greater incidence of chronic disease and a higher death rate. Loving yourself can take many forms. Here are some ways to give yourself some tender loving care.

Mental: Read a book, talk with a friend.

Nutrition: Eat fruits and vegetables, take daily vitamins.

Physical: Walk for 45 minutes every day, lift weights twice a week, do ab crunches thrice, etc.

Add-on: Write down seven things that give you pleasure. For example gardening, paint­ing, reading, hiking, cooking. Make sure that at least one of them appears on your daily calendar.

Food Swap

Swap a garlic-butter dip or marinade with one made using olive oil, herbs and garlic. Olive oil is a healthy fat with good cholesterol. A dip/marinade made with it is great for heart health. 

Water Positive

Keep water bodies in your lawn. Installing a water body can channelize positive energy. You can think of installing a fountain in your lush green lawn. The sound of the water has thera­peutic effects and helps one de-stress. However, make sure they are kept clean and free of mosquitoes. 

Pure Protein

Buckwheat flour (kuttu) is a complete protein, meaning it contains all the essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that we need from food. So instead of white flour, use buckwheat flour to make pancakes, crepes, or muffins, or look for Japanese soba noodles.

Trick & Treat

Make sure to never feed your pet table scraps or leftovers. Let her treats be ones meant for dogs. Let her earn them for displaying good behav­iour or tricks, like fetching the news­paper or her own leash.

Collated from articles previously published in Prevention magazine.

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