#HealthFix: Improve Your Health And Well-Being With These Easy-Do Tips

 Tip for the Tipsy

Consuming four or five drinks in an eve­ning—even once a week—could lead to death sooner than if you down the same amount over the course of a week, reports a study in the journal Alcohol­ism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Heavy episodic drinking concentrates alcohol’s toxicity, damages your body’s organs and makes accidents more likely, upping risk of fatalities. Binge drink­ing may be additionally risky for older adults due to age-related health issues such as high BP and diabetes as well as medication use, which can cause harmful interactions with excess alcohol. The bottom line is that binge drinking is dangerous at any age, but it may be especially harmful if you’re over 55. If you drink, try to stick to moderate-drink­ing guidelines of no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

Kale Me Good

Kale is high in beta-carotene, and cooking gives the nutrients a boost. Steaming especially improves its ability to bind bile acid—linked to lowering choles­terol—much more than in its raw state. One cup of kale also packs 107 per cent of your daily Vitamin C needs.

Time for Exercise

Three hours is the amount of moder­ate aerobic exercise you need per week to see improvement in memory, cogni­tive function and blood flow to the brain. You will feel sharper (and fitter) after just six weeks of trying it.

More to Mint

You’ve known it as a flavouring herb that’s good for digestion, but there’s more to mint than that. A powerhouse of phytonutrients with anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, mint leaves is effective in controlling a range of health issues including oral infections and bad breath. Inhaling mint extract relaxes and calms the nerves. It can also relieve nausea that comes with headaches. Steam inhalation with mint can de-congest the sinuses and respiratory passages and clear phlegm. It can be chewed raw, used to garnish salads and foods, ground into chutney or steeped in tea.

Super Snack

Eating half an avocado at lunch could curb mid-day cravings and help you feel full until dinnertime, according to a study published in Nutrition Journal. In a study conducted with 21 overweight adults, those who ate avocado reported to be 23 per cent more satisfied and had a 28 per cent reduced desire to eat till late evening. Add this nutrient-rich fruit to your lunch to avoid snacking on junk in the evening. 

Collated from articles previously published in Prevention magazine