Therapeutic lifestyle changes (TLC) is a set of tools, diet information, ideas, and programming designed to help individuals lower elevated health risks. Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) include diet, exercise, weight loss, and other changes.
The goal of the TLC diet is to raise HDL and lower LDL and triglyceride levels to improve overall heart health. Recommended diet modifications include eating lean meats, low-fat dairy, plant stanols and sterols and soluble fibre while limiting fatty meats, fried foods and whole-fat dairy products. Maintaining healthy body weight and exercising for at least 30 minutes a day is also important and one of the major key points.
Most of us feel overwhelmed when it comes to healthy eating, especially if we have a medical issue. ‘We are what we eat’. Therefore, a good diet is of prime importance. It not only helps to maintain the body’s health and vitality but also has a great effect on the well being of the mind.
1) Cut down on oily and sugary food, soda and caffeine.
If possible, reduce your intake of fast food, French fries, doughnuts, chips, wedges, and deep-fried food. Deep fried food contains acrylamide, a potential cancer-causing chemical. Alternative eat food that are grilled, steamed, stir-fried, or even raw food. In addition, they are also fattening.
2) Cutting down on sugary food
Cutting down on sugary food is better for your health as well. These are things such as candy bars, pastries, chocolate, cookies, cakes, and jelly doughnuts. Not only do they not fill you up, they cause you to want to eat more due to the sugar rush. Go for healthy snacks instead like fruits, salads, pure juices, and unprocessed foods.
3) Drink less caffeine and soda.
Drinks with caffeine are diuretics and they don’t keep you well hydrates as plain water can. Also, drinks like soda is unhealthy, causes weight gain, and is an artificial stimulant.
Read: HOW TO AVOID OXIDATIVE STRESS FOR BEAUTIFUL SKIN
4) Cut down on processed food.
Processed foods are not good because of the added preservatives and loss of nutritional values that are bad for our health. Many processed foods contain a high amount of salt content, which leads to higher blood pressure and heart disease. Processed foods are generally most food in supermarkets, — the more ingredients it has on the label (especially the ones ending with ‘ite’ or ‘ate’), the more processed they are. Watch out for those with salt/sugar in the first 5 ingredients and go for unprocessed food as much as possible.
5) Eat more fruits and vegetables.
Fruits contain lots of vitamins and minerals. As much as possible, you should consume your vitamins and minerals via your daily diet. Satisfy your palate with these nutritious fruits such as
- Watermelon
- Apricots,
- Avocado (yes, avocado is technically a fruit!),
- Apple,
- Cantaloupe,
- Grapefruit,
- Kiwi,
- Guava,
- Papaya,
Like fruits, vegetables are important for good health. Although, its suggested that we take 5-9 servings of fruits/vegetables a day, unfortunately it may be difficult at times. However, when you can, include foods like
- kidney beans,
- black beans,
- asparagus,
- long beans,
- green beans, and
Fruits and vegetables with bright colors are good for health because they remove the things in our body that damage our cells.
6) Drink more water.
Water is essential for our body to function, but most of us tend to drink less water in a day.
Did you know that over 60% of our body is made up of water?
Water is needed to carry out body functions, remove waste, and carry nutrients and oxygen around our body. Since we lose water every day through urine, bowel movements, perspiration and breathing, we need to replenish our water intake. We need to drink about 8-10 glasses a day to stay hydrated.
Be mindful of your habits, physical activity and stress levels . Reducing stress, either through lifestyle changes or relaxation techniques, can reduce the sensitivity of your skin and help promote a more healthier you.
Read: WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT HYPERPIGMENTATION
7) Stop smoking and/or avoid passive smoking.
Smoking can severely increase your risk of lung cancer, kidney cancer, esophageal cancer, heart attack, and more. Smoking “light” cigarettes do not decrease health risks either.
8) Exercise
If you can exercise, don’t just do it a few times a week, but every day. Movement is key to a healthy life. Exercising daily can improve your health in many ways. It can help increase your life span, lower your risk of diseases, help you develop higher bone density, and lose weight. Simple exercises, especially for close distances, like walking or climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator helps keep you healthy.
9) Get enough sleep.
Lack of sleep may lead to a host of health problems including obesity, diabetes, and even heart disease. Continued lack of sleep can affect your immune system and make you less able to fend off colds and the flu. Make sure you get that good 8 hours of sleep daily.
Even though there are many common ways to live a healthy lifestyle, actually doing it looks different for everyone, and means something different from one person to the next.
Regardless of what you choose to do, living a healthy lifestyle is a key component of disease prevention, wellness, and longevity.
Also Read: What Can Crystal Tomato do For your Skin
Take Care.
