There are many lifestyle choices that affect our bodies. Some of the simplest ways of improving health are;
- Giving up smoking
- Get active
- Manage your weight
- Eat more fibre
- Cut down on saturated fat
- Get your 5 A Day
- Cut down on salt
- Eat fish
- Look after your oral health
- Drink less alcohol
- Avoid illicit drugs
- Read the food label
Further information about a healthy body can be found on the NHS website.
Eating Well and Staying Hydrated
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
Eating well can be a challenge, especially if shopping or preparing food is made difficult by a condition, disability or illness. Drinking enough fluid is also essential to maintain health, although the types of drinks you choose affect your health in different ways.
By eating a varied and balanced diet as shown in the Eatwell Guide, the range of nutrients and balanced food groups you receive will provide many benefits in terms of your growth and development, some important nutrients/vitamins the body requires include:
Eating healthily doesn’t have to mean giving up your favourite foods. It simply means eating a variety of foods and cutting down on food and drinks high in fat and sugar, such as sugary fizzy drinks, crisps, cakes and chocolate. These foods should be eaten less often and in smaller amounts.
Equipment is available to help you prepare food more easily, from electronic can openers to easy-grip utensils. If equipment cannot help you then there are providers who will deliver meals to your door to heat in a microwave or oven.
Help is available for shopping and delivery of food, see our Help at Home section.
NHS have advice on staying hydrated.
Further links to Information and Advice
Maintaining Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight is important for your overall health. Becoming overweight or obese increases your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
If you're overweight, losing weight has many health benefits. Making small simple changes to what and how much you are eating and drinking and your level of activity can really help you lose the pounds. Advice can be found on the One You website.
Being underweight isn't good for your health either. If you're concerned about yourself or someone else, then read the diet advice on the NHS Live Well pages.
Exercise
Lincolnshire has lots of great opportunities to enjoy being active, but most of us don’t do enough physical activity to benefit our health. Being active is really good for your body and mind.
Activities can be found on the Active Lincolnshire website or on the Activities and events page. There are also equipment free workouts for all levels of ability. There are also exercise activities specifically for people over the age of 60 run by Vitality.
Diabetes Prevention Programme
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme identifies people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and refers them onto a nine-month, evidence-based lifestyle change programme. The programme is available both as a face-to-face group service and as a digital service. When referred into the programme, people are free to choose between the two.
People on the face-to-face group service receive personalised support to manage their weight, eat more healthily and be more physically active, which together have been proven to reduce a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The digital service offers similar support, but through the use of digital tools such as wearable technologies that monitor levels of exercise, apps where users can access health coaches, online peer support groups and the ability to set and monitor goals electronically.
Health professionals can refer patients at risk of type 2 diabetes to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. Further information on the Lincolnshire NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, including eligibility, is available at: Lincolnshire - Preventing Diabetes (preventing-diabetes.co.uk).
Further information on diabetes, including how to prevent type 2 diabetes, is available from: Diabetes UK - Know diabetes. Fight diabetes. | Diabetes UK.