21 Healthy Tips for 2022: New Year, New You!

Start the new year off by improving your overall health and wellness with these practical tips from the World Health Organization.

Eat a healthy diet. Eat a combination of different food groups, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains. Adults should eat at least five portions (400 grams) of fruit and vegetables per day.

• Consume less salt and sugar. Reduce your salt intake to five grams per day, about one teaspoon, and reduce your sugar intake to 50 grams or 12 teaspoons for an adult.
• Reduce your intake of harmful fats. Focus on good fats like fish, avocado, nuts, coconut oil, cream and cheese, and limit trans (bad) fats found in baked and fried foods, prepackaged snacks and foods, and cooking oils and spreads.
  
  
• Avoid drinking too much alcohol. This helps lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, liver cirrhosis and depression.
  
  
• Don’t smoke or quit smoking. It’s never too late to quit.
  
  
• Be active. Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week.
  
  
• Check your blood pressure regularly. If left uncontrolled, high blood pressure, or hypertension, can lead to heart, brain, kidney and other diseases.
  
  
• Get tested. Get screened for HIV, HPV, hepatitis B, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis.
  
  
• Get vaccinated. Build protection against diseases like cervical cancer, cholera, diphtheria, hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, pneumonia, polio, rabies, rubella, tetanus, typhoid and yellow fever.
  
  
• Practice safe sex. Help prevent HIV and other infections.
  Cover your coughs and sneezes. Protect those around you from contagious infections and viruses.
  
  
• Prevent mosquito bites. Protect yourself while outdoors.
  Get preventive health screenings. As you age, schedule mammograms, prostate screenings, skin cancer screening, bone density scans and colonoscopies.
  
  
• Drink only safe water. Avoid diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.
  
  
• Breastfeed your baby for at least the first six months. Aside from being beneficial to babies, breastfeeding is also good for the mother as it reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type II diabetes, and postpartum depression.
  
  
• Talk to someone you trust when you are feeling down.
  
  
• Take antibiotics only as prescribed.
  
  
• Lock up your prescription medication. And, dispose of expired or unused medication properly.
  
  
• Clean your hands properly and often. Clean hands can prevent the spread of infectious illnesses.
  
  
• Prepare your food correctly. (1) keep clean, (2) separate raw and cooked, (3) cook thoroughly, (4) keep food at safe temperatures and (5) use safe water and raw materials.
  
  
• Get regular checkups. See your PCP to ensure good health and discover potential health problems before they start.