Wellness is a hot topic in the country today, with the term applying to both physical and mental health inside and outside of traditional medical practices. As Dr. Gregory Duhon, MD, explains, this is a good thing because it puts healthy practices at the top of many people’s minds.
To live a truly healthy lifestyle, you must integrate diet and good fitness into your daily activities. Medical practitioners can play an important role in helping their patients do this, too, as they can provide actionable advice like the tips below on how to incorporate healthy habits into everyday life for long-term health benefits.
The Role of Diet and Exercise in Disease Prevention
It’s been proven by many studies that diet and exercise play a critical role in preventing non-communicable diseases. To wit, every year, 41 million people die from non-communicable diseases, including chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and mental disorders.
Diving deeper into the statistics shows that 1.8 million deaths every year can be attributed to an excess intake of sodium. Another 1.5 million die every year as a result of alcohol use, while another 830,000 deaths are attributed to not enough physical activity.
None of this information is positive, of course. But, if there’s a slight positive to the stats, these factors are all actionable. In other words, people can take direct action to improve their wellness in these areas.
That’s because these are behaviors that are modifiable. You can lower your sodium intake, stop drinking alcohol or reduce your consumption, and increase your physical activity levels.
Start Small
Incorporating exercise into your daily routine can be daunting if it’s not something you already do. What exercise should you do? How intense should it be? Do you need to join a gym?
Dr. Gregory Duhon, MD, says that the best thing to do is to start small. The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults need about 150 minutes per week of “moderate-intensity physical activity” as well as two days of “muscle-strengthening activity.”
This might sound like a lot, but it’s easier to wrap your head around when you break it down. Essentially, this means you need to engage in an activity that moves your body 30 minutes daily for five days every week.
Something as simple as a brisk walk in a park or through your neighborhood would suffice. The important thing is to move your body more than you do now and sit less than you do now.
Choose Your Food Wisely
What you eat is equally as important as your physical activity level, if not more so. Most people know that it’s crucial to eat a balanced diet, but what does that actually mean?
Most nutritionists will tell you that a healthy food balance includes consuming about 2,000 calories daily and aiming for a nice mixture of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
If you’re having trouble figuring out how to do this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a useful tool called MyPlate. It’s a great visual representation of how you can eat healthy by eating the food pyramid properly.
By following these tips and focusing on diet and exercise, Dr. Gregory Duhon, MD, says you can achieve overall better wellness.
About Dr. Gregory Duhon, MD
Dr. Gregory Duhon, MD, is the driving force behind American Consulting Physicians, a trailblazing telemedicine venture. As an accomplished Internal Medicine Physician and Hospitalist with a profound grasp of ICU, emergency room, and crisis/pandemic management, Dr. Duhon is leveraging his expertise to provide acute and chronic medical care services remotely across 15 states, including Alabama, Arizona, Tennessee, and more. His specialization in complex conditions and willingness to extend patient consultations underscore his commitment to elevating healthcare. Beyond his business pursuits, Dr. Duhon’s diverse interests encompass Ironman training, culinary exploration, passion fruit cultivation, and a dedication to advancing accessible and exceptional medical care.
