You will see a lot of adverts online and on TV for fad diets and new health schemes designed to revolutionize your life. Instant health benefits. A new lease on life. Amazing claims that are often too good to be true. And more often than not they are.
Being healthy is hard work. Especially in our modern society. With a cacophony of technological distractions and unhealthy food being shoved at us every day. But it isn’t impossible to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Far from it. With persistence, determination, and the right advice, you can improve your overall health. And we are here to give you that advice. This guide will walk you through all the steps to becoming healthier in 2024.
Diet Is King
The importance of a good diet cannot be overstated. Our bodies are complicated machines that need the right balance of fuel to function at their best. Everything else we talk about in this guide won’t matter if you don’t get your diet sorted first.
A lot of fad diets will tell you that the key to being healthy is cutting out fats and sugars while substituting in more fruit and veg. Or they will tell you to basically starve yourself. But this isn’t the case. Starving yourself is the absolute worst thing you can do. And both fats and natural sugars are a necessary part of any healthy diet.
You will want to cut down on foods containing a lot of preservatives or artificial flavorings. This will lower your energy levels and can have an effect on your mood. You will need to ensure you are eating enough calories in a day as well. The average recommendation is 2,500 kcal for a man and 2,000 kcal for a woman. If you are exercising in a day you will want to increase this amount.
Medical Cannabis
The United Kingdom finally legalized cannabis for medical purposes back in 2018. Since then it has been used in clinics across the nation to help deal with a number of ailments both mental and physical. Chronic pain, depression, arthritis, anxiety. These are just a number of the issues that are being tackled by medical cannabis prescriptions.
Getting a cannabis prescription in the UK isn’t the most straightforward affair. A lot of smaller cities lack the infrastructure to facilitate medical cannabis prescriptions. And even in the bigger cities, certain clinics won’t offer a cannabis prescription. You should check various reviews of medical cannabis clinics in the UK to find one near you. When you go for a cannabis consultation you should make sure to be exact with your symptoms and ensure cannabis is something that can actually help with your condition.
Cannabis is also extremely useful for those hoping to beat various addictions. Both alcohol and nicotine addiction can be dealt with with a medical cannabis prescription. THC as a chemical is non-addictive. And, when consumed, the psychoactive effects can curb the body’s need for other addictive substances.
Practice Self-Care
You will see the term self-care thrown about a lot online. And the negative effect of this is that the idea of self-care has become somewhat muddied. People will often say that self-care is taking a day off from work and treating yourself to some unhealthy food. Or self-care is spending a day engaging in one of your hobbies. And, granted, these are things you should do every now and then.
But self-care is also about doing things to ensure your body and mind are healthy. And these aren’t always pleasant. Sometimes self-care is spending the night cleaning your house rather than watching Netflix. Or it could be forcing yourself to go to bed early rather than going out to meet your friends.
Your body needs sleep, rest, in order to function properly. Self-care is all about ensuring your body and mind are getting what they need. And this often means sacrificing your pleasures in favor of health.
You should consider starting a journal. Try to find some time each morning or evening to sit down and write down all your thoughts and feelings. Make note of the things you accomplished and your goals for the coming day or week. A journal is also a great way to help manage your mental health. Writing down your thoughts is a great way to process them. It will help you face your issues directly. You will soon notice that, after journaling for a while, your mind is better equipped to handle negative thoughts and feelings.