Here Are The Top Ways To Prevent Disease

Written by Total Access Medical | Dec 30, 2020

What is disease prevention and how can you prevent diseases from happening? In this article, we offer four ways to prevent diseases and how to take care of yourself so you can live your healthiest, best life. Master these four science-based healthy habits and you'll high-five your way to feeling great.

1) Get Up and Get Moving

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks exercise high on its bucket list of activities. So, if there's one thing in life you can do to live a longer, healthier life, it's exercise.

People who are physically active (brisk walking, dancing, bicycling, doubles tennis, water aerobics, etc.) for about 150 to 300 minutes a week have a 33% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who are physically inactive.

In addition, exercise -- even just walking at a moderate pace -- has been shown to improve cognitive function, help you control your weight, reduce your risk for disease and, of course, strengthen your bones and muscles.

After finishing one 30-minute physical activity you'll have less anxiety, lower blood pressure, more sensitivity to insulin and you'll sleep better that night.

Within a few months, you'll see improvement in your blood pressure, heart and lung functions as well as a lowering of risk for depression, anxiety, type 2 diabetes and bladder, breast, colon, kidney, lung and stomach cancers, according to the CDC.

2) Make Healthy Food Choices

Keeping a healthy weight -- defined by doctors as having a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 -- is another key way to stay healthy and reduce your risk of all manner of diseases and conditions.

There are lots of excellent diets out there to help you lose and keep your weight under control, such as the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which helps with hypertension, the MIND diet (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), which focuses on food to slow cognitive decline, and the Flexitarian Diet, which combines the words flexible and vegetarian.

Science has shown meals from the sunny Mediterranean can reduce the risk for diabetes, high cholesterol, stroke, dementia, memory loss, depression and breast cancer. The plan has also been linked to stronger bones, a healthier heart and microbiome and longer life. Oh, and weight loss, too.

It shares a key element with the rest of the diets mentioned above: It's plant-based, meaning you'll eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds.

3) Quit Smoking

If you smoke, there is probably no other single choice you can make to help your health more than quitting.

The CDC found that smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop heart disease, different types of cancer, stroke and more. Not only that, but smoking increases your risk of dying from cancer.

“Smokers lose at least 10 years of life expectancy compared with people who never smoked. “People who quit by age 40 reduce their risk of smoking-related death by 90%.”

4) Get Restful Sleep

You may choose to exercqise or eat healthy, but your body is going to demand sleep. The quantity and quality of it, however, is under your control.

If you're not sticking to a regular sleep schedule, you're hurting your health.

Depending on your age, you are supposed to get between seven and 10 hours of sleep each night. Getting less has been linked in studies to high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, weight gain, a lack of libido, mood swings, paranoia, depression and a higher risk of diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, dementia and some cancers.

These actions will also help reduce your stress, improve your mood and invigorate your life.

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