General Health Tips
- Eating five portions of fruit or vegetables every day helps reduce your risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
- Eat fish regularly - especially oily fish (e.g. salmon and sardines) once or twice per week. Fish oils are good for your heart. Try not to eat red meat too often, chicken is probably healthier.
- Try and keep within the ideal weight range for your height. If you are an adult you can monitor this by measuring your body mass index (BMI). Ideally your BMI should be between 18.5 and 25 although this is a guide only and will not be accurate if you are breastfeeding, pregnant, an athlete or weight training. You can calculate this below:
- Try to drink more water and less sugary drinks through the day.
- Be aware of you alcohol consumption. It is recommended that women should drink no more than 2 to 3 units per day and men 3 to 4. You can work out your units by multiplying the volume in ml by the alcohol content and dividing the result by 1000. For example a 125ml glass of white wine with an alcohol content of 13% contains 1.625 units (125 multiplied by 13 and divided by 1000 = 1.625). Please feel free to try our calculator:
- If you smoke, try to cut down or think about giving up. We can help you to do this.
- Brisk walking, cycling and swimming are great forms of exercise and are easy to fit into your lifestyle. Ideally you should get out of breath for 15 minutes three times a week. Exercise reduces your risk of heart disease and also helps you feel able to deal with the stresses in your life.
- Be careful when it is hot and sunny especially at midday. Cancer of the skin is becoming more common. Try to cover up with clothing, a hat, sunglasses and sun protection lotion with an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15.
- Make sure you have time to relax and do the things that YOU enjoy.
- Make sure you get enough sleep to see you through the day.
