Health Image

Outdoor Lifestyle for Health is a nice way to get the momentum moving with some fresh air thrown into the bargain. My last post here at Health Image, focused on one of the most important aspects to any diet, water. Now we move our attention to the great outdoors, to get some of that healthy outdoor lifestyle benefits that come from being in the fresh air and open space.

Now not everyone has their own garden, but that doesn’t completely exclude you from this post or enjoying some outdoor lifestyle pleasures, as any outdoor space will do. So even if you live in an apartment but have an outside space like a terrace or balcony with enough room to sit out on a nice day, then this is for you to enjoy a little of life’s outdoor lifestyle pleasures.

Of course a garden has more appeal as there is more space to enjoy, but a balcony can be made to look inviting and close to nature by the addition of some potted plants to add greenery and the colour of some flowers to your space.

Then you need an open space big enough to put a small outdoor table and enough chairs for you and your family to sit in and you can enjoy outdoor lifestyle pleasures with some peace and fresh air sitting outside on a sunny day. Of course, if you live in an apartment in the centre of a big city, then that diminishes somewhat as cities are rarely quiet and peaceful and the air is far from fresh, so if this is you, then you need to get out to the countryside and chill out away from the smog and noise of the city every so often.

This has a health giving effect of enabling you to relax, breath fresh air, get some sun on your body and have some quality leisure time. In your own garden you can kick a ball around with the kids, or invite some friends over for a barbecue, or just sit in the sun for an hour and chill by yourself to have the benefit of the outdoor lifestyle pleasures that we all deserve.

Getting out of the house is the whole point of this. When it comes to getting some good, honest health and fitness, a breath of fresh air often helps the process along no end. Switch off that TV, computer, Playstation or whatever else is sapping your brains out through a straw and get outside and remind yourself what real nature looks like!

Enjoying life’s outdoor lifestyle pleasures is all about having a healthy lifestyle, after all.

2 Comments »

Good, healthy water is something that everyone should consider as a part of their everyday health plan. In my last post here at Health Image, I outlined some of the huge benefits of weight loss for health improvement overall. Here I want to take a closer look at that fundamental of all natural health sources, and one the human body cannot do without for normal functioning, water.

Before we continue on with this side of our lifestyle I mentioned in an earlier post about the importance of drinking enough water after exercise.

Well, it’s not just after exercise that you need to drink plenty of water. Read on…

Our bodies are 70% water and to lose even a small percentage of that will cause us to dehydrate. Dehydration can cause so many health related problems, I really don’t know where to even begin. Certainly, many headaches are caused by not drinking enough water in the day. Many digestive problems are also the direct result of not drinking enough water. From digestive problems you can branch out to an amazing selection of related health problems and illnesses that all have their root cause in the body being in a dehydrated state for prolonged periods of time.

This is so important that the message gets across to people everywhere because so many people do not even realize that they are dehydrating regularly and not replenishing sufficiently and then suffering all manner of related diseases and health problems that would not have occurred had they drank enough water every day to keep their level of hydration constant.

So what is the recommended amount of water to drink in a day?

That depends on where you live and what your lifestyle is, but a general rule of thumb is to drink at least two pints (roughly one and a half litres) of water per day. Obviously if you live in a very hot climate or you do heavy physical work, you’ll need to drink more water.

While you may think that it is all right to substitute this with fizzy soda drinks, or tea and coffee etc, while these will contribute to your overall liquid intake, they will do you more harm than good.

Tea and coffee contain caffeine, which acts to dehydrate you further, so whatever benefit you might get from that small amount of liquid is canceled out by the dehydrating effect they have on your body. Fizzy soda drinks contain a lot of sugar and artificial ingredients which are all bad for your body. Cola drinks also contain caffeine, and will dehydrate you similarly to tea and coffee. Low sugar, diet or sugar free drinks are even worse as they contain artificial sweeteners such as aspartame that are believed to cause certain cancers amongst other hitherto unforeseen illnesses and conditions.

Don’t go arguing with me on that one, I don’t give a damn what the food industry says, it’s only protecting its own dirty backside. Artificial sweeteners are ALL bad so don’t do it if you want to be healthy – you have a choice and you can choose to say no to canned slow poison.

The only sure-fire way of staying healthy is to drink pure, still water.

If your local tap water is certified safe to drink, then it probably is but if you prefer bottled water, then do that or get a filter jug like a Brita and filter your own tap water – its cheaper than bottled and every bit as pure.

2 Comments »