Everyday Care & Nutrition

7 EASY WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR FAMILY’S HEALTH

a family playing pirates with their kids

This year’s Family Health and Wellness Day is the perfect time to remind you that making your whole family healthier doesn’t have to be a huge project, or something you only think about once a year. A few small tweaks to your diet, changes to your schedule, and inexpensive gifts like soccer balls or supplements can have a huge impact on your family’s wellness!

1. Healthy Breakfasts, Every Day

Cereal commercials always show a full “balanced breakfast” with fruit and other add-ons, and while many people just go for the cereal — or even just a coffee — the ads actually have the right idea! Regular, healthy, and even large breakfasts make people less hungry throughout the day, minimize food cravings, and reduce overall caloric intake. But breakfast is also linked to improved brain function in areas like memory, greater insulin levels to combat diabetes risk, and improved sleep! [1]

2. Try “Reduced” Versions of Foods

Your body needs fat, sugar, and sodium to function well, but many American diets are overloaded with these. Switching from whole milk to 1% milk cuts down on fat by almost 70%, while keeping the rest of the nutrients. A more surprising example: Red pasta sauce is lower in calories, cholesterol, and fat than a typical white sauce, and has more vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. [2] Plan your pastas accordingly!

3. Drink Enough Water

Proper hydration is tied to everything from maintaining healthy mood and brain function [3] to boosting metabolism [4]. You can get energy, help your body function, and lose weight just by drinking water. Many people don’t get enough water because they don’t have an easy way to monitor the amount they drink, so consider gifting everyone in the family water bottles! The kids (and adults too!) can put stickers on them to mark 8 oz. servings and really make their bottle their own.

4. Weekday Walks, Weekend Bikes or Hikes

Many hours of our lives, for schoolchildren and adults alike, are spent sitting at a desk. Going for bike rides or hikes together on the weekend are great ways to change that, but even on busy weekdays, it’s good to fit in a short walk around the neighborhood just after dinner to breathe fresh air, improve mood, and burn calories!

5. Home Activities

You don’t need a full home gym or furnished children’s playroom to stay active at home when a few yoga mats and a soccer ball or football will do. While getting out is important, sometimes weather or schedules can make it hard to leave the house, and having backyard or indoor activities can be a huge help. When it gets cold, remember that everyone loves a good snowball fight!

6. Sleep Regularly

Everyone says it, but few people get it. And everybody should! Sleep helps with mood, brain processes, heart health, hormone levels, blood sugar, immunity, and overall functioning. [5] A good rule of thumb is for everyone to get 8 hours of sleep a day, even if that means pausing a movie halfway through or putting off a chore for a day. You’ll have an easier time getting to sleep if you cut down on screen time just before bed, and keep a routine sleep schedule!

7. Try Everyday Care & Nutrition Supplements!

We know that, realistically, you won’t have time every day to get your whole health regimen in or eat perfectly healthy. That’s where Everyday Care & Nutrition’s products can help, by helping your body get the nutrients it needs, block the ones it doesn’t, and look better and better, day after day. Celebrate Family Health & Fitness Day by trying a new health-boosting supplement from us!

References

[1] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181126-is-breakfast-good-for-your-health
[2] https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/red-vs-white-sauce-which-is-better
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22190027/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14671205/
[5] https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency 

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