Like most moms, I want to make better health choices for me and my family. But sometimes it’s hard to know how. Digital media offers endless advice, but it feels like information overload, and everyone seems like they’re trying to sell you something. If the only way to live “healthy” requires doubling my grocery store bill and adding hours to meal prep, then I’m not likely to be able to make it work.
What women really want is actionable, realistic advice about how to live healthier. That’s what Independent Women’s new health policy project—Make America Healthier—offers. It recognizes that our choices don’t have to be perfect, but small steps in the right direction can make a big difference over the long term.
Start with eating healthier: rather than focusing on what not to eat, and denying yourself foods that are bad for you, try to eat more of what is always good for you. That’s not just vegetables, but fresh or frozen fruits, lean meat, healthy nuts, and other proteins. Eating more of these healthy foods will also almost inevitably mean you end up eating less of what’s not so great for you.
The same goes for water. Most people—children and adults alike—don’t drink enough water and end up dehydrated, which stresses the body. Drinking more water provides healthy benefits on its own and can help you drink less of other liquids that are calorie-filled or have other drawbacks. Prioritizing water is particularly important if you have kids. Helping them develop a taste for plain old water will pay health dividends throughout their lives.
People should also be aware of how many products sold as “healthy” really aren’t. As an example, the “heart healthy” label that you sometimes see on boxes of cereal really doesn’t tell you much about what’s inside and whether it is healthy for you or your family. There’s an effort underway to have greater transparency about what those terms mean, but in the meantime, shoppers should be warned that labels are often misleading.
Living healthier doesn’t just mean eating better. Being mindful of sleep—again, especially when it comes to kids, since these habits will carry over throughout their lives—can also result in better health and even contribute to achieving a healthier weight. Having a consistent routine of when you go to sleep and wake up is a start. Ridding your bed of distracting phones or iPads that introduce blue light and the temptation of a late-night Netflix binge can also help.
Everyone is concerned about kids’ mental health, as well as their physical health. Parents should take it seriously, but recognize that some of the best steps towards better mental health for kids are really achievable and don’t require expensive doctor visits. Parents can start by ensuring that their kids have at least some physical exercise and spend some time outside each day. Eating meals together a few times a week also helps ensure kids feel a connection to the family and keeps parents in tune with how their child is doing. Limiting phone access and video game time seems like a tough one, and it is. But limiting screen time doesn’t require banning it entirely, and we all know how important this is. Better to set limits now than face the fallout of worsening mental health and true addictive behaviors.
Of course, no person or family is perfect. Some struggle with addictions today, and the good news is that there are more and better options for getting healthy. We hear a lot of bad news about health problems in the United States, but it’s worth celebrating the tremendous decline in smoking that’s been achieved in recent decades. This is, at least in part, thanks to the availability of cessation devices, and we should encourage more people to get healthier by changing their habits.
As a busy, middle-aged mother, I don’t aspire to run a marathon or win a bodybuilding contest. What I want is to feel good and develop habits so that I can stay healthy as I age. I also want to feel confident that I’m giving my family nutritious food and helping them develop healthy habits that will serve them for the rest of their lives. I don’t need picture-perfect meals or to be model fit, but I can live healthier. So can you. Good actionable information can help us get there.
Carrie Lukas is president of Independent Women.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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