You Can Build a Healthier Future by Learning What Helps Your Body Thrive

There is only one constant in your life, and that is your health. You can’t control all of life’s circumstances, but you can at least control what you put into your body. How you treat your body today can affect your health later in life.  

However, a healthy diet and lifestyle may look different for you than it does for your friend. Self-reflection is a big part of health, as nutrition is personal. You can’t set yourself up for success until you figure out how everything affects your body.

Nutritionists and healthcare professionals understand this better than anyone. Follow along as we explore what it takes to build a healthier future and help your body thrive.

1. Document Your Diet

It’s hard to put your health and nutrition into perspective when you don’t understand the full picture. This is much easier if you document your diet and lifestyle to see how healthy it really is. For example, tracking your sugar, carbohydrate, trans fats, and sodium intake may reveal your diet isn’t balanced.  

Without documenting your diet, you may not realize that you consume too much sodium and carbohydrates. It’s also important to keep track of how certain foods affect you. For example, you may feel nauseous and bloated when you eat highly-processed deli meat. 

Once you put this information on paper, you can understand how and why certain foods are bad for your body. Eliminating foods from your diet is much easier if you can look at a journal documenting your relationship with them. An elimination diet is essential if you want to set your body up to thrive.

2. Increase Your Water Intake

Chronic dehydration is serious and affects more aspects of your health than you may think. Dehydration can contribute to digestive problems, muscle cramps, dry skin, and chronic fatigue. Chronic dehydration can also cause kidney stones, kidney disease, and urinary tract infections, which are all quite serious.

No matter how healthy your diet is, your body can’t thrive without enough water. If you consistently struggle to focus on tasks, it may be related to your water intake. The moodiness and brain fog associated with dehydration can make it difficult to complete basic tasks.

Exercising more and eating healthily are important, but water is essential for muscle recovery. Ideally, men should drink 3.7 liters of water, and women should drink 2.7 liters of water per day. Of course, you must still consume electrolytes, or else you’ll develop deficiencies.

3. Embrace Functional Foods

Whether you have a nutrition degree or you’re a layman, you likely know about empty calories. Empty calories won’t help your body thrive, but functional foods will. Functional foods refer to foods that offer many benefits besides their nutritional value.

For example, blueberries are full of antioxidants, which can protect your body from free radicals, which can cause cancer and heart disease. Greek yogurt is another functional food, as it’s full of probiotics, which can aid your gut health. It’s also important to introduce seeds, nuts, and leafy greens, which can help with inflammation and weight regulation.

Of course, you can still enjoy some “cheat meals” here and there, but you shouldn’t rely solely on empty calories. As you introduce more functional foods to your diet, you’ll naturally detoxify your body.  

4. Adjust Your Sleep Schedule

Sleep deprivation can take a serious toll on your body and mind. Poor sleep habits can contribute to depression, anxiety, mood swings, and brain fog. Poor judgment and sleep deprivation go hand in hand as well, which can significantly affect your health and lifestyle.

If you don’t stick to a good sleep schedule, you’re also susceptible to heart problems, high blood pressure, and poor metabolism. It doesn’t matter how healthy you eat if you struggle to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. When you’re sleep deprived, the cortisol levels in your body will significantly increase.  

Excessive cortisol levels are equally dangerous for your mental and physical health. Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Adjusting your sleep schedule can boost your productivity, reduce stress, and help with weight management. Sleep is just as big a part of healthcare management as a healthy diet is.

5. Cut Harmful Substances Out of Your Life

It’s no secret that alcohol and tobacco are bad for your body. Of course, many people drink in moderation and don’t experience any negative consequences. However, drinking excessively can cause weight gain and leave you susceptible to heart and liver disease.

Excessive alcohol consumption can cause an irregular heartbeat and raise your blood pressure. This can undo all the hard work you put into your diet and exercise schedule. It can also contribute to throat, esophageal, stomach, and liver cancer.

Tobacco is just as bad, so cutting cigarettes out of your life is essential if you want your body to thrive. Giving up harmful vices can help you avoid a lot of misery later in life. Even just drinking less per week or month can help your body detoxify.

Health and Nutrition Look Different for Everyone

It’s a mistake to look at others’ diets and think that you must completely mimic them. Everything from your metabolic rate and body type to your genetics can determine the best diet for you. That’s why it’s worth consulting nutritionists and healthcare managers before starting your health journey.

It’s important to keep track of your diet and pay attention to how certain foods affect you. Doing so will help you create an elimination diet, which can benefit most people. By cutting harmful foods out and getting enough sleep, you can help your body detoxify and maximize your potential.