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Are lifestyle diseases preventable? The answer is that by adopting a healthy lifestyle, they can be prevented. They often go unnoticed until they hit the borderline, which is why they are also known as unnoticed diseases. Chronic diseases or lifestyle diseases are influenced by daily habits. These habits might seem harmless to you, but these simple actions can lead to lifestyle diseases, like staying up late or eating late at night. They develop slowly over time and may show subtle symptoms.
Let’s discuss in detail what are lifestyle diseases and how can they be prevented. The non-communicable diseases (NCD) or lifestyle diseases examples include cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, metabolic syndrome, cancer and many more.
Causes of lifestyle diseases:
Our daily unhealthy habits and activities have a great impact on the risk of lifestyle diseases or NDC, like eating unhealthy, physical inactivity, smoking, etc. These are modifiable risk factors, as they can be changed. Let’s get further into the details of the causes of lifestyle diseases.
Irregular sleep cycle
Not getting sufficient sleep can fuel the chances of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, anxiety, and obesity, as staying up late also increases the consumption of food at night.
Eating unhealthy
The consumption of unhealthy food like fast food, processed food, high sugar, fats, and sodium intake can lead to obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
Stressful lifestyle
According to research on lifestyle diseases, stressful lifestyles also lead to non-communicable diseases, like heart diseases, diabetes (type 2), and high blood pressure.
Sedentary lifestyle
Leading a sedentary lifestyle can also cause various NCDs. A sedentary body is more susceptible to gaining weight, weakening muscles, and deteriorating bone health. Reduced physical activity may also lead to poor blood circulation.
Family history
Genetics may also influence the risk of NCDs. If you have a family history of cancer, heart disease, or diabetes, then you are more susceptible to developing that disease. Consult a doctor in this case.
How to prevent lifestyle diseases?
You can prevent yourself from lifestyle diseases by making some simple changes like adding some physical activities, following a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and saying no to tobacco.
The 10 effective ways to prevent lifestyle disease are mentioned below.
1. Nutritious diet:
Eating healthy food plays a major role in the prevention of lifestyle diseases. By making small changes in your diet, you can delay many NCDs, like heart diseases, diabetes, and many more. The first thing you should do is maintain a healthy diet if you want to avoid chronic diseases. Cut your sugar consumption, say goodbye to processed foods, and add fruits and vegetables to your diet.
2. Physical activity:
Exercise is also one of the effective ways to prevent lifestyle disease. Exercising daily for 25 to 30 minutes improves our lungs and heart and reduces the risk of many diseases.
3. Sleep:
Maintaining a quality sleep cycle reduces the chances of NSDs. The human body needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night. According to a study, a person who wakes up early in the morning has more chances of obtaining more nutrients than one who sleeps late at night and wakes up late.
4. Regular checkups:
The human body always gives us warning signs whenever something is wrong with it. These subtle signs should not be ignored. To prevent chronic diseases, you should get yourself checked on a regular basis.
5. Stress management:
Incorporating stress-reduction techniques like meditation, yoga, etc. in your daily routine lowers chronic stress, contributes to your mental health, improves your physical health, and helps in the prevention of lifestyle diseases.
6. Quit smoking:
You must be already aware of the various demerits of smoking and how smoking plays a major role in deteriorating our health. Therefore, the chances of catching a lifestyle disease are high if you still do not quit smoking.
7. Less alcohol consumption:
Excessive alcohol consumption leads to respiratory diseases, cancer, and high blood pressure and negatively affects liver health. There is a list of benefits of quitting alcohol for heart health as well.
8. Water intake:
Keeping your body hydrated is another way of avoiding non-communicable diseases. Getting sufficient intake of water will not only positively affect the kidneys but also improve digestion. Water also removes toxins from the body and regulates body temperature. So, water intake is essential for the reduction of chronic diseases.
9. Weight management:
If you manage your body weight well, then you can dodge many chronic diseases, as obesity is one of the major risk factors for NCDs. There is a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and respiratory disorders if you do not maintain your body weight.
10. Health education:
Lack of awareness or not having enough health education is also one of the causes of chronic diseases. As many people do not know, the choices they have made in their daily routine can cause chronic diseases. Avoid self-medication (using medicine without a doctor’s prescription) and overuse of any medicine, as it will lead to drug resistance or may cause harmful side effects. So, it is better to educate yourself or contact a doctor.
By incorporating the above-mentioned lifestyle practices, you can lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases, liver disorders, stroke, cancer, lung issues, diabetes, and many more. You can avoid NCDs by adding simple healthy habits into your daily routine, like eating healthy, avoiding junk food, quitting smoking, and following regular checkups. Now you know the answer to “How to prevent lifestyle diseases?” You can book an appointment with us if you still have any questions.
