What is a Healthy Lifestyle?

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A healthy lifestyle is the basis of preventing childhood obesity, heart disease, cancers, and a myriad of other problems that an unhealthy lifestyle promotes.

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Our lifestyle is defined simply by the ways and means that we conduct ourselves on a daily basis. If we wake up early, go to the gym, eat oatmeal, ride our bike to work, and avoid smoking or drinking, then we are probably leading what most would consider a healthy lifestyle.

If on the other hand we went to bed at 3 AM after a night of binge drinking and pizza, woke up late, had a cigarette before breakfast, then ate a stack of pancakes covered in syrup, we might be considered to be living an unhealthy lifestyle.
Can eating fast food cause obesity? Click here to find out.

Why is a healthy lifestyle important in regards to childhood obesity?

Simply put, children live the lives their parents lead. You are the role model, and you are the one in charge of how your child behaves. If your lifestyle choices are poor, then they will be reflected in your children. If, on the other hand, your choices are healthy and rewarding, then your children will live a healthy and rewarding life as well.

Since children are so good at emulating their parents and role models, it is imperative that you lead a healthy lifestyle to illustrate to them how best to live a long, healthy lifestyle. You need to learn how to get your kids healthy so that they end up living a long healthy life without serious disease looming over their heads.

How do you live a healthy lifestyle?

This, by far is going to be the hardest task you will need to undertake if you are going to help your child live a life of fun, excitement, and good health. You need to know the basics of what is considered a healthy lifestyle. Below you will find a list of websites that will help guide you down that path. We are constantly updating our information and database, so don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter in the left column for regular updates and valuable information.

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Healthy Food Choices

Face The Facts on Fats
It's time to learn about the Fats - some are bad and some are better.

According to a consumer survey conducted for the American Heart Association, fewer than half of Americans know that the "better" fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) can help reduce their risk of heart disease.

Do you know everything you need to know to make healthy lifestyle choices with fat? Did you know:
  • Which dietary fats you should limit or avoid?
  • Which are better for you than others?
  • Which foods contain which types of fat?
  • How many calories – and how much fat – you should eat each day?
  • If foods labeled "trans fat-free" are always healthy?
    • Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers. Most Americans are confused about fats. That’s why the American Heart Association created this Web site — to help you face the facts about fats.

    Meat, Poultry and Fish
    Meats should be eaten sparingly, but they are definitely part of a healthy lifestyle. The organic and grass fed versions are best for you when it comes to red meat (beef, buffalo, etc.). Try to cut back on your pork intake and take up poultry instead. Poultry delivers the high protein content you want without the excessive fats.

    Beef, Pork, Veal and Lamb
    Baking, broiling and roasting are the healthiest ways to prepare meat. Lean cuts can be pan-broiled or stir-fried. Use either a nonstick pan or nonstick spray coating instead of butter or margarine.

    Trim outside fat before cooking. Trim any inside, separable fat before eating. Select low-fat, lean cuts of meat. Lean beef and veal cuts have the word "loin" or "round" in their names. Lean pork cuts have the word "loin" or "leg" in their names.

    Use herbs, spices, fresh vegetables and nonfat marinades to season meat. Avoid high-fat sauces and gravies.

    PoultryBaking, broiling and roasting are the healthiest ways to prepare poultry. Skinless poultry can be pan-broiled or stir-fried. Use either a nonstick pan or nonstick spray coating instead of butter or margarine.

    Remove skin and visible fat before cooking. Chicken breasts are a good choice because they are low in fat and high in protein. Use domestic goose and duck only once in a while because both are high in fat.

    FishPoaching, steaming, baking and broiling are the healthiest ways to prepare fish. Fresh fish should have a clear color, a moist look, a clean smell and firm, springy flesh. If good-quality fresh fish isn't available, buy frozen fish.

    Most seafood is low in saturated fat. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in some fatty fish, such as salmon and cold water trout. They may help lower the risk of heart disease in some people.

    Cross-over FoodsDry beans, peas and lentils offer protein and fiber without the cholesterol and fat that meats have. Once in a while, try substituting beans for meat in a favorite recipe, such as lasagna or chili.

    TVP, or textured vegetable protein, is widely available in many foods. Vegetarian "hot dogs," "hamburger" and "chicken nuggets" are low-fat, cholesterol-free alternatives to meat.

    Best Vegetables for you and yours

    Surprised that vegetables are included in this "healthy lifestyle" thing? Well get over it. You need to learn about veggies and why they are good for you. Dig in!

    Leafy Greens:
    Swiss chard, kale, spinach and collards rank among the top vegetables for their nutrition boosters.

    Vitamin K and carotenoids run rampant -- and do you a world of good. In addition, they contain impressive amounts of calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin C.

    Brussels sprouts and broccoli are in the same ballpark.Vitamin K

    Asparagus, endive and romaine lettuce gets top ranks, as well, because of their vitamin K.

    Red peppers are the only vegetable with more than a full day's worth for vitamin C (they've got twice as much as their nearest competitor -- broccoli).

    Decent sources of vitamin K and brimming with vitamin C are cauliflower, kohlrabi and green pepper, with about one-half-a-day's worth of each.

    Avocado, parsnips and peas supply both fiber and folate.

    A baked potato with the skin trounces its skinless version. The skin supplies much of your fiber and iron.Last but not least!

    Iceberg lettuce and celery boost your vitamin K stores, while turnips and radishes chip in a good dose of vitamin C. In fact, many have at least five percent of a day's worth of two or three different nutrients.

    Take yellow squash -- it delivers at least five percent of a day's carotenoids, vitamin C, fiber and vitamin K. Add them up and you have a good reason to throw some on the grill.

    What's more, all vegetables harbor valuable phytochemicals.

    Onions and garlic, for example, contain flavonoids and allium compounds.

    It is too early, however, to say whether they prevent cancer, heart disease or anything else -- but don't let that stop you! Without onions and garlic... well, why even bother cooking?



    Want to know some more ways to create healthy choices for your kids? Click here to get a few ideas on how to make healthy food choices for your family.

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