| How Not To Get Sick For Young Adult Aged 19 - 35 |
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| Thursday, 18 June 2009 11:53 |
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At the Doctor's Office "Patients really should be empowered," says Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. "You shouldn't assume that your doctor knows everything he or she should know." So preserving your good health means educating yourself. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force maintains comprehensive guides to the latest recommendations for disease prevention, which include blood-pressure screenings for all adults over 18, cervical-cancer screenings for all sexually active women, and counseling to help you quit smoking and keep a healthy weight and consume alcohol moderately, among other good habits.  Diet and Nutrition Now that you're preparing your own meals, it's important to learn how to choose your foods wisely. In general, that means selecting foods that will fill you up on fewer calories, Katz says. Start by opting for lots of single-ingredient foods — broccoli or salmon, say — instead of highly processed multi-ingredient products, with their long lists of additives and preservatives. In other words, put down the Cheez Doodles. "They're phosphorescent!" Katz exclaims. "If it glows in the dark, don't eat it." Instead, he recommends preparing a good-for-you snack to keep in your bag for those moments when you feel peckish. Having, say, a mix of dried fruits and almonds on hand can prevent you from getting seduced by the vending machine. "It's your food equivalent of an umbrella," he says.  Physical Fitness No time to work out? Katz doesn't buy that excuse. Exercise shouldn't be something that we're "making time" for, he says. It should be a daily given, like sleep or eating. "If you want a lifetime of robust health, you have to be religious about your physical activity," Katz says, which, according to HHS, means getting 2 1⁄2 to five hours of moderate cardio, or 75 minutes to 2 1⁄2 hours of intense cardio, each week, plus weight training twice a week. But that doesn't mean you have to slog it out on a treadmill at the gym. Pick a truly enjoyable activity — and a workout partner if you can find one — that will make you sweat and that you can commit to, says Katz. "Put on music for half an hour every evening," he says, "and dance around your house!"  Young adulthood is a minefield of mental and emotional trials — whether you're entering the workforce (or getting laid off) for the first time, coming home from war or having your first child. Now's the time to monitor your mental health. The nonprofit organization Mental Health America has a 10-item checklist of tools for protecting and promoting your psychological well-being. Some are good old common sense: eat well, exercise, get enough sleep, foster good friendships. But being mindful of your mental state means recognizing when you need outside help. The National Institute of Mental Health is a good starting point for resources for people who may be battling depression, eating disorders, social anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder and other conditions.  |