Basic (But Important!) Health Tips
With World Health Day taking place on April 7th, now is a good time to remind everyone the importance of taking care of their overall health. Below you will find some basic guidelines from family physician Dr. Ali Ghahary. By following these guidelines, you will not only improve your health, but have a much better quality of life.
Go for Annual Exams
In order to make sure your health is in check, you need to go for annual exams with your family physician. He or she will be able to run a series of in-office tests, as well as refer you for basic blood-work to check for things like high cholesterol and thyroid disease, in addition to referring you for medical imaging tests if necessary. If you do not have a family physician but would like to find one, you can contact HealthLink BC by dialing 8-1-1. While Dr. Ali Ghahary isn’t accepting new patients at this time, he is more than happy to see patients on a walk-in basis at Brentwood Medical Clinic. You can find Dr. Ghahary’s walk-in schedule by clicking here.
Have a Healthy Diet
Regardless of age or gender, everyone should have a healthy, well-balanced diet. This means include more fruits and vegetables in your diet as well as lean meats, while cutting out things like sugar, saturated fat, and foods that are processed – meaning no fast food! For individuals looking to lose weight, Dr. Ali Ghahary recommends trying a low-carb diet – such as the Paleo diet or South Beach diet. Both these diets are not only healthy, but they’re also easier to follow than you might think.
It’s also important that you eat three meals a day and don’t skip meals, with breakfast being the most important one. Breakfast not only helps fuel you for the day ahead, but it also promotes weight maintenance and weight loss, metabolism, and can even improve blood glucose levels.
- For breakfast ideas, click here.
- For lunch ideas, click here.
- For dinner ideas, click here.
Don’t forget you should also include water in your diet! Drinking water is a key component to your health and it helps keep nutrients flowing in your body. If you don’t drink enough water, you may suffer from dehydration which includes symptoms like dry mouth, fatigue and dizziness. Dr. Ali Ghahary recommends patients drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water each day…minimum.
Exercise
Oftentimes people think that exercise is something that’s only tied to weight loss; however, that’s not the case. While it certainly does promote weight loss and weight maintenance, there are so many other benefits that come along with getting regular physical activity. It can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, decrease high blood pressure, improve mobility, as well as improve the mood – and it doesn’t take a lot of exercise or anything strenuous to reap these benefits. Walking for as little as 30 minutes each day can have significant improvements on your overall health, and your body will thank you for it in the long-run. Click here for help on finding an exercise regimen that is best suited for you.
Don’t forget you can follow Dr. Ali Ghahary on Instagram and Twitter for more great health tips!
