Fitness and wellness

Fitness is good health achieved from a combination of things like exercise and proper nutrition.  It should always encompass a daily routine of physical activity like jogging, dancing, swimming, bicycling, running or workouts at home or gym.

Exercising for about 30 minutes a day can improve your overall well-being with evidence of increased mental alertness, increased physical energy, less mental and emotional stress, better sleep patterns as well as a decrease in the risk of developing common illnesses, or diseases like diabetes, and cancer.

When setting objectives and goals, one should always focus on improving physical levels of strength, coordination, agility, and flexibility based on expectations for age, body type and abilities.  A sedentary individual will not need to meet the same goals as an athlete.  The same is true for age differences.  Balance and agility will generally be more important to older individuals, while strength training and flexibility might be better suited to athletes.

In addition to exercise, a balanced diet, including a variety of fruits and vegetables eaten in moderation is equally as important.   Some healthy foods and their fitness value are beets for boosting stamina, honey for increased endurance, proteins from almonds and other food sources to prevent muscle fatigue, causes of calcium and vitamin D for bone health, green tea (EGCG) to speed up metabolism, lentils for iron and hot peppers to burn off extra calories.

Cruciferous is a class of super vegetables like spinach, asparagus, broccoli, celery, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cucumbers, and cauliflower have incredible nutritional value, energy-boosting, and disease-fighting properties.  Other items on the fitness list are ginger and turmeric to improve brain function and prevent inflammation, oatmeal to build muscles and lemons for detoxification and weight loss.