Dr C: Healthy habits you can adopt this year

To be your healthiest and happiest yet, Dr Christian says you don’t need extreme diets or bizarre treatments, just make these few simple tweaks

get out of breath

Some experts recently said food labels should say how much exercise you would need to do to burn off the calories you’ve eaten. I don’t agree – that makes exercise seem like a punishment, when actually the benefits of working out are amazing. You feel better in yourself, you sleep better, you feel happier, and that helps to keep the habit. Even after a little regular exercise, people feel dramatically different. I recommend 30 minutes of exercise three or four times a week. That means getting your heart rate up so you couldn’t hold a conversation. If you hate running or swimming, or despise the gym, do something else. Find activities you enjoy.

proteCt yourself from nasty bugs

A flu outbreak is likely this year, and the least vaccinated and most vulnerable group are children. That’s worrying for both children and the elderly, because if an unvaccinated child visits their granny, she could become ill. If you’re eligible for a free flu jab – so you’re pregnant, have certain medical conditions, or you’re the main carer for an elderly or disabled person who may be at risk if you fall ill – make sure you get it. Even if you can’t get a free one, it may be worth paying £10 for one at the pharmacy, as this year’s strain is looking really nasty. The other really important way to avoid getting sick, whether with a cold, flu or a horrible sickness bug, is hand washing. Wash your hands with soap – any soap, you don’t need hygiene gels, for 30 seconds, getting between all your fingers and thumbs before eating and after going to the loo. You’ll be amazed at how effective it is.

eat less meat, more veggies

We eat more meat now than in the early 90s, and less than a third of us have the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day. Just adding one extra portion of fruit and vegetables and losing one portion of meat a day can make a real difference. Endless research shows it has major health benefits, and a recent study found it makes you happier too – an extra portion of fruit or vegetables a day had the equivalent effect on mental well-being as eight extra days of walking a month. Swap your bacon sandwich for a vegetarian-friendly one, cook new meat-free recipes, and try out different fruits for pudding. If you want to go vegan for ethical or environmental reasons, do it carefully. You will need to take vitamin B12 and algae oil supplements and make sure you get enough iron and amino acids from your diet by eating lots of variety. The more different foods you eat, the likelier you are to get all your nutrients. If you’re thinking of bringing up your kids vegan, discuss this with your GP first as their brains and bodies are growing rapidly so they need to eat a balanced diet.

soCialise often

Becoming isolated, particularly as you get older, or if you have mental health problems, is terrible for you. You don’t need to have masses of mates, or to be a party-going extrovert, but everybody needs regular face-toface contact where you can talk about what’s going on in your life. If you move to a new area, say, and you feel very isolated and lonely, that can lead to depression – so find ways to meet local people through groups and clubs, or try knocking on new neighbours’ doors to introduce yourself.

take vitamin D

The one supplement everyone needs between October and March is Vitamin D, because so many of us are deficient. I found out I was massively deficient when I was tested. In the UK, we don’t get much sun, which is the main source of vitamin D because your body makes it when sunlight hits the skin. Two weeks in the sunshine won’t give us enough for the whole year – especially after using SPF. If you’re trying for a baby, you need 400 mcg folic acid daily from before you conceive until you’re 12 weeks pregnant, as well as Vitamin D while pregnant and breastfeeding. Aside from that, popping a multivitamin won’t undo all your bad habits – it

won’t cancel out McDonald’s for lunch, 3 cigarettes a day and 5 G&Ts on a Friday! It’s better to get your vitamins from a varied and colourful diet.

Read food labels

In 2019 there have been endless stories about foods that are packaged up to appear healthy, but which are anything but. Healthylooking packaging, and phrases like “light”, “plant-based” and “natural” sound good, but you need to check labels. A ready meal might be low in one thing like fat, but extremely high in something else, like sugar or salt. Get into the habit of looking at the traffic light labels on packaging and avoiding a row of red. Check portion sizes, too. You may think the number of calories is for a whole pizza, but it may actually be for a quarter or half of one, for example.

be sugaR smaRt

People have become obsessed with sugar, swapping it for ‘natural’ sweeteners like honey, or trying to cut it out completely. Sugar is sugar, whether granulated white sugar or honey. What matters is how you consume it. Does it come with other good stuff, like in fruit, where there are vitamins alongside the sugar, or with lots of fat, like a doughnut? If you get your sugar from chocolate bars, cake and biscuits, you need to cut back. If you have some fruit and a small pudding after dinner, you’re doing fine. A sweet treat here and there is important for happiness!

When it comes to kids, you don’t need to ban raisins from their lunch boxes. They are naturally very active, so need more energy. Just be sensible with the food you give them, and limit treats.

Rest up pRopeRly

Downtime is the thing we think about the least, even though we all need it. It’s crucial to good health, yet we feel guilty when we rest. That’s why people burn out. The most extreme example is city boys who work constantly, drink every night and have a heart attack at 40 – mostly due to a lack of rest. By rest, I don’t mean sleep, but physical and mental relaxing without screens, like reading, listening to music, crafts or cooking. Find something that makes you happy and calm, and make time for it.