We don’t want to sound cliched, but without setting your ‘New Year Resolutions’ stepping into the new year looks incomplete, right? Exactly so! More than setting the new year resolutions, this article speaks about no-small-fry resolutions that even if left unaccomplished, won’t matter to you. Here, we are speaking about resolutions that you should follow religiously not only for your good but to create more happy memories with your family.

Why do you need to make health resolutions for the new year? Ask yourself. How many days have you eaten healthily? How many times were you regular to the gym? When was the last time you slept for 8 hours? These may occur as simple questions but if your answers to them would have been perfect, you would have been at the prime of your health. But that’s not the case, you should be resolute enough to abide by these new year 2023 health resolutions.

1. Introduce Micronutrient-Rich Diet In Your Life 

You heard it right! Eating healthy is the first step to keeping yourself distant from diseases and infections. That’s because a healthy diet filled with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, legumes and dairy products can fulfil the micronutrient requirement of your body to keep your immune system functioning at its prime.

Micronutrient-rich foods you should add to your diet: 

• Vitamin B6 - chicken, salmon, and bananas
• Vitamin C - oranges, lemons, red bell pepper, spinach, broccoli and tomatoes
• Vitamin E - almonds, peanut butter, and sunflower seeds
• Zinc - beans, nuts, poultry and dairy products
• Magnesium - pumpkin seeds, almonds, spinach, peanuts, soy milk and whole wheat products
• Iron - Spinach, chicken liver, legumes, quinoa, pumpkin seeds, broccoli, fish and tofu

Besides, you also need to ditch unhealthy foods like processed meat, sugary beverages, packaged foods, ready-to-cook meals, refined grains, sweets and confectionary items, and red meat to stay healthy.

Consult An Apollo Dietician For Expert Tips

2. Go Cycling, Running or Jogging For 30 Minutes Every Day

A healthy diet and exercise go hand in hand when it comes to keeping yourself healthy. If you are resolute about your diet in the upcoming year, make sure you also find 30 minutes of your time daily for exercise. Doctors say that by performing moderate-intensity exercises regularly, you will not only be able to maintain a healthy weight but also boost immune cell activity against infections. Moreover, exercising also helps in strengthening your muscles. The biggest benefit of exercising daily is to keep yourself away from obesity and diabetes. 

3. Spend Quality Time With Your Family & Friends

You heard it right! You should engage in forming an emotional connection more often with your family and friends. This can help manage mental stress, which can otherwise give birth to a lot of health problems such as obesity, heart disease through hypertension, worsen diabetes, asthma and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and also depression or anxiety. All these will have a cascading effect on your overall health, hence, it’s necessary to practise stress management to keep yourself healthy. You can also adopt the below-mentioned stress management techniques for mental well-being:

• Practise yoga and meditation
• Go for a nature walk in the morning
• Take frequent family vacations
• Hit the gym and sweat out
• Engage yourself in positive self-talk

4. Give Up Alcohol & Tobacco

No matter whether you are a heavy or light drinker or smoker, alcohol and tobacco cause more harm than good. Alcohol consumption causes high blood pressure, heart diseases, digestive issues, liver disorders, and breast, throat, mouth, liver and colon cancer. It also weakens your immunity, thereby increasing your chances of contracting deadly infections. Alcohol can also worsen mental health problems like depression and anxiety. On the other hand, 9 out of 10 people die from lung cancer and 8 out of 10 people die from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to smoking. Smoking can also cause cancer in the colon, rectum, cervix, oesophagus, larynx, liver, pancreas, stomach and bladder. 

5. Improve Personal Hygiene

Before the onset of the Covid pandemic, most of us were not so serious when it came to personal hygiene. However, the pandemic turned the table and made people habituated to personal hygiene practices like washing and sanitizing hands more frequently. Poor personal hygiene like eating foods without washing hands, not showering regularly, not brushing your teeth daily and not trimming your nails can bring in a lot of health complications in your life. Here are a few things you should do to protect your body from bacteria and viral infections:

• Wash your skin daily with a hypoallergenic soap or shower gel. Make sure to clean the areas under your breast, around your anus, genitals, underarms and between the skin folds to remove dirt and germs.
• Washing hands with a good handwash before eating to protect yourself from diseases like COVID, food poisoning, cold and flu, gastroenteritis, and hepatitis A. 
• Brushing your teeth twice a day can help prevent tooth decay and gum diseases. 
• Wipe properly after going to the toilet to keep bacteria away from the urethra. This can prevent urinary tract infections and keep unpleasant odours away.
• Wash your clothes after returning home from outside. Dirt and germs stuck in the fabric of your clothes can enter your body through the nose, mouth, eyes or ears to cause infections.

Besides the above-mentioned health resolutions, there can be a lot many more that you can take up and accomplish on your own. The ultimate aim should be to improve your health and steer clear of diseases. As Omicron BF.7 is already on the block, your new year resolution should be to minimise its spread by promising to adhere to COVID protocols.

Explore COVID Essentials