Its New Years time!
And time to make new resolutions, a new start.
So let us see what we can plan to do in the new year to be healthy and to stay healthy.

1. Stay off the sugar.

And HFCS. And ALL other forms of sweeteners, including and especially artificial sweeteners. They are not healthy. Period.
So if you are going to pare it down to just one habit to adopt from now on, let it be this one. No more sodas, soft drinks, call them what you will. This includes sweetened fruit juices and ideally, all fruit juices as they are loaded with ( high glycemic index ) calories.
1 soda a day can increase your weight by 7 kg a year. It will raise your risk for diabetes, it will contribute to raised cholesterol and triglycerides, and will leach the calcium from your bones, leading to osteoporosis and dental problems. Also contributes towards kidney damage and, importantly, raises heart attack risk.
So fine, I’ll stick to diet soda, I’ll be smart!

Sorry, that is a fallacy. One diet soda daily leads to a 61 percent higher risk of suffering a stroke or heart attack, according to research by the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference.
So, understand that every time you pick up a can of soda, you are literally choosing to poison yourselves. Please give up. Sugar is the most addictive substance on earth.

Eat fruit instead. Tasty and healthy, also provide the crunch factor as in apples, etc.

2. Exercise.

Just move it. This does not necessarily mean an expensive gym, fancy equipment and a large chunk of your time. Simply incorporate activity into your normal daily routine. Walk as far as you can before using transport options.
Walk up the stairs as many flights as possible before taking the elevator.
Even if you are a couch potato, you can move your arms, move your legs as you are watching your favorite program, Be creative. Let people snigger. When they see your results – a slimmer, more shapely you, they will join you!

3. Eat healthy.

9 – 13 servings of fruit and vegetables daily is the WHO recommendation. Not getting your daily fix of fruit and veg is the third most important cause of death, after heart attacks and cancer. But low intake of veg and fruit contributes to heart attacks and cancer, so really its the #1 cause of chronic illness.
Avoid processed food, choose healthy, home cooked food. Check out this compendium of food around the world from the book Hungry Planet by Peter Menzel. Its clear why some populations are generally healthy while others are not.

4. Reduce stress by meditation, yoga, whatever appeals to you. Stress is the biggest factor in practically every illness, including obesity.

5. Take good quality supplements to bridge the gap between your intake and your requirement. Make sure the source is trusted, and organic.

There are other steps to be taken for perfectly balanced health, but let us start with the above. Most important, stay off the sugar.

And let us make the next year a healthy turning point in our lives, irrespective of our current age. All the best!