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    3 ways to be healthy (without being perfect)

    By Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief, PREVENTION | Healthy Living – Tue, Jul 1, 2008 11:49 PM EDT

    Good health does NOT have to be expensive, time-consuming, or a lot of hard work. A much better approach: Realize that every little bit counts. For those of us with a perfectionist streak (guilty as charged), learning to relax your standards can save you loads of frustration-and you can still protect your health. Here's my short list of three healthy living essentials-the gold standard when there's time and the good enough version that will deliver all those disease-fighting, healthful-weight-maintaining benefits you're looking for.

    Sunscreen
    Gold standard: Slathering on SPF 30 multiple times a day
    Good enough: Applying SPF 15 once in the morning
    Unless you're poolside or beach bound, you can easily stretch your sunscreen dollar by protecting your face, neck, and hands (and any other exposed areas) once early in the day. Studies show that SPF 15 blocks about 93% of rays (SPF 30 blocks about 97%), so if you're outside for only a short time, you're still getting substantial protection.

    Exercise
    Gold standard: 30 minutes of cardio five times a week
    Good enough: 17 minutes a day
    Conventional wisdom says that to get the health benefits of a workout, you need to devote time and sweat, when, in fact, you can reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke by 27% in less time than it takes to watch a sitcom.

    Fruits & Vegetables
    Gold standard: Up to nine servings of fruits and veggies a day
    Good enough: Five servings a day
    This is sufficient to get the antioxidants and fiber you need to reduce cancer risk and maintain a healthful weight. Because I'm a big fan of slightly higher priced organic produce (which has more readily available antioxidants, and thus more bang for your disease-fighting buck), this is particularly happy news for my wallet.

    Get six more "good enough" tips to live healthier today.

    What healthy shortcuts are you looking for? Let me know and I'll share more great ideas in a future post!


    More Tips on How to Live Better:
    100 Ways to Look Younger
    Find Natural Cures
    Top 10 Belly-Flattening Foods


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    Want more from Liz? Check out Flat Belly Dietto slim your tummy.

     

    8 comments

    • NeGaR
      NeGaR  •  3 years 6 months ago
      tanx god i found you!
    • Vince
      Vince  •  3 years 7 months ago
      Hi Liz Vaccariello,
      I am doing a Senior Project on nutrition and health, and I see some of your articles deals with that. I must complete an interview (list of questions to be answered) in order to complete my project and graduate from high school. Yes, I must complete this project in order to graduate. I was wondering if i could interview you? Please e-mail me back at vhytsui@ymail.com .
      Thank You.
    • Carrie D
      Carrie D  •  3 years 10 months ago
      Yep the food pyramid helps and soft music alone!!!!Thanks at least I feel better knowing that!
    • claran
      claran  •  3 years 10 months ago
      i saw a commercial on tv if you want to lose wieght eat more often quess what it worked i lost 28 pounds eating small amounts more often during the day
    • Jackie
      Jackie  •  3 years 10 months ago
      Very true - exercise and sunscreen are big ones - after all, the skin is the most important organ on your body
    • Calypso
      Calypso  •  3 years 11 months ago
      Thanks Liz -- what a relief. You start to think that if you don't follow the rules exactly, something will go wrong or won't work. It's nice to know that if I slip up (with the sunscreen or exercise) -- it won't be all that bad!
    • blue^eyed^beauty783
      blue^eyed^beauty783  •  3 years 11 months ago
      Woo-hoo! The standards they put in for us to be "healthy" are ridiculous. I bet the people who made them up don't even get enough servings!
    • A Yahoo! User  •  3 years 11 months ago
      That sounds simple enough. I think that when people in general start focusing on the health benefits as to the get skinny quick superficial benefits it will be less of a compulsion and more of a positive benefit. By compulsion I mean the fact that most people are willing to take and do any thing just to be "skinny". The positive to going about things such as the things you are recommending is that you feel great when your anatomy inside feels great. These days it's all about the appearance and yeah I like to look good but I know the benefits of how it is to feel good inside out. That's enough for me to see the benefits of your advice. Great blog.
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