As one year ends and another begins, people often assess their habits and lifestyle, and consider changes that could improve their health.
But what, exactly, should you do?
Here are six steps you can take to enhance your well-being, according to doctors from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA):
1. Keep a personal health calendar.
"In our busy lives, we hardly pay attention to our health, and most health issues start with subtle symptoms that we fail to follow," Dr. Aparna Sridhar said in a UCLA news release. She's an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the university's David Geffen School of Medicine.
"In fact, most patients with illness cannot pinpoint when symptoms started and if there was any association with life events," Sridhar said. "By maintaining a health calendar and jotting down symptoms, medications and mood changes, patients will be able to identify abnormalities sooner and seek care."
2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
"A number of chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke, have an identified association with diet," UCLA dietitian Dana Hunnes said in the news release. She's senior dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
"If each of us shifts to a more plant-based diet—filled with vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, fruits and other produce—we can not only potentially lower our risk for these diseases, but we can also be healthier and potentially live longer," Hunnes said. She noted that diets low in animal protein are also linked with greater longevity.....
