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Essay on Healthy Lifestyle

The top secret of being physically fit is adopting a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle includes regular exercise, a healthy diet, taking good care of self, healthy sleep habits, and having a physically active daily routine. Lifestyle is the most prevailing factor that affects one’s fitness level. A person leading a sedentary lifestyle has a low fitness level whereas living a healthier life not only makes a person fit but also extends life. Good health has a direct impact on our personality. A person with a good and healthy lifestyle is generally more confident, self-assured, sociable, and energetic.

A good and healthy lifestyle allows one to relish and savor all the pleasures in life without any complications. Even all the wealth is less valuable when compared to sound health. Having all the luxuries in the world does not fulfill its purpose when one is continuously ill, depressed, or suffering from a significant health complication. A healthy person has a clear and calm perception of everything without prejudice. His actions and decisions are more practical and logical and are hence more successful in life.

A good habit is a key factor for a healthy lifestyle. To maintain a stable body and mind, one needs to inculcate good habits. Waking up early in the morning, regularly exercising or a good morning walk helps to keep our body energetic and refresh our mind. Maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet throughout the day is vital for maintaining a good lifestyle. Too much indulgence in alcohol or smoking excessively is not at all appropriate for a healthy lifestyle.

Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is important for maintaining a good lifestyle. When we are self-disciplined then we are more organized and regular in maintaining good health. A disciplined life is a regulated life. A man without discipline is a ship without a rudder. Discipline needs self-control. One who cannot control himself can seldom control others. The level of discipline and perseverance largely determines a person’s success. Self-discipline is the act of disciplining one’s own feelings, desires, etc. especially with the intention of improving oneself. It strengthens our willpower. The stronger our will power the positive will be our decision. It enables us to conquer our own self.

Punctuality

Punctuality is the habit of doing things on time. It is the characteristic of every successful person and everyone must observe punctuality in order to win success in life. Punctuality is necessary for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It should become a habit with us. A punctual person is able to fulfill all his responsibilities and hence is treated with respect in society. It is needed in every walk of life.

Diet is an important component for overall fitness and works best in combination with exercise. A balanced diet and exercise regularly help to maintain good health. It is necessary to reduce weight if one is overweight or obese, failing which one cannot be physically fit for long. For people with obesity, more exercise and a strict regime are necessary, preferably under guidance. There are many ways of making the diet healthier.

Use less sugar and salt while cooking food.

Use less oil while cooking. Avoid deep-frying as much as possible. 

Eat more fruits daily. They provide more vitamins and minerals to our bodies.

Add sprouts of gram and moong dal to at least one meal in a day. Add fiber to your diet. Use whole grains instead of polished cereals. Eat lots of salad and yogurt.

Eat fermented food regularly. Fermented food contains many useful bacteria that help in the process of digestion.

Prevention of Lifestyle Diseases

By adopting a healthy lifestyle one can avoid lifestyle diseases. The following are some ways in which we can prevent lifestyle diseases.

Eat a balanced diet that contains important nutrients. One must include more fresh fruits and green vegetables in the diet. Refrain from eating junk food. Stay away from foods that contain large amounts of salt or sugar.

Exercise regularly. Spend more time outdoors and do activities such as walking, running, swimming, and cycling.

One must avoid overindulgence in alcohol, junk food, smoking, and addiction to drugs and medicines.

Avoid spending too much on modern gadgets like mobile phones, laptops, televisions, etc. Spend time on these gadgets for short intervals of time only.

Set a healthy sleeping routine for every day. Waking early in the morning and going to bed early at night should be a daily habit. Lead an active life.

Unhealthy Lifestyle

Bad food habits and an unhealthy lifestyle such as less or no physical activity may lead to several diseases like obesity, high blood pressure or hypertension, diabetes, anemia, and various heart diseases. An unhealthy lifestyle reduces productivity and creativity in a person. It also adversely affects moods and relationships. It leads to depression and anxiety in human beings.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle not only makes a person confident and productive but also drives him to success. A person with a healthy lifestyle will enjoy both personal and social life.

FAQs on Healthy Lifestyle Essay

What Do You Understand about a Healthy Lifestyle?

A healthy lifestyle is a lifestyle that includes regular exercise, a healthy diet, taking good care of self, healthy sleep habits and having a physically active daily routine.

How is Punctuality Important for Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle?

Punctuality is the habit of doing things on time. It is the characteristic of every successful person and everyone must observe punctuality in order to win success in life. It should become a habit with us. A punctual person is able to fulfil all his responsibilities and hence is treated with respect in society. It is needed in every walk of life.

What Happens When One Does Not Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle?

When one does not maintain a healthy lifestyle then several diseases like obesity, high blood pressure or hypertension, diabetes, anaemia and various heart diseases can occur. An unhealthy lifestyle reduces productivity and creativity in a person. It also adversely affects moods and relationships. It leads to depression and anxiety in human beings.

What are the Main Factors that Determine a Good and Healthy Lifestyle?

In order to maintain a good and healthy lifestyle, one must be self-disciplined, self-motivated, maintain punctuality and have good habits like waking early in the morning and maintain a regular fitness regime and a balanced and nutritious diet.

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Essay writing is a difficult task that needs a great deal of study, time, and focus. It's also an assignment that you can divide down into manageable chunks such as introduction, main content, and conclusion. Breaking down and focusing on each individually makes essay writing more pleasant. It's natural for students to be concerned about writing an essay. It's one of the most difficult tasks to do, especially for people who aren't confident in their writing abilities. While writing a decent essay is difficult, the secret to being proficient at it is reading a lot of books, conducting extensive research on essential topics, and practicing essay writing diligently.

Why is it important for one to aspire to have a healthy lifestyle?

A healthy lifestyle is an important way for reducing the occurrence and impact of health problems, as well as for recovery, coping with life stressors, and improving the overall quality of life. An increasing collection of scientific data suggests that our habits have a significant impact on our health. Everything we eat and drink, as well as how much exercise we get and whether we smoke or use drugs, has an impact on our health, not just in terms of life expectancy but also in terms of how long we may expect to live without developing chronic illness. A large proportion of fatalities are caused by conditions such as heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, joint disease, and mental illness. A healthy lifestyle can help to avoid or at least delay the onset of many health issues.

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What constitutes a healthy lifestyle?

Healthy life is built on the pillars of a good diet, frequent exercise, and appropriate sleep. A healthy lifestyle keeps people in excellent shape, it also gives you more energy throughout the day, and lowers your chance of developing many diet-related chronic diseases. Healthy living is considered a lifestyle choice that allows you to enjoy more elements of your life. Taking care of one's physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being is part of living a healthy lifestyle.

Good Nutrition, Eating Right and proper diet.

Getting Physically Fit, Beneficial Exercise and working out often.

Adequate rest and uninterrupted sleep.

Proper Stress Management.

Self-Supportive Attitudes.

Positive Thoughts are encouraged.

Positive Self-Image and body image.

Inner Calmness and peace.

Openness to Your Creativity and Self-care.

Trust in Your Inner Knowing and your gut feeling.

• Benefits of Healthy Lifestyle Words: 835
• Behavior Change and “Lifestyle Disease” Era Words: 565
• Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle Words: 2240
• Benefits of Physical Activity on Old People Words: 2850
• The Importance of Healthy Communities Words: 626
• Healthy Lifestyle Management Program Words: 1499
• Physical Activity and Sedentary Lifestyle Issue Words: 644
• Healthy Lifestyle and Disease Prevention Words: 1386
• Healthy Lifestyle and Its Key Benefits Words: 521
• Reducing Cancer Risk With Diet and Lifestyle Change Words: 2067
• Benefits of Physical Activity and Nutrition Words: 673
• Women’s Health Teaching Proposal: on Healthy Lifestyle Choices, Diet and Activity Words: 835
• Healthy Eating Habits Words: 866
• Role of the Family in the Formation of a Healthy Lifestyle Words: 883

The Importance of Healthy Lifestyle: Essay Example

• Introduction

Embracing physical Activity

Quitting smoking, risks associated with smoking, reference list.

In this essay on the importance of healthy lifestyle, you’ll learn more about the benefits of physical activity, quitting smoking, and other aspect of the importance of healthy lifestyle.

The Importance of Healthy Lifestyle: Essay Introduction

A healthy lifestyle is a term that is commonly used by many communication channels but not many people bother to find out its real meaning. It is important to know its significance and ways through which individuals can make lifestyle changes since this can lead to an improvement in the length and the quality of the lives they live.

Several factors make up a healthy lifestyle, physical exercise and diet being the most obvious ones (Gogus, 2011). In addition, learning how to manage stress, getting enough sleep, avoiding smoking and responsible drinking are important towards living a healthy lifestyle.

Parents who make a deliberate effort to live healthy lifestyles make it possible for their children to lead healthy lifestyles too.

There are problems associated with unhealthy lifestyles hence it is mportant for parents to lead by example by educating their children on how to live well, improve their eating habits and the need for exercises (Manger, 2006). In order to lead a healthy lifestyle, I will make two important lifestyle changes that will have positive impact on my short term and long term health.

The first lifestyle change that I will make is to embrace increased physical activity. Regular activity and exercises are important to people of all ages since they maintain good health and well being. Research has revealed that both young and old people can reap numerous benefits from either vigorous or moderate exercises done regularly. Many people struggle with chronic diseases but with exercises, they can be improved significantly.

Active people are likely to live longer than inactive ones since through exercises, they reduce the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart diseases.

Despite the fact that majority of people are aware of the benefits associated with physical exercises, they nevertheless lead lives which are relatively sedentary. Sedentary lifestyles are described as lifestyles that are devoid of physical activities carried out during leisure time. Lack of physical activity has been cited as common in both young and old people.

One of the most common health problems that have been claiming many lives across the world is obesity. Physical exercise is important in regulating weight to ensure that it is maintained at a healthy level. It helps an individual to burn calories and the more vigorous the activity is, the higher the amount of calories burnt. This eliminates the problem of wasting a lot of time in an attempt to lose a lot of weight.

This implies that it is important for individuals to monitor their weight. Nutritious diets coupled with physical activity are key ways through which individuals can maintain a healthy weight. It is therefore important for private and public sectors to come together to encourage individuals to embrace physical activity.

For example, schools can initiate walking programs and involve the local communities. As an individual, I need to embrace physical activity since it is good for the body and mind. This should be followed by a constantly active lifestyle.

Lack of physical activity is also associated with increased treatment costs which can be avoided. Physical activity should be done for at least twenty minutes, three times in every week in order to strengthen muscles, improve the structure of the joints and bone health.

As a student, physical activity will be very important since it has a positive impact on mental health. It is associated with increased learning capacity, self esteem and reduction in anxiety and stress. Physical activity is therefore important towards reducing some of the health risks such as obesity which is occasioned by excess weight (Whitman, 2012).

The second lifestyle change that I will make is to quit smoking. This is an addictive habit that is not considered harmful by many people but has adverse health effects. There are more than four hundred known substances in cigarettes which are toxic and harmful to human health. During the burning process, the butt has the highest concentration of the residues.

Some of the most harmful products in cigarettes include tar which leads to cancer, carbon monoxide which is associated with reduced oxygen in the body and nicotine which is addictive and raises the level of cholestrol in the body. The health damage that is associated with smoking is determined by presence or absence of a filter in the cigarette, the process of preparing the tobacco and the quantity of smoked cigarettes.

Researchers have found out that smoking can reduce the life expectancy of an individual by seven or eight years. It is estimated that the life of a smoker is shortened by eleven minutes for every cigarette smoked. For instance, in UK, three hundred people lose their lives on a daily basis as a result of smoking with the highest percentage being young smokers.

It is also evident that more people under seventy years die of diseases related to smoking than those who die of traffic accidents, AIDS and breast cancer. In addition, people who do not smoke live healthier during their old age than those who smoke.

Failure to quit smoking is associated with numerous health risks. Several diseases which pose great risks to the health of a smoker include cardiovascular disease, cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Cardiovascular disease occurs when arteries harden as a result of deposits of cholestrol and other fats that block the arteries making them narrow (Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking, 2012).

The disease takes different forms since different blood vessels may be affected. Smoking also exposes individuals to cancer especially throat cancer, lung cancer and mouth cancer. These types of cancer are not common among non-smokers.

The risk of cancer is increased by the number of cigarettes smoked in a day and the duration an individual has been smoking. The likelihood of smokers developing mouth cancer is four times compared to non-smokers. COPD on the other hand entails numerous conditions that obstruct the flow of air hence making breathing difficult. They include chronic bronchitis and emphysema (Owing, 2005).

Quitting smoking will be beneficial to me as an individual since it will reduce the risk of contracting smoking-related diseases. In addition, my general health will improve since minor health problems such as tiredness and headache may be associated with smoking.

The heart will also not be exposed to a lot of strain hence enabling it to work effectively. Most significantly, smoking will cut down the amount of money that would otherwise be spent on drugs (Sloan, 2004).

When coupled with the benefits of physical activity, the actions towards lifestyle change will be beneficial towards my university work and my chances of success in employment. This is because good health will enable me to concentrate on my studies without distractions caused by diseases. I will also be able to effectively execute my duties at the place of work.

Gogus, U. (2011). A Fundamental Guide for a Healthy Lifestyle and Nutrition, AuthorHouse, Washngton.

Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking . n.d.

Manger, W. (2006). Our Greatest Threats: Live Longer, Live Better, Jones & Bartlett Learning, New York.

Owing, J. (2005). Trends In Smoking And Health Research, Nova Publishers ,New York.

Sloan, F. (2004). The Price of Smoking, MIT Press, New Yok.

Whitman, A. (2012). The Importance of Physical Activity .

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Healthy Lifestyle Essay | Essay on Healthy Lifestyle for Students and Children in English

February 12, 2024 by Prasanna

Healthy Lifestyle Essay:  A healthy lifestyle involves a lot of things under it, including a nutritional diet, daily exercise, adequate sleep, being happy, and thinking positively. When we do all the necessary elements to have a healthy lifestyle, our lives are going on the right path. Living a healthy life is vital for you to be happy and feel good in your present life and for the future. Once you choose to live a healthy life, it lasts all your life. It not only helps you live longer but also better and less prone to sickness and diseases. A healthy lifestyle is the kind of lifestyle that we should all strive for.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Healthy Lifestyle for Students and Kids in English

Given below are two essays in English for students and children about the topic of ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ in both long and short form. The first essay is a long essay on a Healthy Lifestyle of 400-500 words. This essay about Healthy Lifestyle is suitable for students of classes 7, 8, 9 and 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants. The second essay is a short essay on Healthy Lifestyle of 150-200 words. This one is suitable for students and children in class 6 and below.

Long Essay on Healthy Lifestyle 500 Words in English

Below we have given a long essay on Healthy Lifestyle of 500 words. This long essay on the topic of healthy lifestyle is suitable for students of classes 7,8,9 and 10, and also for competitive exam aspirants.

Having a healthy lifestyle is all about choosing to live your life in the most healthy way possible. There are a few things you have to do to start living your life in this way, i.e., the healthy way. This means doing some amount of exercise daily, such as jogging, yoga, playing sports, etc. Adding to this, you must also have a balanced and nutritional diet with all the food groups. It would be best if you were taking the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fats to help you have a proper diet. Grouped with these two essential aspects (diet and exercise), a healthy person also maintains the same sleep cycle, which should consist of around 7-8 hours of sleep.

However, we must remember that a healthy lifestyle not only refers to our physical and mental health. Maintaining a balanced diet, exercising daily, and sleeping well are essential parts of a healthy lifestyle. But feeling happy is also a big part of a healthy lifestyle. To enable happiness, thinking positively is a must. When a person does not feel happy or good about themselves, they are not entirely healthy. Thus we must do our best to think positively so that we can feel happy rather than sad.

We have talked about what all entails a healthy life, so now we must speak of what all does not. There are several things that one must avoid in order to live a healthy lifestyle. These include the kind of practices and habits that are harmful to us and also to the people around us, i.e., society. Such practices and habits include gambling, smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, or any other things that can turn into an addiction. These habits are harmful to not only you but for all the people around you, as addiction causes unhealthy attitudes and behaviors. Other unhealthy practices include skipping meals and eating junk food.

The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are manifold: living a healthy life allows you to live longer, which means that you get to spend more time with your family. Exercising daily will enable you to release endorphins and helps you feel happier. Regular exercise also improves the health of your skin and hair, bettering your appearance as well. Healthy lifestyles also primarily reduce your risk of life-threatening diseases such as cancer, diabetes, etc. and also reduce your susceptibility to cardiac arrests.

Short Essay on Healthy Lifestyle 200 Words in English

Below we have given a short essay on Healthy Lifestyle of 200 words. This long essay on the topic healthy lifestyle is suitable for students of classes 1,2,3,4,5 and 6.

A healthy lifestyle is a vital part of our lives. There are some things that we must do to live a healthy life. The first thing to do is to ensure that you eat three meals a day. These meals should have the right amount of all the food groups, which are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins. You should not eat any junk food, which is unhealthy for you.

The next thing is to exercise daily to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This can be jogging, running, playing sports, dancing, or even walking for a minimum of 30 minutes. Exercise is essential not only for health but also for your skin and hair to look more delightful.

For a healthy lifestyle, you should also get the right amount of sleep at night. The proper routine is to sleep early and wake up early, with a 7-8 hour period of rest. It is crucial to get enough sleep, but not too much or too little, as it can affect your concentration and your abilities.

A healthy lifestyle helps you live longer and have a better and happier life. It is essential to living a healthy life to make the best out of it.

10 Lines About Healthy Lifestyle Essay

• Exercise daily by running, jogging, playing sports, dancing or brisk walking
• Eat three nutritional meals a day with all the food groups (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals)
• Make sure to get enough sleep, i.e., 7-8 hours per night
• Don’t sleep too much or too less, because either can lead to fatigue
• Mental health is as important as physical health for a healthy lifestyle
• Once you start living a healthy lifestyle, there’s no turning back to old, unhealthy ways
• Avoid harmful habits like smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling, etc.
• A healthy lifestyle helps you live longer
• Healthy living reduces your risk of life-threatening diseases like cancer and diabetes, among others
• You will be grateful later in life for practicing a healthy lifestyle as well as now

FAQ’s On Healthy Lifestyle Essay

Question 1. What are some tips for living a healthy life?

Answer: Exercise regularly, eat all your three nutritional meals a day, sleep enough, refrain from engaging in unhealthy practices which can cause addictions, and be positive to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Question 2. What benefits do I get from a healthy lifestyle?

Answer: A healthy lifestyle helps you live longer and have a better life with less risk of high fatality illnesses and also reduces your risk of heart failure.

Question 3. How do I know if I have good health?

Answer: Good health means that you are free of illnesses or diseases. It means that you can work efficiently and provide for the people you care about.

Question 4. What entails a healthy lifestyle?

Answer: A healthy lifestyle is the kind of lifestyle which ensures that a person maintains good health.

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Healthy Lifestyle and Eating Essay

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Healthy eating is the process of keeping the body clean, strong, and healthy at all times (Allen, 1926). Healthy living, on the other hand, means that one should be able to eat the right food, get enough exercise, and maintain cleanliness (James, 1907). Unfortunately, many people do not keep track of these requirements. Thus, they end up with serious health problems, which can be difficult to treat. Prevention of these problems can be accomplished through maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Such a lifestyle is achievable by eating the right food and adhering to all the requirements of healthy living.

The human body needs a balanced diet, which includes enough minerals, fats, vitamins, fiber, and carbohydrates (Albrecht, 1932). These substances are required by the body to facilitate the growth and functioning of body tissues. Low energy foods such as vegetables and fruits have small amounts of calories per unit volume of food. Therefore, it is advisable to eat this combination of foods in large volumes as it contains fewer calories, but has nutrients that are essential for optimal body functionality. Incidentally, one should take food that is free from unhealthy fats, but should ensure that whole grains and proteins go alongside fruits and vegetables.

Apart from choosing the best foods for the body, it is also advisable that people should maintain moderate quantities of food intake. For instance, it is prudent to eat less of unhealthy foods such as refined sugar and saturated fats and more of healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits. This pattern of eating has massive health benefits to its adherents. As such, people should strive to develop good eating habits that can sustain them throughout their lives.

Further, it is recommended that one should eat a heavy breakfast an hour after waking up. The breakfast needs to consist of carbohydrates, healthy fats, and proteins in balanced proportions. It should then be followed by light meals throughout the day. This requirement is important since breakfast helps to initiate the body’s metabolism. The light and healthy meals thereafter help maintain a high body energy level that keeps one active throughout the day (Allen, 1926). People should avoid eating late at night. Early dinners are advisable followed by an average of 15 hours of no food until breakfast time the next morning. Past studies show that this pattern helps regulate body weight (James, 1907).

People who are diagnosed with lifestyle diseases such as anemia, high blood pressure, and diabetes among others are advised to follow diets that are rich in fruits and vegetable content (Allen, 1926). Depending on the stage of illness, such people should strictly watch what they eat. For example, high blood pressure patients should cut down on sodium, which is mainly found in salt. They should also avoid foods that have high cholesterol and saturated fats since diets of this sort prompt a high risk of artery clogging. Consequently, it increases the risk of heart attacks and blood vessel diseases (Albrecht, 1932). Further, they need to control the amount of carbohydrates they take.

Carbohydrates should only account for 50% of their daily calories (Allen, 1926). Finally, they are discouraged from foods with a high phosphorous content since they may lead to bone diseases (Allen, 1926). Overweight people constitute another special needs group. They should reduce weight to be healthy. Consequently, they need at least 30 minutes of rigorous physical exercise everyday and a lean diet.

In conclusion, all these groups of people should increase their water intake. Water is essential in the human body since it facilitates the regulation of all body functions. As such, it enhances body health. In this regard, people should strive to take at least eight glasses per day. Apparently, healthy living calls for discipline and commitment. If people foster these two values in the lifestyles, the world will be full of healthy people.

Albrecht, Arthur E. (1932). About foods and markets : A teachers’ handbook and consumers’ guide . New York City, NY: Columbia University. Web.

Allen, Ida C. (1926). Your foods and you or the role of diet . Garden City, NY: Doubleday Page & Company. Web.

James F. (1907). How we are fed: A geographical reader . New York, NY: Macmillan. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2020, May 22). Healthy Lifestyle and Eating. https://ivypanda.com/essays/healthy-lifestyle-and-eating/

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IvyPanda . "Healthy Lifestyle and Eating." May 22, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/healthy-lifestyle-and-eating/.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Healthy Lifestyle — How to Live a Healthy Lifestyle: Nurturing Wellness and Vitality

How to Live a Healthy Lifestyle: Nurturing Wellness and Vitality

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Words: 593 |

Published: Sep 1, 2023

Words: 593 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

1. prioritize balanced nutrition, 2. engage in regular physical activity, 3. cultivate mental and emotional well-being, 4. prioritize sleep and rest, 5. embrace mindful eating, 6. manage stress effectively, in conclusion.

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Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

Students are often asked to write an essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

The necessity of healthy eating.

Healthy eating is crucial for growing bodies. Consuming a balanced diet gives our bodies the nutrients needed to function correctly.

Benefits of Healthy Eating

Healthy eating habits.

Incorporate fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins into your meals. Avoid processed foods and sugary drinks. Remember, moderation is key.

Healthy eating habits are essential for a healthy life. Start today and reap the benefits tomorrow.

250 Words Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

The vitality of healthy eating habits, nutrition and physical health.

A diet rich in vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients fuels our bodies, supporting vital functions. It aids in maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Consuming fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains can significantly improve physical health.

Nutrition and Mental Health

Moreover, our diet directly affects our mental health. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish and nuts, can enhance brain function, improving memory and mood. Simultaneously, a deficiency in certain nutrients can lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

Establishing Healthy Eating Habits

Establishing healthy eating habits involves more than just choosing the right food. It also includes regular meal times, appropriate portion sizes, and mindful eating. It’s about creating a sustainable lifestyle rather than a temporary diet.

In conclusion, healthy eating habits are a cornerstone of overall well-being. They contribute to physical health, mental health, and quality of life. As college students, it is crucial to prioritize these habits to ensure not only academic success but lifelong health. Let’s remember, our food choices today will shape our health tomorrow.

500 Words Essay on Importance of Healthy Eating Habits

Introduction.

The importance of healthy eating habits cannot be overstated, particularly in a world where fast food and processed meals have become the norm. Healthy eating habits are not just about maintaining an ideal weight or avoiding obesity; they are also about ensuring optimal physical and mental health, and enhancing overall quality of life.

The Role of Nutrition in Human Health

The impact of unhealthy eating habits.

On the contrary, unhealthy eating habits such as consuming high amounts of processed foods, sugary snacks, and fatty meals can lead to numerous health issues. These include obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Moreover, poor nutrition can also affect mental health, contributing to conditions like depression and anxiety.

Healthy Eating and Cognitive Function

Healthy eating habits are also crucial for cognitive function. Nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and B vitamins, which are found in foods like fish, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, are essential for brain health. They enhance memory, improve mood, and protect against cognitive decline.

Importance of Healthy Eating Habits in College Students

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Health and Fitness Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on health and fitness.

We have always heard the word ‘health’ and ‘fitness’. We use it ourselves when we say phrases like ‘health is wealth’ and ‘fitness is the key’. What does the word health really mean? It implies the idea of ‘being well’. We call a person healthy and fit when he/she function well physically as well as mentally.

Factors Affecting our Health and Fitness

Good health and fitness is not something which one can achieve entirely on our own. It depends on their physical environment and the quality of food intake. We live in villages, towns, and cities.

In such places, even our physical environment affects our health. Therefore, our social responsibility of pollution-free environment directly affects our health. Our day-to-day habits also determine our fitness level. The quality of food, air, water all helps in building our fitness level.

Role of Nutritious Diet on our Health and Fitness

The first thing about where fitness starts is food. We should take nutritious food. Food rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates is very essential. Protein is necessary for body growth. Carbohydrates provide the required energy in performing various tasks. Vitamin and minerals help in building bones and boosting our immune system.

However, taking food in uneven quantity is not good for the body. Taking essential nutrients in adequate amount is called a balanced diet. Taking a balanced diet keep body and mind strong and healthy. Good food helps in better sleep, proper brain functioning and healthy body weight.

Include vegetables, fruits, and pulses in daily diet. One must have a three-course meal. Having roughage helps in cleaning inner body organs. Healthy food habit prevents various diseases. Reducing the amount of fat in the diet prevents cholesterol and heart diseases.

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Impact of Exercise on our Health

Routine exercise helps improve our muscle power. Exercise helps in good oxygen supply and blood flow throughout the body. Heart and lungs work efficiently. Our bones get strong and joints have the pain free movement.

We should daily spend at least twenty minutes in our exercise. Daily morning walk improves our fitness level. We should avoid strenuous Gym activities. Exercise burns our fat and controls the cholesterol level in the body. Various outdoor games like cricket, football, volleyball, etc keeps our body fit. Regular exercise maintains our body shape.

Meditation, Yoga, and Health

Meditation and yoga are part of our life from ancient time. They not only make us physically fit but mentally strong as well. Meditation improves our concentration level. Our mind gets relaxed and thinking becomes positive.

A healthy mind is key for a healthy body. Yoga makes us stressfree and improves the endurance power of the mind. Yoga controls our blood pressure. With yoga, a strong bond with nature is established. Meditation is considered the best way to fight depression.

A person stays happier when he/she is fit and healthy. A fit and healthy person is less prone to chronic diseases. The healthy mind reacts better in a pressure situation. The self-confidence of a person is increased. Risk of heart failure is reduced drastically. With the increased immunity power body could fight cancerous cells. The intensity of the fracture is decreased with regular exercise.

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Essay on Healthy Lifestyle – Importance & Benefits | For Students

A healthy lifestyle is the sum total of all internal and external things that a person follows in order to enjoy the benefits of a healthy living.

Some of the factors include; energy rich pure diet, balanced work & sleep patterns, daily exercises & plays etc.

The following essay has been written in that context, as to help children & students on topic healthy lifestyle, importance, benefits, steps how to maintain healthy living, for children & students.

Essay on healthy lifestyle – Importance & Benefits of Healthy Habits | Short & Long Essay For Students

Introduction

Healthy lifestyle means living such a life that includes all the ingredients necessary to live a balanced life. Healthy lifestyle has a lot of elements.

It includes healthy food, adequate sleep, exercise on daily basis, thinking positively and many more. Today, modern man has fallen to number of diseases because he is not living healthy lifestyle.

Modern man works round the clock and cares less about his life. This leads to a lot of problems in his life. A good health has number of advantages and has positive impact on the life of person.

Meaning & Importance of Healthy Lifestyle

Healthy lifestyle is very important for maintenance of life. It is not very difficult to live a healthy lifestyle. it just needs to follow the elements of healthy lifestyle.

It is crucial to eat healthy food for healthy life style. Balanced diet is only way to maintain one’s health. Balanced diet contains all the nutrients required for smooth working of our body.

It should include carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and fibers. It is also important to take food with regularity.

Irregularity in food causes health issues. Balanced diet can save us from many diseases. It is one of the basic elements of healthy lifestyle.

Healthy lifestyle also requires adequate sleep. It is important to maintain sleep cycle which is of seven to eight hours.

Having adequate sleep keeps you healthy. One who does not maintain their sleep cycle is vulnerable to number of mental health problems.

Adequate sleep is very important for sound working of mind and body. One should not sleep too much or too less, because either can lead to fatigue.

It is very crucial to make exercise part of your life for healthy lifestyle. Exercise or sports keep you healthy and fit.

You can feel fresh and energetic after taking some light exercise. People of all age groups should spend some time for their fitness. Exercise plays a vital role to keep your body fit.

Mental health also plays a major role in healthy lifestyle. It is very important to maintain your mental health because depressed person cannot live a healthy life.

One should always think positive and be hopeful in all matters of life. Optimistic person always looks at the brighter side of life.

Hardships or troubles are part of life. One should face them manfully rather than getting stress or depressed.

Benefits Of Healthy Living Essay

Healthy lifestyle has a lot of benefits. it keeps you away from sickness. One can feel energetic throughout his life. Health is certainly the great wealt h and its importance can never be denied

According to WHO, man can increase their life span up to eleven years by following healthy lifestyle. It is very important to feel good in your present life and in future. Healthy lifestyle makes you live your life better and balanced in all ways.

How to stay healthy?

There is the great importance of health. There are also few things that we need to avoid to live a have peaceful and full of health life . we should avoid all the practices and habits that are harmful for us and also for people around us.

One should avoid junk food as these foods are not nutritious. It is also very important to stay away from alcohol, drugs, smoke etc.

We should not stress ourselves too much and try to be contented with life and its happenings. Over work can also be a hurdle in living a healthy lifestyle.

We all strive in our lives to live a healthy lifestyle as it is best way to live your life. We should follow all the elements of healthy style for success in life.

It is also important to encourage people to live healthy lifestyle free of all worries and full of pleasures and joys.

500+ Words Essay on Healthy Lifestyle For High School & College Level Students

Healthy lifestyle means a person who is not under any stress, who is not overweight and who has a well-maintained body.

The components of healthy lifestyle include having a good diet, regular exercise, mental peace and physical strength.

Having a good diet does not mean that a person should not eat sweet or fatty foods, it just means that he should keep in mind how certain foods will have effects on his body.

Importance of Healthy Lifestyle

Kids these days do not know the importance of healthy lifestyle. They prefer to stay inside and spend time on mobile rather than going out to play.

These dull habits become a part of their life and they become lazy. They lack proper discipline and determination to achieve any goal in life. People need to understand that a healthy lifestyle is very important to live a happier, peaceful and long life.

It is important to maintain healthy habits from a very young age. One of them is by doing regular exercise. Our body feels fresh after exercise. Exercise is an important factor which helps to release stress and prevent several diseases.

Now a days, people ignore their health and stay busy in workload. This leads to many diseases and health issues in the long run.

They do not realize the importance of health until they suffer health problems. They struggle with chronic diseases but these conditions can be improved with a healthy lifestyle.

Benefits & Need of Healthy Lifestyle

The countless benefits of a healthy lifestyle cannot be neglected.A healthy lifestyle helps to prevent many chronic diseases like heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.

It also helps to prevent the risk of developing cancer. It helps to live a longer, healthier and happier life. It enables a person to feel energetic throughout his life. It keeps one’s mind at peace.

Eating healthy helps to improve our strength, weight control, health and prevention of many diseases. Feeding our body the right amount of food can increase longevity of our life.

We will feel better to do everyday tasks. Our body will feel more energized and freer to move. When a person is fit, he performs activities of his daily life more confidently.

How to Stay healthy?

The first thing to maintain a healthy lifestyle is to maintain a proper diet. We should eat three meals a day and avoid skipping a meal.

An important thing to keep in mind is to have right amount of all food groups like carbohydrates, vitamins, proteins and fats. We should avoid unhealthy habits like eating junk food, smoking and alcohol.

Adding more fruits and vegetables in our diet is also important to stay healthy because eating healthy boosts our energy and gives us strength to get through the day.It is also important to exercise twenty to thirty minutes a day at least five times a week.

We should surround ourselves with positive energy. It is very important to have encouraging friends in life to provide us with constructive criticism to help us improve our personality.

Another way to live a healthy lifestyle is by getting enough sleep. It is important to sleep at least eight hours a day.If we follow these tips then there is nothing we cannot achieve in our life.

A person who lives a healthy lifestyle lives longer than the person who does not care about his body. That’s why it is believed that a healthy person is the true asset for society. We should strictly follow a healthy lifestyle routine to live a healthy life.

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English that goes straight to the heart

Importance of Healthy Lifestyle Essay

Wealth matters, but, is not as important as health. Money is the source to carry on with a healthy life however good health is the source of living a happy and peaceful life.

Here we present you with the “Importance of Healthy Lifestyle Essay” which will make you understand everything.

Importance of Healthy Lifestyle Essay (450+ Words)

Mahatma Gandhi once emphasized that true wealth lies in good health, rather than material possessions. This sentiment highlights the significance of prioritizing well-being over monetary gains. In today’s fast-paced world, maintaining good health is more crucial than ever before. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and a positive mindset are essential for physical and psychological well-being. This essay explores the importance of a healthy lifestyle in fostering a productive and fulfilling life.

Physical and Mental Well-being

Regular exercise: Engaging in physical activities helps maintain physical fitness, increases energy levels, and reduces the risk of various health conditions.

Good nutrition: A balanced diet rich in nutrients provides the body with the necessary fuel for optimal functioning and supports mental clarity.

Psychological benefits: Good health positively impacts mental well-being, reducing stress levels and promoting a positive attitude toward life and work.

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Early life and parental responsibility.

Maternal health: The health and nutrition of expectant mothers play a vital role in ensuring the well-being of both the mother and the baby.

Preventive care for children: Adequate care and attention to a child’s health from an early age can help prevent illnesses and promote their overall development.

Shared responsibility: While parents have the primary responsibility for their children’s health, society as a whole should contribute to ensuring the well-being of future generations.

Education and Health

Holistic education: Educational institutions should prioritize physical exercise and recreational activities to support students’ overall well-being and academic performance.

Productivity and life goals: A student with good physical and mental health is more likely to achieve their life goals, irrespective of their chosen career path.

Performance and success: Good health equips individuals to face challenges with resilience and enhances their performance in various fields.

Professional Opportunities

Physical requirements in certain professions: Fields such as the armed forces, police, and paramilitary require individuals who are physically and mentally fit.

Career options: A healthy individual has a wider range of job opportunities, as physical fitness is valued even in sectors primarily focused on professional skills.

Positive impact on society: Physically and mentally strong individuals can contribute more effectively to society, earning appreciation and making a difference.

A healthy lifestyle is integral to achieving overall well-being and success in life. Physical and mental health are closely interconnected, and taking care of one’s body and mind yields numerous benefits. It is essential to raise awareness about the importance of regular exercise, proper nutrition, and positive thinking to promote a healthy lifestyle. By prioritizing good health, individuals can experience improved productivity, mental clarity, and a sense of fulfillment. Ultimately, a healthy lifestyle enriches both the individual and society, paving the way for a brighter future.

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Health Benefits of Cheese

Cheese is a dairy product rich in protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins A, K, and B. There are many types of cheese. You can choose a cheese based on taste, smell, what you cook with, how it is made, and your dietary limitations.

Cheese is one of the most consumed dairy products in the United States. Cheese consumption has been increasing almost every year since 1995, with the average person in the U.S. now eating about 39 pounds of cheese a year.  

Dietary guidelines recommend cheese as part of a balanced diet. Its consumption may help lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and bone fractures, but the evidence is not always clear.  

Design by Health / Getty Images

Supports Bone Health

Women who’ve experienced menopause, as well as older men, are more likely to get  osteoporosis , a bone disease characterized by weaker bones. Weaker bones can make you more susceptible to breaking bones.  

A diet low in calcium, vitamin D, and protein can contribute to osteoporosis development. Cheese has all those nutrients, as well as phosphorus and magnesium, which are also essential for strong bones.

One study examined how dairy food affects fracture (bone breaks) among women over 24 years old. The researchers found that eating more than two servings of dairy daily, including cheese, can lower fracture risk.

May Improve Heart Health 

Research has found that cheese consumption is linked to a lower risk of heart disease and death from heart disease.  

The study didn't specify the types of cheese consumed. When selecting cheese with heart health in mind, keep in mind that the American Heart Association (AHA) advises eating low-fat or fat-free dairy to limit saturated fat and sodium intake since high saturated fat and sodium intake can increase the risk of heart disease.

Supports Gut Health

Cheese can have probiotics . Probiotics are living tiny organisms found in some foods. When you eat cheese, probiotics reach your gut. Probiotics are good for gut health because they help digestion, protect against harmful microorganisms, and provide nutrients.   

Maintains Dental Health

Eating cheese may decrease tooth decay. A study showed that eating 25 grams (g) of the Italian Grana Padano variety of cheese can reduce bacteria that cause tooth decay. This may be because the cheese helps create a better makeup of microorganisms in the mouth.

Because cheese has high amounts of calcium, the food can also help in protecting and rebuilding tooth enamel.  

May Help Manage Blood Sugar

Cheese is high in protein and fat, so it doesn't affect your blood sugar levels as much as foods with carbohydrates. 

Cheese contains a fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). These fatty acids have been linked to decreased blood sugar and cholesterol levels, though the evidence is unclear.

How much CLA cheese has varies based on factors such as what the animals supplying the cheese eat, when they produce milk, and how long the cheese ages. Cheeses that age longer can have higher CLA.

May Support Muscle Gain 

Cheese contains a good amount of protein and other nutrients that help build muscle. An older, small study examined how cheese affects muscle protein synthesis in men aged 18-35. Eating cheese concentrate equivalent to 30 g of protein after exercise increased muscle protein synthesis and recovery.

However, you’d need to eat almost 100 g to over 200 g of cheese (depending on the type of cheese) to get 30 g of protein. This isn't cost-effective or doable for many people. You can add some cheese to your post-workout meal to potentially help you build muscle and prepare for the next session.

Consider choosing high-protein cheeses such as Parmesan, Romano, Gruyère, Swiss, and Edam. 

Nutrition of Cheese

The nutrition in cheese changes based on the type. Some cheeses have higher fat, protein, calcium, and sodium than others. For example, cheddar cheese has higher fat, protein, calcium, and cholesterol than feta cheese or full-fat cottage cheese. Cheddar cheese is the most consumed cheese in the U.S. Here’s the nutritional profile of one slice (1 ounce/28 g) of cheddar cheese:

• Calories: 113 
• Fat: 9.32 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.29 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 2.89 g
• Sodium: 183 milligrams (mg)
• Calcium: 199 mg, or about 20% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Selenium: 7.9 micrograms (mcg), or about 14% of the DV
• Carbohydrates: 0.94 g
• Added sugars : 0 g
• Protein: 6.41 g 

Cheese also contains vitamins such as A, K2, B2, B9 (folate), and B12 and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium.

Cheese is generally high in saturated fats and sodium. This can be a concern, especially for people who already have or are at risk for heart disease. The AHA recommends consuming fat-free and low-fat cheeses like cottage cheese.  

Risks of Cheese

Eating cheese is generally safe for most people. However, people with specific conditions may need to be mindful of how much cheese they eat.

High Saturated Fatty Acids

Cheese, in general, contains high fat. Fat is good for your health, but the type of fat is important. Cheese contains more saturated fats (unhealthy fats) than unsaturated fats (healthy fats). Eating too much saturated fat can cause heart disease. That's why people with heart diseases or an increased risk of heart disease are advised to limit full-fat dairy products.

Mascarpone, cheddar, Parmesan, brie, soft goat cheese, Edam, and feta contain more saturated fat. Ricotta, cottage cheese, reduced-fat processed cheese, half-fat cheddar, reduced-fat cottage cheese, and quark have less saturated fats.

High Sodium 

High sodium intake can cause heart disease. It’s recommended that people not eat more than 2,300 mg—and ideally no more than 1,500 mg—of sodium a day.  

If you’re watching how much salt you eat, consider picking cheeses with less salt, like mozzarella and cottage cheese. Aged and processed cheeses such as feta, blue, Parmesan, American cheese, and halloumi contain more salt.   

Intolerance and Allergy

Don't consume the product if you are allergic to milk used in cheese. For example, eating goat's cheese can be dangerous if you're allergic to goat milk. 

Cheese also contains lactose but in different amounts based on the type of cheese. If you're lactose-sensitive or lactose-intolerant , you can choose cheeses that are either lactose-free or have lower amounts of lactose. Hard and semi-hard cheeses have lower lactose in them.

Tips for Consuming Cheese

Cheese is great all alone. It also gives flavor and texture when included as part of a meal. You can add cheese in omelets, salads (Greek salad with feta cheese), pasta (mac & cheese), desserts (cheesecake and tiramisu), vegetables (stuffing with cheese), sandwiches, and dip sauces.

Here are some more tips:

• When choosing a cheese for a recipe, consider what type of flavor you want to bring to a meal: spicy (blue cheese), fresh (feta), creamy (ricotta), nutty (Parmesan), and smoky (gouda).  
• If you're sensitive to lactose, you can opt for cheeses that naturally contain lower lactose, such as goat's cheese, brie, and feta cheese. 
• While cheese is readily available at stores, you can also make your cheese at home. Although some cheeses are not easy to make, others are easy if you have milk, acidic food (vinegar or lemon), salt, and spices. Cottage cheese is one of the easiest to make at home. 
• Make sure you store cheese properly and use it within the proper amount of time.

Cheese is often categorized into soft and hard cheeses. You must refrigerate soft cheeses like cottage and cream cheese. Typically, cottage cheese can be stored for one week and cream cheese for two weeks.

You don’t have to refrigerate hard cheeses if they’re not opened. You can store hard cheeses such as cheddar, Parmesan, Swiss, and American cheese in their original package in a cool, dry place for six months. You can also freeze hard cheeses for six months. However, if you open the hard cheese, read the packaging information for suggested storage time. They’re often good for 3-4 weeks after opening.  

A Quick Review

Cheese is a dairy food that contains protein, minerals, vitamins, and probiotics. It can have many benefits, including potentially supporting bone, heart, gut, dental, and muscle health. U.S. dietary guidelines suggest getting three servings of dairy daily, which can include cheese. 

There are many types of cheese, each with its own flavor and nutritional profile. Talk with your healthcare provider about which cheeses may be best for you and how much you should have.

United States Department of Agriculture. Consumption of selected cheese varieties .

Zhang M, Dong X, Huang Z, et al. Cheese consumption and multiple health outcomes: An umbrella review and updated meta-analysis of prospective studies . Adv Nutr . 2023;14(5):1170–1186. doi:10.1016/j.advnut.2023.06.007

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Osteoporosis .

Yuan M, Hu FB, Li Y, et al. Types of dairy foods and risk of fragility fracture in the prospective Nurses’ Health Study cohort . Am J Clin Nutr . 2023;118(6):1172-1181. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.09.015

American Heart Association. Dairy products: Milk, yogurt and cheese .

Homayouni A, Ansari F, Azizi A, Pourjafar H, Madadi M. Cheese as a potential food carrier to deliver probiotic microorganisms into the human gut: A review . CNF . 2020;16(1):15-28. doi:10.2174/1573401314666180817101526

Lorenzini EC, Lazzari B, Tartaglia GM, et al. Oral ecological environment modifications by hard-cheese: from pH to microbiome: A prospective cohort study based on 16S rRNA metabarcoding approach . J Transl Med . 2022;20(1):312. doi:10.1186/s12967-022-03506-4

American Dental Association. Nutrition: What you eat affects your teeth .

Ghodoosi N, Rasaei N, Goudarzi K, et al. The effects of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation on glycemic control, adipokines, cytokines, malondialdehyde and liver function enzymes in patients at risk of cardiovascular disease: A GRADE-assessed systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis . Nutr J . 2023;22(1):47. doi:10.1186/s12937-023-00876-3

Akhgarjand C, Tavakoli A, Samavat S, et al. The effect of conjugated linoleic acid supplementation in comparison with omega-6 and omega-9 on lipid profile: A graded, dose–response systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials . Front Nutr . 2024;11:1336889. doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1336889

Kim JH, Kwon OJ, Choi NJ, et al. Variations in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content of processed cheese by lactation time, feeding regimen, and ripening . J Agric Food Chem . 2009;57(8):3235-3239. doi:10.1021/jf803838u

Hermans WJH, Fuchs CJ, Hendriks FK, et al. Cheese ingestion increases muscle protein synthesis rates both at rest and during recovery from exercise in healthy, young males: A randomized parallel-group trial . J Nutr . 2022;152(4):1022-1030. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac007

U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Cheese, cheddar .

U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Cheese, Feta, whole milk, crumbled .

U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Cottage Cheese, full fat, large or small curd .

British Heart Foundation. 7 cheese facts that will surprise you .

American Heart Association. How much sodium should I eat per day? .

Li A, Zheng J, Han X, et al. Advances in low-lactose/lactose-free dairy products and their production . Foods . 2023;12(13):2553. doi:10.3390/foods12132553

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Does all cheese need to be refrigerated? .

Related Articles

I'm happy I was an only child. It made me more independent and I got more financial support from my parents.

• I always wanted siblings while growing up. I wished I had a sister to answer questions I had. 
• But I've realized there were benefits to being an only child as I've gotten older.
• I learned to be independent and my parents had more time for me.

When I was a little girl, I used to ask my mom to adopt another child so that I could have an older sister. I wasn't lonely — I had plenty of friends and got along great with other kids in the neighborhood and at school. But once I started to get older (and learned how to be self-conscious), I wanted an older sibling to "show me the ropes," in a sense.

I wanted somebody to turn to for social and relationship — heck, even fashion — advice. It would've also been nice to have a sibling who could occasionally take some of the blame and attention from my parents away from me.

When I was younger, I always wanted a sister

I also wanted a sister to show me how to be a young girl going through adolescence. Shaving? Periods? I had questions I felt I couldn't ask my friends and that no puberty book could answer about social norms. My mom and I did have conversations, and she did the best that any parent could to help me, but there were certain things I just didn't want to talk to her about. Besides, with the 40+ year age gap between us, I didn't always feel as though she could relate to my experiences .

I used to want that guidance and closeness I felt one could only get from a sister. Maybe I'm romanticizing that sisterhood relationship . I wouldn't know. I'll never know what it's like to have a sister — or a sibling, for that matter. And now, as a young woman who successfully (I hope) made it through being a teenager, I'm happy with that.

I realized there were benefits to being an only child

I didn't need a sister to tell me about dating and how to go swimming when it's that time of the month. I didn't need an older sibling figure to look up to, or one to look out for me. Being an only child, at least for me, taught me how to be independent and resourceful (for example, I learned how to braid my hair thanks to a magical thing called YouTube in 2012). And while it meant getting some extra attention I sometimes didn't want from my parents, it also meant I got all the benefits they offered; I didn't have to share their positive attention or their wisdom .

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Plus, I got all their financial support, which was a huge help for paying my university tuition. With fewer kids, we could travel more and to cooler places than I think we would've if I had siblings. Don't worry, though. My parents weren't afraid to say "no" to me, and I certainly wasn't spoiled .

I had no problem learning how to share, as my parents were very good about ensuring I put others first and always had good manners. I also had no issue living with roommates at university. Even though I'm highly independent, I still ask my parents how to do things (like filing insurance claims). I'm grateful I've been set up to be so successful on my own.

While I know being an only child means I should feel pressure to have kids or one day look after my parents , they never make me feel I have this sort of responsibility to them. My parents want me to live my life for me, and I'm grateful for that. Though I did feel some pressure growing up to make my family proud and be successful — and I still do — it's my own goals that keep me going, and I'm not comparing myself to anyone else.

Watch: Why one mother fled Texas to keep her child safe

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The number of Americans filing for jobless claims hits highest level in a year

FILE - A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Deerfield, Ill., Thursday, July 25, 2024. On Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

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The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in a year last week, even as the labor market remains surprisingly healthy in an era of high interest rates.

Jobless claims for the week ending July 27 climbed by 14,000 to 249,000, from 235,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It’s the most since the first week of August last year and the 10th straight week that claims have come in above 220,000. Before that stretch, claims had remained below that level in all but three weeks this year.

Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered as representative of layoffs, and though they have been slightly higher the past couple of months, they remain at historically healthy levels.

Strong consumer demand and a resilient labor market has helped to avert a recession that many economists forecast during the extended flurry of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve that began in March of 2022.

As inflation continues to ease , the Fed’s goal of a soft-landing — bringing down inflation without causing a recession and mass layoffs — appears within reach.

On Wednesday, the Fed left its benchmark rate alone , but officials hinted strongly that a cut could come in September if the data remained on its recent trajectory. And recent data from the labor market suggest some weakening.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% in June, despite the fact that America’s employers added 206,000 jobs. U.S. job openings also fell slightly last month . Add that to elevated layoffs and the Fed could be poised to cut interest rates next month, as most analysts expect.

The four-week average of claims, which smooths out some of the weekly ups and downs, rose by 2,500 to 238,000.

The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the week of July 20 jumped by 33,000 to 1.88 million. The four-week average for continuing claims rose to 1,857,000, the most since December of 2021.

Continuing claims have been on the rise in recent months, suggesting that some Americans receiving unemployment benefits are finding it more challenging to land jobs.

There have been job cuts across a range of sectors this year, from the agricultural manufacturer Deere , to media outlets like CNN , and elsewhere .

What Adults Lost When Kids Stopped Playing in the Street

In many ways, a world built for cars has made life so much harder for grown-ups.

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

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I n the summer of 2009, Amy Rose and Alice Ferguson, two mothers living on Greville Road in Bristol, a midsize city in southwest England, found themselves in a strange predicament: They saw entirely too much of their kids. “We were going, like, Why are they here? ” Rose told me. “ Why aren’t they outside? ” The friends decided to run an experiment. They applied to shut their quarter-mile road to traffic for two hours after school on a June afternoon—not for a party or an event but just to let the children who lived there play. Intentionally, they didn’t prepare games or activities, Rose told me, as it would have defeated the purpose of the inquiry: “With time, space, and permission, what happens?”

The results were breathtaking. The dozens of kids who showed up had no problem finding things to do. One little girl cycled up and down the street “3,000 times,” Rose recalled. “She was totally blissed out.” Suddenly, the modern approach to children’s play, in which parents shuttle their kids to playgrounds or other structured activities, seemed both needlessly extravagant and wholly insufficient. Kids didn’t need special equipment or lessons; they just needed to be less reliant on their time-strapped parents to get outside.

The experiment also produced some unexpected results. As children poured into the street, some ran into classmates, only just then realizing that they were neighbors. Soon it became clear to everyone present that far more children were living on Greville Road than anyone had known. That session, and the many more it prompted, also became the means by which adult residents got to know one another, which led to another revelation for Ferguson and Rose: In numerous ways, a world built for cars has made life so much harder for adults.

The dominance of cars has turned children’s play into work for parents, who are left coordinating and supervising their children’s time and ferrying kids to playgrounds and play dates. But it has also deprived adults of something more profound. Over the years, as Rose and Ferguson have expanded their experiment to other parts of the United Kingdom, neighborhoods across the country have discovered that allowing kids to play out in the open has helped residents reclaim something they didn’t know they were missing: the ability to connect with the people living closest to them.

M odern folks tend to think that streets serve largely mobile purposes—getting cars from one place to another in swift, orderly fashion. But “prior to the automobile, streets had a ton of stationary functions,” Marcel Moran, a faculty fellow at New York University’s Center for Urban Science and Progress, told me. Streets were where people sold wares and socialized. And particularly after the United States and Europe began to industrialize, streets were the primary location for the rising number of urban-dwelling children to play, according to Jon Winder, a historian and the author of Designed for Play: Children’s Playgrounds and the Politics of Urban Space, 1840–2010 . This remained the case in the U.K. and the U.S. even after playgrounds became widespread in the early 20th century. Only when cars hit the streets in larger numbers did things begin to change. Society, Winder told me, began prioritizing “the movement and storage of motor vehicles over children and their playful behavior.”

In the U.S., the ousting of children from the street was initially met with fierce resistance, Peter Norton, an associate history professor at the University of Virginia and the author of Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City , told me. In the 1920s, as pedestrian death tolls mounted, a number of American cities erected monuments to children killed in traffic, acknowledging their deaths as public losses the way we memorialize fallen soldiers. When cases involving these tragedies made their way to court, Norton said, judges routinely ruled that “a child has an absolute right to use the street, that it’s the responsibility of everyone else to watch out for the child. The parent does not have to be there.” He added that motorists who argued that they were not at fault, because the child had rushed out in front of them, were told, “That’s no excuse. You chose to operate a dangerous machine that gave you, the driver, the responsibility.”

Over time, however, deliberate efforts within the auto industry shifted the blame for traffic deaths to children and their parents. In the 1920s, the American Automobile Association dispensed free school-safety education materials aimed at teaching children that the road was not for them. Among other things, these curricula redefined the school-safety patrols run by older children tasked with escorting younger kids safely through the streets. Instead of walking into the street to stop traffic, kids were instructed to wait until there were no cars, then to cross. The message was that “if a child’s going to use the street at all, it’s only when there’s no cars,” Norton said. “This immediately became the excuse for raising speed limits.” By the 1940s, these curricula—still produced by AAA—cautioned children against even attempting to use streets at all. And it was hard to argue otherwise, Norton said, because the higher speed limits had in fact made roads quite dangerous.

The broader shift to a car-centric society only further undercut the notion that children have a place in or near the road, Norton told me. Suburbanization combined with school consolidation and court-ordered school busing meant that schools got farther apart, making it impractical for children to walk to them. In the 1980s, warnings about “stranger danger,” which intensified as news and crime shows stoked panic about child abductions, no doubt played a role in further curtailing children’s freedom—though stranger danger itself wasn’t new, Norton noted. Parents of the past relied on a combination of people—shopkeepers, residents, adults sitting on front steps—to keep an eye out for the rare unsavory character who might harm their kids. “But eyes on the street in the U.S., outside of a few surviving communities, is almost gone,” Norton said. “Eyes behind a windshield are no substitute.”

R ose and Ferguson’s project on Greville Road is of course not the first or only effort to reclaim the streets for children. In the U.K., play streets emerged roughly a century ago as a sort of compromise in the process of booting kids off the street. But after peaking in the 1960s, they largely dwindled out, to be revived only in the late 2000s. New York has had a play-streets program since 1914 , and Philadelphia for more than half a century—and recently, the idea has been taken up in other U.S. cities. Chicago launched a play-streets program in 2012 , followed by Los Angeles in 2015 ; an initiative in Portland, Oregon, hosted its first events in 2023 .

In the U.K., Rose, Ferguson, and their friend Ingrid Skeels expanded their experiment in 2011 by founding Playing Out , an organization that has helped residents on more than 1,000 streets in dozens of cities across the country set up their own play sessions. These typically last for two hours and occur weekly, biweekly, or monthly. And yes, as with any other sort of play these days, the process takes work: Residents who’d like to set up a play street must get buy-in from neighbors, agree on dates, book road closures well in advance, and recruit stewards to stand guard at either end of the block. Organizers are also working against the headwinds of a society unaccustomed to children playing in the street. Even when blocks are officially closed to traffic, stewards often have to address drivers frustrated that they can’t get through. Some residents ask why the kids can’t just go to the park, and they worry about the noise or what will happen to their cars. When Jo Chesterman, a Bristol-based mother of two, first broached the idea of a play session on her street several years ago, some neighbors, she told me, seemed to worry “it was maybe going to be like Lord of the Flies .”

But the street outside a child’s home is very different from a playground or a private yard. It’s a space that connects one home to another and is used by all residents, regardless of age or whether they have kids. On the street, Chesterman told me, kids learn how to find the homes of other children within walking distance. They also encounter children outside their own age group and a broader variety of adults. Rose’s daughter, Kaya, who just graduated from university but was 8 at the time of the inaugural play street, told me that mixing with younger kids afforded her opportunities to win the trust of their parents, which she otherwise wouldn’t have had, and that “feeling like the adults trusted us to look after their kids … made us trust those adults as well.” For the adults, Chesterman said, play streets make it “easier to get to know everyone, rather than wait to bump into each other when you’re doing the recycling.”

Read: Live closer to your friends

Surveys conducted by Alison Stenning, a professor of social and economic geography at Newcastle University who started studying the social impact of play streets after helping get one up and running in her own neighborhood, show that many play-street sessions manage to draw out nonparents as well. Sometimes, these connections lead to strong friendships. (Chesterman told me that on her street, plenty of play afternoons led to cozy social evenings with “far too much honey rum.”) But Stenning found that even where deep intimacy didn’t grow, neighbors did gain a more general “sense of knowing and being known”—which also has its value. Years ago, she told me, one rundown house at the end of her street, occupied by an older man and his sister, inspired rumors about who the two were and why their house looked so dilapidated. When the play streets started, the man occasionally emerged to watch the children and chat with the stewards stationed outside his house. There was no major breakthrough or kumbaya moment, but these small interactions helped demystify a slightly odd and somewhat-feared presence on the street.

S ome of this neighborly connection is likely the result of all the work and coordination involved in shutting a road to traffic. But it could also have something to do with the way children’s play alters the feel of the street, giving adults permission to engage in the sort of socializing “we’ve otherwise policed out,” Moran, of NYU, told me. Kids themselves function as a sort of “connective tissue for adults,” Moran said. This is true in the simple sense that when kids meet one another, their parents naturally connect. But children are also “very good at breaking down the learned reserve between adults,” Paul Tranter, an honorary associate professor at UNSW Canberra and the author of Slow Cities: Conquering Our Speed Addiction for Health and Sustainability , told me. Children’s tendency to violate social boundaries—to stare a little too long, ask someone an overly forward question, or wander into someone else’s yard—can nudge adults to reach across those boundaries too. It probably isn’t a coincidence that playgrounds are one of the few places in America where striking up a conversation with a stranger is considered socially acceptable and even expected. By siloing play there, we may have inadvertently undercut children’s capacity to bind us to one another.

In Chesterman’s neighborhood, after about four years, street-play sessions had so radically transformed the culture that the need for formal road closures fell away. “The vibe of the street is that [people] expect to see kids playing,” she said. But she suspects that this is possible largely because her road isn’t a through street, so most of the people driving on it actually live there.

Read: Surrendering our cities to cars would be a historic blunder

Her experience points to the limitations of play streets: For all their community benefits, they aren’t, in many places, sufficient to transform the way kids or adults use the street. On busier roads, play will always rely on a continuing rotation of people available to organize and steward formal closures. The sheer effort involved in coordinating them means that play streets sometimes fizzle out over time. Even on Greville Road, despite Rose and Ferguson’s deep commitment, weekly after-school sessions have dwindled to monthly Saturday afternoons. And in communities where people lack the time and resources necessary for sustaining regular traffic closures, play streets don’t happen at all.

This may be the ultimate finding of Rose and Ferguson’s experiment: Truly restoring a culture of street play will require society to make much more far-reaching, permanent changes to the built environment. It’s a daunting and perhaps impossible-sounding task. But it’s one that would meaningfully improve the well-being of children, of parents, of every person on the street.

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What Are the Different Types and Benefits of Therapy?

• Who Should Go?
• Other Types
• Finding a Therapist

Therapy ( talk therapy  or psychotherapy) takes place when you work with a mental health provider to improve your mental health . There are many benefits of therapy, such as learning specific skills or coping strategies.

This article will discuss the different types of therapy, the benefits, who should go to therapy, and some tips for finding the right therapist for you.

FatCamera / Getty Images

Benefits of Therapy

Mental health therapy is helpful for about 75% of people after six months of therapy. People with mental health conditions who go to therapy often see improvements in their symptoms and quality of life.

From 2018-2019, about 19% of American adults received some form of mental health therapy or counseling, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

That said, the benefits of therapy are not limited to people with diagnosed mental health conditions. Anyone who needs guidance or a listening ear during a stressful life event can benefit from going to therapy.

Therapy can help you:

• Get through a challenging life event or situation.
• Address symptoms like excessive sadness, guilt, or anger
• Treat a mental health condition like  depression
• Navigate relationships with others, such as family, friends, and coworkers

The potential benefits of therapy include improvements in:

• Communication skills
• Happiness and life satisfaction
• Empowerment
• Mental function
• Productivity
• Number of days attending school or work
• Relationships and interactions with other people
• Physical well-being (like lower  blood pressure  or less  chronic pain )
• Skills for coping with daily life challenges and  stress
• Management of behavioral health goals (like quitting smoking or drinking alcohol)

Types of Mental Health Therapy

Mental health therapy can be done in a variety of settings. Individual therapy is for one person and a mental health professional, while couples therapy is for intimate partners and a mental health professional.

The benefits of therapy extend beyond those in treatment. For example, one person can go to individual therapy, but the other people in their life will likely benefit from that person’s improved communication and relationship interactions.

Another example would be a person who misses fewer days at work because working with a therapist has helped them manage their symptoms more effectively. That person’s coworkers will probably benefit from having them at work more consistently.

Therapy vs. Counseling

Therapy and counseling are often confused, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, therapy and counseling are different.

• Therapy focuses on mental health conditions or behavioral, thought, or emotional patterns. It usually takes place over a longer period of time, and a person may work on several goals related to their mental well-being.
• Counseling  is focused on specific issues that a person is dealing with, such as trouble getting along with a partner or family member. It can be more of a short-term opportunity to work through these challenges as they are happening.

Individual Therapy

Individual therapy is talk therapy between one person and a mental health professional. This setup allows the treatment to be customized to a person’s needs. For example, a person who is trying to understand how their childhood influenced who they have grown up to be may benefit from working one-on-one with a therapist.

This type of therapy is sometimes called dyadic therapy or individual psychotherapy. There are various types of individual therapy, including:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which also has a skill training group component
• Psychodynamic therapy
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
• Humanistic therapy
• Mindfulness therapy

Family Therapy

Family therapy  is talk therapy that involves a mental health professional and the whole family, each family member individually, or sometimes groups of family members. For example, if a family is having trouble communicating and often fights, a mental health professional may meet with the entire family at the same time, then with each parent and child individually, and then with one parent and child or two siblings, to identify challenges and barriers to communication. From there, everyone can work on making changes that will help them communicate more effectively.

This type of therapy focuses on family relationships and patterns of behavior within members. It is sometimes called marriage and family therapy or couples and family therapy.

Couples Therapy

Couples therapy  is talk therapy with a mental health professional and two partners in a committed relationship. This type of therapy involves both partners receiving therapy together at the same time from the same mental health professional. For example, a couple who is trying to decide whether they are ready to become parents may benefit from working with a couples therapist.

Each partner can also have sessions with the mental health professional individually. When the couple is married, it’s also called marital therapy.

The challenges addressed with couples therapy are those that affect both partners as well as their relationship. Topics that can be addressed in couples therapy include:

• Communication styles, issues, and disagreements
• Parenting styles and family conflicts
• Sexual difficulties
• Behavioral habits that are causing problems (such as drinking, smoking, gambling, infidelity, or anger management)
• Mental health conditions of one or both partners
• Life transitions (such as unemployment or new employment, moving to a new place, buying a home, having a child, or planning for the future)
• Emotional disconnect within a relationship

Group Therapy

Group therapy is talk therapy with at least two people and at least one mental health professional. The people receiving therapy can interact with each other under the guidance and support of the mental health professional. For example, several people who are all recovering from addiction may benefit from having therapy together.

In group therapy, everyone gets to share in the therapy experience. It is also sometimes called group psychotherapy.

A  support group  is a type of group therapy where the people getting therapy are all facing the same challenge, such as losing a loved one.

Who Should Go to Therapy?

Different types of therapy are available to help people with many kinds of physical or mental health challenges. Talk therapy is for anyone with a mental, emotional, or behavioral challenge. However, people without these challenges may benefit from other types of therapy as well.

Therapy is also for people looking for support with daily life challenges, going through stressful life events such as the death of a loved one, or struggling with relationships.

Therapy can help with:

• Abuse , trauma , or neglect
• Behavior challenges
• Daily life challenges
• Emotional challenges
• Life transitions or changes
• Mental health conditions
• Relationship challenges
• Life events that are challenging

Other Types of Therapy

In addition to talk therapy, many other types of therapy can treat mental health conditions.

Talk therapy can be used alone or with another type of therapy. For example, talk therapy is often used with medications (or drug therapy) to treat mental health conditions.

Other types of therapy include:

• Drug therapy : Drug therapy uses medications or substances (prescription or over-the-counter) to treat, prevent, diagnose, or improve symptoms of physical or mental health challenges. It can be used alone or with other therapies. For example, people with depression might benefit from talk therapy and medications such as antidepressants.
• Animal therapy : Animal therapy is the use of animals to treat health conditions. It can be effective for both physical and mental health conditions, such as high blood pressure and anxiety. This type of therapy can be used along with talk therapy and other medical treatments. It is also called animal-assisted therapy.
• Creative therapy : Creative therapy uses therapist-guided artistic activities to help people communicate and express feelings and emotions. It can be used alone or as part of a care plan with other treatments. Creative therapy has been found to be beneficial for improving physical and mental health symptoms such as  anxiety , depression, pain, and stress. Types of creative therapy include music,  art , dance, or drama therapy.
• Complementary therapy : Complementary therapy is any physical or mental health treatment that is not part of usual Western medical practice but is used with conventional medicine. It is only considered complementary therapy when it’s used with treatments such as medications when needed. When non-mainstream treatments are used  instead  of conventional medical treatments, it is called alternative therapy.

Types of Complementary Therapies

Some examples of complementary therapy include:

• Diet changes
• Body treatments like massage and acupuncture
• Nutritional supplements

How to Find a Therapist

You can ask your primary care and other healthcare providers for referrals to a therapist, check with your insurance provider to see  who is covered by your plan , and use online search tools.

It is important to make sure the therapy provider is properly credentialed and qualified to provide mental health care. You should also feel comfortable with and trust the therapist you choose.

Telehealth Therapy

Technology has opened doors for doing therapy in new ways. With telehealth , you can talk to a therapist on your computer, phone, or tablet instead of having to physically go to their office.

With telehealth therapy, you can see and hear your therapist through a secure video chat from the comfort of your own home. Not every mental health care provider can provide telehealth, but many do. If you have insurance, check to see if they will cover telehealth.

According to the APA, around 38% of Americans said they used telehealth for mental health or healthcare providers in 2020. Over half (59%) of adults said they’d consider using telehealth for mental health.

The benefits of therapy can be mental or emotional, physical, behavioral, or related to relationships and life. Some common benefits of therapy include reduced pain, better sleep, improved communication, less stress, and increased happiness.

There are different options for participating in mental health therapy, including as an individual, couple, family, or group. Therapy options can be used alone or combined with other treatments, depending on your needs and goals.

American Psychological Association. Psychotherapy .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mental health treatment among adults: United States, 2019 .

American Psychological Association. Understanding psychotherapy and how it works .

American Psychiatric Association. What is psychotherapy? .

Ohio State University. Therapy vs. counseling: Is there a difference? Which is right for you? .

American Psychological Association. Individual therapy .

American Psychological Association. Family therapy .

American Psychological Association. Couples therapy .

American Psychological Association. Group therapy .

UCLA Health. Animal-assisted therapy research .

University of Minnesota. Creative therapies .

Martina de Witte, Hod Orkibi, Zarate R, et al. From therapeutic factors to mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies: a scoping review .  Frontiers in Psychology . 2021;12. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678397

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Complementary, alternative, or integrative health: what's in a name?

APA. New nationwide poll shows an increased popularity for telehealth services .

By Ashley Olivine, Ph.D., MPH Dr. Olivine is a Texas-based psychologist with over a decade of experience serving clients in the clinical setting and private practice.