Studies confirm: These 5 habits are enough to live a healthy life

Trends, new diets & Co.? Simple habits are the secret to a healthy everyday life and a long life.

The best resolutions and habits are those that can be maintained in the long term. Restrictive or time-consuming diets, hours of exercise, and numerous relaxation techniques may certainly be beneficial, but are often difficult to sustain and therefore not very helpful when it comes to improving well-being in the long run. What we need in our modern daily lives are simple yet effective routines, such as the daily glass of LaVita, that can be maintained in the long term and still make a big difference. These five additional routines definitely fall into this category and are worth starting now.

These 5 habits differentiate super-agers from the average.

1. 10 servings of vegetables per day

Eating plant-based foods is beneficial and keeps you young. The research is clear: a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, herbs, legumes, and the like will have the greatest impact on overall well-being and can even slow down the aging of our cells. So, if you want to adopt a habit, integrating ten plant-based foods a day would certainly be one of the most effective choices.

The positive effect of plant-based foods on our intestines, our cells, and our psyche is mainly based on their nutrient density. They provide a lot of micronutrients, fiber, and secondary plant compounds that have been proven to promote well-being. The more colorful you eat, the more diverse the nutrients you absorb.

Strive to eat ten different plant-based foods every day. Here are some optimal recommendations to get you started. However, every serving of plant-based food already helps improve health:

• 2x colorful vegetables

• 2x green vegetables

• 2x fruits

• 1x nuts/seeds/grains

• 1x whole grain/pseudo cereals (bread, pasta, oatmeal, quinoa, buckwheat, bulgur)

• 1x legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas)

• 1x herbs

2. 5 glasses of water

Without fluid, nothing happens in our body. Especially our brain and nervous system have a very high water content of 85 and 98 percent, respectively, which shows how important it is for their function. A fluid loss of just 2 percent can lead to reduced physical and mental performance, headaches, and fatigue. And more and more long-term studies have shown that a low water intake over years can promote the development of migraines, circulatory and digestive problems, depression, and even degenerative diseases.

A simple trick to improve your health is to drink at least five glasses of water a day. You can cover the remaining fluid needs with water or with enjoyable drinks such as tea, coffee, diluted fruit juices, etc., if you wish. It is recommended to consume 30 ml per kilogram of body weight daily.

3. 10-hour eating window

A simple way to improve well-being is to eat within a specific window of time. Meal breaks are especially good for digestion, and longer fasting periods between the last meal of one day and the first meal of the next day are important for metabolism and cell health. Therefore, fasting cures, intermittent fasting, and other forms of restricted food intake or temporary complete fasting are particularly popular. However, it doesn't have to be 16 hours of intermittent fasting or days of complete fasting. Eating daily within a window of about ten hours (e.g. from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.) can already help stimulate important regeneration processes in the body. Skipping late-night snacks could also be a first step.

4. 50 minutes of exercise

In addition to nutrition, exercise is our most important fountain of youth, which also demonstrably promotes our energy level, immune system, metabolism, and mental health by stimulating the formation of new brain cells through growth factors. But it's not just sports that count, everyday movement and walks are also an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Being active for 50 minutes a day is a good guideline to reap the greatest benefits with little effort. Whether it's a digestion walk, shopping stroll, walking the dog, or sports: Get your daily exercise - preferably in small increments. Because the more often we promote metabolism and muscles, the better.

5. Social Interactions & Hobbies

Spending time with loved ones and engaging in favorite activities helps to cope with stress better and promote mental health, according to the results of the world's longest happiness study. "Good relationships make us happier and healthier," says Robert J. Waldinger, a psychology professor at Harvard Medical School and head of the longest study on happiness research. Those with many good social connections are not only happier and healthier, but also live longer than people with fewer or poorer relationships. The experience of loneliness has a negative impact on health and lifespan.

It is worth maintaining relationships and finding like-minded people based on your own interests. Give your loved ones more undivided attention again, call family members, reactivate old friendships, and revive relationships by trying something new together. You will see that this brings you more happiness than any other form of entertainment.

Why small changes often make the biggest difference

Do these suggestions seem simple to you, maybe even too banal? It is so easy and often we underestimate the impact of small routines. Scientists refer to these as "marginal habits" (also known as "Mini Habits" or "Tiny Habits"): Even a small but regular change in everyday life can have enormous long-term health effects. What matters is not perfection, but consistency. For example, it is often enough to drink an additional glass of water a day, instead of going from zero to ten.

Habits are simple in themselves, but implementing them in everyday life is not always easy. Our tip: Choose one or two habits and gradually incorporate them into your daily routine. You will quickly feel the first changes. After a few months, once the initial habits have become established in your daily life, you can consider further changes.

Conclusion:

Living healthily is not a matter of strict diets, hours of exercise, or complicated routines. It is the small, repeatable habits that have the greatest effects over the years. So, anyone who starts with a single change - be it a colorful vegetable dish, a short walk, or a phone call with a friend - is already taking the first step towards a healthier, happier life.