The key to living a long, healthy, and happy life is to eat right, exercise, reduce stress, drink alcohol only in moderation, and DON’T SMOKE.  It sounds cliché, but it is all true.  Even small lifestyle modifications can drastically increase the quantity and quality of your life by preventing many diseases and illnesses.  Such small changes may even improve a condition that you already have.  There is no way around decreasing input and increasing output to lose weight, decreasing fat and cholesterol intake to improve your lipid profile, gathering enough motivation to get off the couch and get moving to combat a sedentary lifestyle, or getting enough rest and learning relaxation techniques to properly handle stress.

Eat Right

Eat a well-balanced diet with five or more servings of fresh fruits and veggies each day.  Start every day with a healthy breakfast (low-fat and high fiber).  Try to consume 25-30 grams of fiber every day.  Eat more “good” fat (avocados, nuts, fish oils, monounsaturated fats like olive, canola, peanut, and safflower oil) and less “bad” fat (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, lard, Crisco, butter, margarine, palm and coconut oils, fried foods, marbleized red meat, and processed meat).  Drink lots of water!

Exercise

Do some form of physical activity for 20 minutes or more, at least three times each week.  Exercise is important to maintain a healthy weight, increase energy levels, and decrease stress.  It helps prevent diabetes, heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and osteoporosis.  The chemicals released in the brain during exercise have a positive affect on mood and combat some forms of depression.

Reduce Stress

Get a good nights sleep.  Participate in activities that relieve stress like meditation, Yoga, reading, exercise (yet another reason to get moving!), or whatever works.

Drink only in Moderation

Studies show that a small amount of alcohol, specifically wine, may have “soft” health benefits, however, excessive alcohol use is associated with certain cancers, ulcers, liver disease, depression, and various psycho-social problems.

DON'T SMOKE!