Consuming the optimal diet, being physically active, getting rejuvenating rest, being well hydrated, not smoking and avoiding toxic substances will help you live the best life, full of vigour and vitality.

The Facts:

Diets high in whole-plant foods 1 can improve your physical wellbeing (Micha et al. 2015), and your mental wellbeing (Beezhold & Johnson 2012).

• In 2000, 2.7 million deaths and 26.7 million disability adjusted life years were attributed to low fruit and vegetable consumption globally (Hall et al. 2009).
• In 2010, 99.6% of the world’s adults did not consumed sufficient fruit and vegetables; 90% did not consumed sufficient nuts and seeds; 92.4% did not consume sufficient wholegrains (Micha et al. 2015) and 80% of the world’s adults consumed too much red meat and 61.5% consumed too much processed meat (Micha et al. 2015)

Exercise can improve your life, from helping you to control your weight to boosting your mood.

• 27.5% of the world’s adults don’t do enough physical activity (Guthold et al. 2019)
• Insufficient sleep is affecting productivity, mood, mental health, energy levels, problems with memory, obesity and other physical health problems (NSF 2018).
• 67% of adults globally recognized that sleep is important for health, yet only 46% prioritise getting enough, 29% reported they feel guilty for not maintaining good sleep habits, and 58% said worry stopped them getting a good night’s sleep (Phillips 2018).

Insufficient sleep is affecting productivity, mood, mental health, energy levels, problems with memory, obesity and other physical health problems (NSF 2018).

• 67% of adults globally recognised that sleep is important for health, yet only 46% prioritise getting enough, 29% reported they feel guilty for not maintaining good sleep habits, and 58% said worry stopped them getting a good night’s sleep (Phillips 2018).

Over 200 health conditions are linked to harmful alcohol use, ranging from liver diseases, road injuries and violence, to cancers, cardiovascular diseases, suicides, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

• In 2016, the harmful use of alcohol resulted in 3 million deaths globally (5.3% of all deaths) and 132.6 million disability-adjusted life years (5.1% of all DALYs) (WHO 2018).

Tobacco use (smoking and smokeless) is responsible for the deaths of about six million people globally each year, including 600,000 from secondhand smoke (WHO 2015).

• Even 1-4 cigarettes per week is harmful to health (Bjartveit & Tverdal 2005) and e-cigarettes have been linked to stroke and myocardial infarction (Brauser 2019).