keep fit and healthy essay

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Health and Fitness Essay

The term "health" refers to a condition of complete well-being, not just physically but also mentally and socially. Fitness and good health are interrelated. In order to keep our health in check, we must focus on staying fit. Here are a few sample essays on ‘health and fitness’.

100 Words Essay on Health and Fitness

Fitness and health are intertwined, and neither can be attained without consideration for the other. In order to work properly and live productively, one must maintain good health.

Fitness is essential because it improves our ability to work without difficulty and increases our resistance to germs that cause illness. Maintaining our fitness not only improves our ability to work but also contributes to our happiness and contentment. Diet has a significant impact on our health . We need to consume a balanced diet and adequate amounts of water. By maintaining good health, we can better withstand illnesses like the common cold, viral fever, and other similar conditions. Running, dancing, and jogging are all effective forms of exercise.

It's crucial to have a supportive environment that fosters our development into fully realised adults. So, we should never neglect our health and make every effort to stay fit.

200 Words Essay on Health and Fitness

The majority of regular people never comprehend the significance of maintaining fitness and good health. They frequently underestimate the value of good health because they are unaware of its benefits. We all understand that good health is wealth, but few people actually live this out. We can perform our daily tasks more easily when we are healthy and fit. A disease-free body is only one aspect of health; mental calmness is another.

A person cannot have an unhealthy body if they have an unhealthy mind. Being in good physical and mental health enables us to succeed in life and fully enjoy it. We feel more physically and mentally strong and confident when our bodies and minds are both in good health. A strong physical condition aids us in difficult times, whereas a weak physical condition makes us more frail and susceptible to illness.

We must be knowledgeable about every aspect of maintaining our physical and mental health. Even though they are very conscious of how to keep their bodies neat, clean, and healthy, some people harbour mental tensions that prevent them from ever becoming physically fit. The healthy state of the body gradually deteriorates and becomes weak due to mental stress. People who take care of their health and fitness regularly exercise and eat wholesome foods at the appropriate times. They are very concerned about their health and refrain from being lazy, consuming unhealthy foods, and living sedentary lifestyles.

500 Words Essay on Health and Fitness

If we want to live happy lives, we must take care of our health and fitness. There are many benefits to keeping fit. We must first comprehend the causes of the need for fitness before focusing on how to be fit. In general, we now eat out more frequently because of how our way of life has changed. Although home-cooked meals are healthier, because of the places we must travel to for work, we cannot always rely on them.

We must take good care of ourselves by engaging in regular exercise to make up for our lack of a healthy diet. However, exercising does not require us to forgo our favourite foods or spend the entirety of the day in the gym. Most people choose the incorrect diet when trying to lose weight and stay in shape. Diets, such as those that involve eating cabbage soup or onions, are harmful and do more harm than good. People frequently skip meals because they believe that eating less will aid in weight loss.

But experts have emphasised the significance of eating properly time and time again. Skipping meals causes a slow metabolism, which causes additional weight gain. Insufficient calorie intake causes our bodies to start storing any extra calories as fat. Food is not converted into energy as a result, and we become lethargic and frail. Our ability to function properly depends on when we eat.

Dietitians advise us to spread out our food consumption into smaller meals. This aids in the efficient digestion and absorption of food. In addition to plenty of water, we should consume enough green, leafy vegetables. Water controls internal bodily functions and promotes smooth operation. To maintain your fitness, start by eating a balanced diet. All of the essential nutrients—carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, roughage, and water—should be included in our diet.

A balanced diet keeps us healthy and fortifies our immunity, which wards off disease. Our physical and mental well-being must both be maintained. Because of our hectic schedules, many people do not find the time to exercise. We must therefore devise alternative application techniques. Some ways to stay in shape include walking a certain distance, taking the stairs rather than the elevator, and following a regular sleep schedule. For a healthy and successful life, sleep is essential. Every day, an average of eight hours of sleep is required for every person.

Contrary to popular belief, staying fit also means making the most of our potential. Maintaining emotional fitness is just as important as maintaining physical fitness. Indicators of mental health include lower stress levels and appropriate emotional venting. People who are unable to communicate their feelings experience mental instability and suppressed depression. A breakdown or a panic attack, both of which are harmful to our health, may result from these circumstances.

Therefore, maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires fitness. A healthy individual will be less prone to illness and perform tasks more effectively. This is why it's important to give our health top priority.

Incorporating Fitness and Health

I practise the following to incorporate the idea of health and fitness into my life:

I work out for an hour each day.

I try to maintain a healthy diet.

I try to stay away from foods that are high in sugar and fat.

I go for 20 to 30 minutes of daily walking.

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Essay on Health and Fitness

List of essays on health and fitness, essay on health and fitness – short essay for children (essay 1 – 200 words), essay on health and fitness – how to be healthy and fit (essay 2 – 250 words), essay on health and fitness (essay 3 – 300 words), essay on health and fitness – for school students (class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10) (essay 4 – 400 words), essay on health and fitness (essay 5 – 500 words), essay on health and fitness – for college students (essay 6 – 600 words), essay on health and fitness – how to maintain a good health and fitness (essay 7 – 750 words), essay on health and fitness – long essay for university students (essay 8 – 1000 words).

Health and fitness are two concepts that go hand in hand. Our health is the totality of our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Fitness, on the other hand, is a state of control over our body. Thus, we could be physical, mentally and emotionally fit. Consequently, health and fitness can be regarded as a way to attaining control over our body.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for children, school students (Class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 Standard) and college students.

Introduction:

Health and fitness are a very important aspect of life that includes having both physically and mentally fit body. With the help of a balanced diet and regular exercise a person can improve his or her health and fitness.

Relationship between Health and Fitness:

A good health means that a person is physically and mentally strong and fitness refers to the ability of the person to encounter the demands of the environment. The person possessing good health and fitness can enjoy his/her life completely.

How to Maintain Health and Fitness:

The following are the ways that can help in maintaining health and fitness:

1. Doing the daily exercise for at least 30 minutes.

2. Eating balanced and healthy food in limited quantity and at the right time.

3. Adequate sleeping and waking up early in the morning.

Benefits of Health and Fitness:

Below are the benefits of health and fitness for a person:

1. Reduces the risk of diseases like diabetes, obesity, etc.

2. Helps in healing the injuries quickly.

3. Increases the lifespan of the person.

4. Decreases stress and anxiety.

Conclusion:

With daily exercise and proper diet, a person can achieve good health and fitness. It not only makes the person happy but also makes him/her free of stress and worries.

Health and fitness is the real wealth a person should acquire to lead a peaceful and harmonious life. A person without both, may face many difficulties and find their real money spend on their health issues rapidly.

How to be Healthy and Fit?

Health and fitness are not only about physical appearance or muscle, but it is also about being internally, mentally and emotionally fit that will largely influence your day to day life. In earlier days people like our grandparents have kept good care of their health and fitness through healthy food and by leading a better lifestyle.

The recent generation was more ignorant of their health and fitness, but the situation has changed a lot recently. Better awareness about the importance of health and fitness has made everyone seriously working on this problem and find ways to stay healthier.

The basic step towards fitness is by keeping yourself calm and relaxed. This will help you in being both mentally and bodily fit to some extent. Exercises and other forms of workouts like dancing, yoga, etc., are the best ways to keep yourself fit and these practices will also, in turn, help you to be calm and composed.

Health and fitness play in your life a major role in keeping you and the people around you happy as well as healthy. Avoid those bad habits that will not only ruin your body and mind but also influence badly on the others around you, both mentally and physically. Health and fitness can be maintained through regular workouts, healthier food, and other healthier habits.

People often take the terms health and fitness as one and they do not think too much about the difference that is present in them. The thing is they can be treated as one but in some situations, they can exclude each other. Health and fitness represent the two most desirable features of every person’s life. The great thing about this fact is that you can create such a life for yourself.

The Difference:

Health and fitness represent the two most important aspects of our lives and this is especially true when you are a student and you need to advance through your studies and early career. Health is usually considered as the total physical wellbeing of the organism and its ability to fight off infections and disease. Fitness represents the bodies physical strength and overall ability to sustain physical exertion.

The Importance:

When we consider how important health and fitness are for the effectiveness of our endeavors it becomes clear why so many people have an obsession with them. This is why I consider that it is important for every person to have a personal health and fitness routine that they can implement in their daily lives. Regardless of what we do in life such a routine can do us good and create habits that we can practice to sustain an optimal level of productivity.

The only thing one should remember is that too much fitness can cause problems for your health, so balance is key. Otherwise having a health and fitness routine can only be good for you and all the endeavors you want to make in your career or personal life. Today’s world is all about health and fitness so every person has all the necessary tools they could ever need to make the best combination of diet and exercise for themselves.

Health and fitness are one of the most important aspect of life. Without these, the life will be very unhappy and dreadful. An unhealthy person will not be able to enjoy their life to full extent. We are all so busy in our lives that we start neglecting our health. This starts to affect our lives negatively and can lead to some severe problems.

What is meant by health and fitness?

Health of a person is defined as state of being free from any illness and injury. Along with the physical condition, it also includes the mental and social well-being of the person. Fitness is the condition of being physically fit and healthy so that the person is able to tackle the demands of the surrounding environment.

Importance of Health and Fitness:

For a successful, happy and peaceful life, health and fitness are very important. If a person is healthy and fit, he/she can live the life to its fullest extent. Health and fitness just does not mean physically but also mentally and healthy fit. There are many benefits of maintaining health and fitness of the body, like it lowers the risk of diseases like heart attack, high BP, obesity, and stroke; increases longevity of life, reduces stress, provides better quality of life and many others.

How to maintain health and fitness?

There are many ways to maintain your health and fitness. Certain activities should be followed daily like regular physical exercise. It can be a simple activity as climbing stairs instead of taking lift or elevator, walking more rather than taking car to go to different places. It is important to eat proper and clean food at the right time. The food should also be rich in nutrition such as high in fibre, low in fat, high protein content and have more vitamins. Proper sleeping pattern is also important to maintain health and fitness.

For any of these activities, it is important to be self-motivated. The fitness activities should be a part of your daily routine. All this will not only maintain your health and fitness but also improve your lifestyle.

It is important to maintain health and fitness of not just our physical self but our mental self as well, to have a happy and fulfilled life. The maintenance of these should be taught to children at a young age so that they are used to doing certain activities and are motivated to continue doing them as they grow up.

Obesity, depressions, diabetes are some of the adverse effects of neglecting our physical or mental health and fitness. These conditions can lead to serious health challenges and in some extreme cases death. To reduce the risk of these we must keep fit at all times. We shall now examine the physical and mental dynamics of keeping fit mentally and physically.

Physical Health and Fitness:

Physical health and fitness refer to all form of positive steps we take to keep our body in good shape. Hence, it would include physical exercise and maintaining a healthy diet. It also involves constant medical checks to eliminate the risk of certain ailments.

The importance of constant exercise to our physical health and fitness cannot be overemphasized. Physical exercises ensure that our metabolic system is in great shape. Our metabolic system determines how much fat is stored in our body and the rate at which our body processes fat. Consequently, when we engage in physical exercise we store less fat in our body which is good for our overall health.

Another major factor that affects our physical health and fitness is eating healthy. While some food is great for our health, others can lead to damaging effects. Also, taking meals in the right property is a big part of keeping fit. Finally, though there might be conflicting information about what a good diet is, it is important to always eat in moderation.

Some of the benefits of physical health and fitness are as follows:

1. It helps you keep your cholesterol low.

2. It reduces blood pressure.

3. It increases the heart function and reduces the risk of heart-related conditions.

4. It improves our immune system such that we fall sick less often.

5. Increase in strength of muscles and bones.

Mental and Psychological Health and Fitness:

A lot of attention is usually given to physical health and fitness while neglecting our mental wellbeing. However, keeping our mind the same and our health sane is just as important as treating our body the same. Mental strain can affect our productivity and mood. It could also lead to serious health challenges such as depression and other mental illness.

To attain mental health and fitness we must keep our brain engaged with positive activities.

Some of these activities are as follows:

1. Reading intellectual materials that stimulate brain function.

2. Engaging in constant meditation to keep our mind focused.

3. Getting enough sleep on a daily basis.

4. Engaging less in tasks that can cause mental strain.

Health and fitness encompass every area of our life including the way we treat our environment. Consequently, we must always keep fit to have a fulfilling life, therefore, there is a saying – health is wealth.

Health and fitness are two separate words that are related because they influence each other. Health is defined as the state of wellbeing in which a person is free from illness and injury. Fitness is the state of being healthy and physically fit. Health is influenced by fitness and fitness is influenced by health. The trends in health and fitness are continuous and people strive to achieve both in their lives. Health and fitness continues to undergo transformation in the changing times especially with the influence of technology. It is important to be healthy and fit because of the benefits enjoyed.

How to be Healthy and Fit :

Health and fitness is a process that requires proper understanding. Health and fitness is something that someone has to have a purpose and stick to it in order to be successful at it. It is a challenge to remain health and fit because of the commitment it requires and the work that has to be done. Accepting the challenge is the first step into health and fitness. It is also important to find a partner with whom you can exercise with. It is something you can do with your spouse or a colleague at work just for the motivation. A workout schedule has to be formulated together with a dietary schedule.

Healthy foods should be a balanced diet but with less amounts of calories. However, calories should not be undertaken because exercise requires burning of calories for energy. Staying healthy and fit means that you have to eat well and exercise well and a schedule is important because it keeps you on track. It is also important to set goals like losing a certain amount of weight so that the goal will motivate you in remaining healthy and fit.

Health and fitness is of great significance in the lives of individuals. It helps in preventing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. Physical fitness involves the burning of unnecessary fat in our bodies which helps to reduce the cholesterol in our blood. Having less cholesterol in the body reduces the chances of developing high blood pressure. Also, when exercising, we use up the calories in our bodies and therefore blood glucose is maintained at normal levels and thus reduces the chances of developing diabetes.

It is also important to remain healthy and fit in order to maintain normal body weight. The food we eat and activities we do influence our body weight. Being inactive and consuming unhealthy foods such as fast food could result in serious weight issues like obesity. Obesity is having a body mass index that is greater than 30. It has been associated with many chronic illnesses such as heart diseases and diabetes. In order to remain within normal body weight, health and fitness has to be prioritized.

Safety and self-defense is influenced by health and fitness. Being physically fit means that you are able to run and you are strong enough to defend yourself. Knowing how to fight is not an aspect of health and fitness. The ability to run fast is considered safe because you can always escape danger. Being unfit is disadvantageous in situations of danger because you will experience difficulty.

Health and fitness is definitely important in the lives of individuals. Schools emphasize on health and fitness because by training young children on health and fitness, it positively influences their lives. Health and fitness does not necessarily mean hitting the gym every now and then but it is about the simple exercises and the food we eat.

Health and fitness when properly maintained goes a long way in helping a person remain in a general state of well-being and health. Health and fitness can provide us with the ability to be able to perform activities that are physical without being restless or tired. If we want to maintain a very good health and fitness, we have to engage in physical exercise regularly and eat balanced diets. It is very important that we maintain our health and fitness so that we can stay healthy, fit, without fear of different diseases and also get all of the numerous benefits that come along with a healthy living.

A person that has good and proper health and fitness gets to live and enjoy his/her very well to the possible best. It is very necessary that every one of us in life lives a life of mental and physical fitness so that we can enjoy a life that is happy and healthy.

When we are fit and healthy, the probability of us falling ill and experiencing various medical conditions drops. When we talk about medical fitness, a lot of people assume it is just physical fitness but it is a lot more than that, overall fitness means we have to be fit both mentally and physically. We can only achieve a state of good mental fitness if we become physically fit.

If we want to remain very fit and healthy, the best way we can do that is through relieving our mind of all forms of stress through eating a balanced diet and regular exercise. If we maintain a weight that is ideal, we tend to be less prone to a lot of health conditions including cardiac problems. When we remain active physically, our mind is always relaxed. Fit and healthy people tend to face and overcome all the various problems life brings their way easily without suffering.

How one can maintain a Good Health and Fitness:

Today, there a lot of ways through which we can stay fit and healthy if we decide to abide by them.

Some of them include:

1. We should do our best to involve ourselves regularly in physical exercises every day by taking a little time out of our very hectic schedule. If we decide to take about 30 minutes or 60 minutes every day to exercise about five to six times in a week. We should be able to get enough exercise that would be ideal for us to stay fit.

2. Eating clean and healthy food in the proper quantity and in the appropriate time is quite important if we want to stay fit and healthy. The best way to attain good health is by a healthy nutrition that contains low fat, high fibre, very rich sources of minerals and vitamins, and high protein.

3. If we want to stay healthy and fit, we have to observe a very good sleep habit and pattern. It is very important that we keep a very high level of discipline in all of our routine daily and also try to focus on getting and maintain a sleeping pattern that commences and stops at the proper time. It is advised that we get about eight hours of sleep every night as this can help in boosting the immune system. Getting good hours of sleep can also go a long way in helping us prevent cardiovascular diseases and also goes a long way in improving the mood. We do not get enough sleep, we are very likely to suffer from a variety of mental disorders and sleep disorders.

Importance of Good Health and Fitness:

1. Reduces stress, anxiety level and depression.

2. It helps in improving the quality of one’s life.

3. It goes a long way in getting to live a little longer.

4. It helps in the healing of injuries quickly.

5. It can also help us increase our level of confidence.

6. It goes a long way to help us feel a lot better both mentally and physically.

7. It helps us in decreasing the risk of getting diseases like breast cancer, stroke, obesity, heart diseases and diabetes.

Routine exercise and physical activities on a regular basis is quite necessary for everybody irrespective of their ages but most especially the younger generation (children). Health and fitness can help us accomplish a lot of happiness in this life. Health and fitness can also go a long way in helping us live a live that is free of disease and stress.

Health and fitness help a person live a good and healthy life. Often due to various pressures at personal and professional level, we tend to ignore our health. This makes our body suffer and we catch up with lifestyle and other diseases. It is the fitness level of our body which helps us fight these diseases. If we are fit we are able to overcome these diseases or else we end up being victims of a modern lifestyle.

Definition and Relation:

Health and fitness are interrelated to each other. We need to be fit to have a healthy body. Similarly, if we are healthy we shall naturally be attracted towards maintaining the fitness of our body. Health is the state of our body at a given time. We may not have any disease but still, have a weak body which is ready to be targeted by a number of bacteria and viruses.

For instance, we may have a tendency to catch a cold easily. This does not definitely mean that we are not healthy. It means that our fitness levels are not in accordance with our age and the climatic conditions we live in. it all depends on our health which in turn is dependent on our fitness levels. So health and fitness move together.

Also, the fitness level is the state of our body based on our age, climatic conditions we live in, our lifestyle and our working conditions. One can see people having great fitness levels even in older age. For example, every morning in different parks you can two types of old people. One who is just meditating and sitting at one quietly enjoying the fresh air while the others who are jogging or walking briskly on tracks. They can even compete with the young people on the track. These are two types of fitness levels at the same age. It is all about how to fit we keep ourselves.

Moreover, you can see young people who are not able to climb stairs and tend to get tired easily. It is all because of their low levels of fitness that they are not able to keep good health. They are less fit as compared to other people of their age who keep themselves fit. The people who keep themselves fit keep their body healthy. So fitness levels decide the quality of our health.

How to maintain Health and Fitness:

It is important for everyone to devote some time to health and fitness. There are some activities which everyone should do in their daily lives. For instance, we must exercise daily irrespective of our age and working style. There are different levels of exercises for different age groups and we must do them as per our own health and age. Exercise keeps our healthy and fit. It keeps our body moving. Our muscles tend to contract if we do not make good use of them. Regular exercise stops them from contracting and improves our energy levels as well. One must devote at least some of the day for exercises.

Similarly, walking for some time in a day is a must for all. In fact, walking is considered the best exercise and is suited to all ages and fitness levels. It is important for maintaining health and fitness.

Additionally apart from walking and exercises, it is also important to relax our body. Therefore we should have at least six to eight hours of sleep every day. It is necessary to maintain proper levels of health and fitness. Moreover, it also helps in improving our immune system and prevents us from a number of diseases as well. Also, it helps in keeping us calm and relaxes our mind. This, in turn, reduces our stress and gives us new goals of health and fitness.

Importance of Food in Health and Fitness:

Food plays a vital role in maintaining health and fitness of our body. Our body absorbs nutrients from the food we eat. So we do not eat proper food our body does not get the required nutrients. This lowers the levels of health and fitness of our body and we are prone to a number of diseases. Therefore health experts usually say that we become what we eat.

So, in order to remain healthy and fit we must have a proper diet which contains the required amount of carbohydrates, fats, vitamin, proteins and minerals. We should eat vegetables and fruits as they provide us with the required vitamins and minerals. Milk provides us calcium which is essential for our bones. Additionally, we must stay away from junk food. Junk food contains excess amounts of carbohydrates and fats which get accumulated in our body and make us fat. The excess weight of our body makes us lazy and we catch up diseases more easily.

We must respect the body God has given us and take care of it in a good manner. We must neglect ourselves for the sake of work and other activities in our life. It is important to understand that we can perform our duties in life properly only we pay attention to the health and fitness levels of our body. Otherwise, although we may want to do something but our body may not support us. Hence we may not able to achieve our goals in life.

It is not necessary to be an athlete to have a good body. Every person in the world needs to have a healthy and fit body so as to stay away from disease and have a long and healthy life. Moreover, we must remember our importance for our families and society. If we suffer from diseases, our family members also get troubled. It affects their health and fitness as well.

The only way to have a healthy body is to ensure the proper fitness levels of our body. That is why even in schools so much of importance is given to the health and fitness levels of students. If we keep our body fit, we can enjoy life in a better manner.

Fitness , Health

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Healthy Lifestyle Essay

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.

Is writing an essay hard?

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.

How to download the Essay on Healthy Lifestyle from the Vedantu website?

The Essay on Healthy Lifestyle, which is accurate and well-structured, is available for download on the Vedantu website. The Essay is accessible in PDF format on Vedantu's official website and may be downloaded for free. Students should download the Essay on Healthy Lifestyle from the Vedantu website to obtain a sense of the word limit, sentence structure, and fundamental grasp of what makes a successful essay. Vedantu essay is brief and appropriate for youngsters in school. It is written in basic English, which is ideal for kids who have a restricted vocabulary. Following the Vedantu essay ensures that students are adequately prepared for any essay subject and that they will receive high grades. Click here to read the essay about a healthy lifestyle.

Who prepares the Essay for Vedantu?

The Essay on Healthy Lifestyle designed for the Vedantu is created by a group of experts and experienced teachers. The panel of experts has created the essay after analyzing important essay topics that have been repeatedly asked in various examinations. The Essays that are provided by Vedantu are not only well-structured but also accurate and concise. They are aptly suited for young students with limited vocabulary. For best results, the students are advised to go through multiple essays and practice the topics on their own to inculcate the habits of time management and speed.

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.

Fitness and Its Importance for Health Essay

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Over the past decades, there has been a steady increase in the workload of employees. In the multi-tasking world of the 21st century, Every person is expected to be some sort of super being who can manage to function on very little to no sleep in order to perform in the global community. Somehow, we have been able to find a way to function in such a manner; combining our work, social, home life, and other duties within a 24-hour time frame. This is well and good for most people and I applaud the people who can do this. However, such accomplishments come at a great price to most people. The price that these people pay? In exchange for using the human body in a manner that we would use say a gym treadmill, our physical health and fitness status suffers a tremendous blow. The human body is like a car that we use every day. It requires daily maintenance and checkups in order to continue serving the purpose that we use it for. By neglecting to keep ourselves physically fit and healthy, we neglect our body maintenance and pay the price once we get sick.

As mentioned above, the world now relies on 24 hours of activities in order to keep our lives running. This leads to a stressful condition for the mind and body. Our physical and mental health is directly affected by the stress that exists in our daily lives. Having said that, it is important to note that such constant pressure on the body and mind will create a negative impact on our bodies health-wise. This is why medical professionals suggest daily exercise routines in order to help us find a balance of stress and release in our daily lives.

Having acknowledged this problem, we now see an influx of personal fitness-based stress management techniques that transitions the negative effect of stress in our lives into a positive one. This positive effect is achieved by encouraging the body to produce and release endorphins, adrenaline, and dopamine during the exercise process. It has been scientifically proven that these “sense of well-being” chemicals within the body are released during significant amounts of exercise periods. In a way, these chemicals help the mind to relax. Of course, everyone knows that a relaxed mind is a stress-free mind and leads to more effective performance in the workplace.

But these chemical reactions do not reach all the way into the physical aspect of our body, the muscles. Therefore, physical exercise, specifically cardiovascular regimens encourages our muscles to relax and release tension. There are also times when people who have irregular sleeping patterns report that exercising corrects their sleeping problems. Therefore, we can say and believe that by catering to the needs of one’s health and fitness, we can see and feel a change occurring within ourselves both physically and mentally.

Further evidence of the positive effects of physical conditioning has also shown that 30-45 minutes of aerobic exercise on a daily basis provides the most effective physical and mental benefits for the exerciser. On average, people who exercise as little as 3 times a week regularly tend to live about 2 years more than those who do not exercise at all in their daily lives. There are also documented reports that by simply keeping up a regular aerobic exercise routine, most illnesses such as high blood pressure and cholesterol problems can be placed under control without the need for maintenance medication.

Most people, myself included, agree that there seems to be an integrated effect between exercise, psychological, physical, and an overall sense of well-being. Therefore, we can conclude and be persuaded to believe that exercising has a long-term positive effect on our lives. People who exercise have been proven to live longer, more productive lives.

Fitness is the best weapon we have in our quest to fight aging and premature death. I have to point out that one does not necessarily have to do a formal exercise regimen in order to keep fit and healthy. Little changes in our daily physical activity can also encourage the same fitness effects that exercising does. Simply washing the car is equivalent to a heavy 30-minute cardiovascular workout that will benefit our heart and brain by forcing our body to pump and produce more oxygen for various body parts that work hard during the activity.

At the end of it all, there are simply no negative effects on our body once we take care of our health and fitness. Nobody has ever died from not exercising, but there have been deaths due to inactivity and obesity, and nobody wants to become a death statistic under that heading. So go ahead, get off your cushy seat, and strap on the sneakers. It’s time to exercise.

“ Even Light Exercise Aids Health “. BBC News. 2007. Web.
Hatfield, Mark. Strength Training For Muscle Development. London: PRC Publishing / Greenwich Editions, 2005.
Landers, Daniel M. “ The Influence Of Exercise On Mental Health “. The PCPFS Research Digest. Series 2 No. 12. (N.A.) 20 pars. 2008. Web.
Importance of Physical Fitness
Caffeine: Does Acute Consumption Affect Aerobic Performance?
Fitness and Health Workforce Programs
Exercise Intensity Influence on Human Parameters
High-Intensity Interval Training Program for Youth
The Benefits of Fitness for Physical and Mental Health
The Positive Effects of Physical Fitness
Cardiovascular Program Design and Demonstration
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Bibliography

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Importance of Exercise Essay

500 words essay on exercise essay.

Exercise is basically any physical activity that we perform on a repetitive basis for relaxing our body and taking away all the mental stress. It is important to do regular exercise. When you do this on a daily basis, you become fit both physically and mentally. Moreover, not exercising daily can make a person susceptible to different diseases. Thus, just like eating food daily, we must also exercise daily. The importance of exercise essay will throw more light on it.

Importance of Exercise

Exercising is most essential for proper health and fitness. Moreover, it is essential for every sphere of life. Especially today’s youth need to exercise more than ever. It is because the junk food they consume every day can hamper their quality of life.

If you are not healthy, you cannot lead a happy life and won’t be able to contribute to the expansion of society. Thus, one needs to exercise to beat all these problems. But, it is not just about the youth but also about every member of the society.

These days, physical activities take places in colleges more than often. The professionals are called to the campus for organizing physical exercises. Thus, it is a great opportunity for everyone who wishes to do it.

Just like exercise is important for college kids, it is also essential for office workers. The desk job requires the person to sit at the desk for long hours without breaks. This gives rise to a very unhealthy lifestyle.

They get a limited amount of exercise as they just sit all day then come back home and sleep. Therefore, it is essential to exercise to adopt a healthy lifestyle that can also prevent any damaging diseases .

Benefits of Exercise

Exercise has a lot of benefits in today’s world. First of all, it helps in maintaining your weight. Moreover, it also helps you reduce weight if you are overweight. It is because you burn calories when you exercise.

Further, it helps in developing your muscles. Thus, the rate of your body will increases which helps to burn calories. Moreover, it also helps in improving the oxygen level and blood flow of the body.

When you exercise daily, your brain cells will release frequently. This helps in producing cells in the hippocampus. Moreover, it is the part of the brain which helps to learn and control memory.

The concentration level in your body will improve which will ultimately lower the danger of disease like Alzheimer’s. In addition, you can also reduce the strain on your heart through exercise. Finally, it controls the blood sugar levels of your body so it helps to prevent or delay diabetes.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Importance of Exercise Essay

In order to live life healthily, it is essential to exercise for mental and physical development. Thus, exercise is important for the overall growth of a person. It is essential to maintain a balance between work, rest and activities. So, make sure to exercise daily.

FAQ of Importance of Exercise Essay

Question 1: What is the importance of exercise?

Answer 1: Exercise helps people lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases. When you exercise daily, you lower the risk of developing some diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and more. It also helps to keep your body at a healthy weight.

Question 2: Why is exercising important for students?

Answer 2: Exercising is important for students because it helps students to enhance their cardiorespiratory fitness and build strong bones and muscles. In addition, it also controls weight and reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further, it can also reduce the risk of health conditions like heart diseases and more.

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Tips for Staying Healthy

A healthy lifestyle can help you thrive throughout your life. Making healthy choices isn't always easy, however. It can be hard to find the time and energy to exercise regularly or prepare healthy meals. However, your efforts will pay off in many ways, and for the rest of your life.

Steps you can take:

Be physically active for 30 minutes most days of the week. Break this up into three 10-minute sessions when pressed for time. Healthy movement may include walking, sports, dancing, yoga, running or other activities you enjoy.
Eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Choose a diet that's low in saturated fat and cholesterol, and moderate in sugar, salt and total fat.
Avoid injury by wearing seatbelts and bike helmets, using smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home, and using street smarts when walking alone. If you own a gun, recognize the dangers of having a gun in your home. Use safety precautions at all times.
Don't smoke, or quit if you do. Ask your health care provider for help. UCSF's Tobacco Education Center offers smoking cessation and relapse prevention classes as well as doctor consultations for smokers trying to quit.
Drink in moderation if you drink alcohol. Never drink before or while driving, or when pregnant .
Ask someone you trust for help if you think you might be addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Help prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS by using condoms every time you have sexual contact. Condoms aren't 100 percent foolproof, so discuss STI screening with your provider. Birth control methods other than condoms, such as pills and implants, won't protect you from STIs or HIV.
Brush your teeth after meals with a soft or medium bristled toothbrush. Also brush after drinking and before going to bed. Use dental floss daily.
Stay out of the sun, especially between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun's harmful rays are strongest. You are not protected if it is cloudy or if you are in the water — harmful rays pass through both. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen that guards against both UVA and UVB rays, with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Select sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of the sun's rays.

Maintaining a Healthy Outlook

Women today have busy, demanding lives. You may feel pulled in different directions and experience stress from dealing with work, family and other matters, leaving little time for yourself. Learning to balance your life with some time for yourself will pay off with big benefits — a healthy outlook and better health.

Stay in touch with family and friends.
Be involved in your community.
Maintain a positive attitude and do things that make you happy.
Keep your curiosity alive. Lifelong learning is beneficial to your health.
Healthy intimacy takes all forms but is always free of coercion.
Learn to recognize and manage stress in your life. Signs of stress include trouble sleeping, frequent headaches and stomach problems; being angry a lot; and turning to food, drugs and alcohol to relieve stress.
Good ways to deal with stress include regular exercise, healthy eating habits and relaxation exercises, such as deep breathing or meditation. Talking to trusted family members and friends can help a lot. Some women find that interacting with their faith community is helpful in times of stress.
Get enough sleep and rest. Adults need around eight hours of sleep a night.
Talk to your health care provider if you feel depressed for more than a few days; depression is a treatable illness. Signs of depression include feeling empty and sad, crying a lot, loss of interest in life, and thoughts of death or suicide. If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide, get help right away. Call 911, a local crisis center or (800) SUICIDE.

UCSF Health medical specialists have reviewed this information. It is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or other health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any questions or concerns you may have with your provider.

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How To Keep Fit And Stay Healthy Essay

HEALTH AND FITNESS TIPS INTRODUCTION Health is a state of person being completely well in mental, physical and social states. This does not mean that there is absence of diseases. Health is desired by everybody to ensure daily activities undertaken are done to the optimum and your body doesn’t tire quickly. Fitness is a state of general health due to input in activities including exercise and nutrition . In nutrition women can find proteins manual or protein powder for women. The need to keep healthy and strong requires a little input. You can work the hard way or the smart way. The hard way includes a person training day and night without minding about the proper nutrition to keep healthy. They have to burn down calories and extra fat to ensure they keep fit and have a desirable body. The smart way involves minding the nutritional needs of your body and working hard to ensure you have a healthy and fit body. Fitness and Nutrition for Women Women in general crave foods such as chips, ice creams, chocolates and sugary foods. Such cravings confine our bodies to strain which leads us astray from well-organized and structured diet plans. These food stuffs contain a lot of …show more content…

Ensure your supplements do not have artificial sweeteners, calories or preservatives which may be of damage to your body than assistance. The type of protein powder preference matters on personal level. The taste matters as it is a mixable. While looking for a good protein supplement ensure they support lean muscle growth and also have high digestion capability. Proteins from animal sources may cause indigestion such as bloating in some women, if you experience any discomfort, use a plant source protein supplement. If you desire to have a healthy lifestyle and keeping fit you should consider using protein supplement. As a woman you desire to have a healthy and fit body, while working for your body ensures you work

Kosher Supplement Research Paper

Most of these supplements have more than one ingredient in order to provide maximum health benefits. However, as one reads through the supplement labels, you will realize that the manufacturers indicate the groups of people who should take them. For instance, some are manufactured as kosher prenatal vitamins to help women go through pregnancy and still remain healthy afterwards. The vitamins included in such a product may be rich in iron and calcium. Essentially, one must be certain of the benefit to get from a specific supplement before buying

Bodybuilders Research Paper

Top Vitamins for Bodybuilders: The Metabolic Spark Plugs: One of the most confusing issues for any athlete is supplementation. What to take, how much, when to take it, blah. Figuring out a supplementation regimen can be so frustrating at times that it becomes easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees, to forget the purpose of supplementation and to overlook exactly what makes successful bodybuilding. It's sometimes easy to forget that the cells in our bodies, particularly muscle cells, rely on certain biochemical reactions for proper metabolism, growth and maintenance.

Weight And Health In America By Meryl Loonin

Many of these supplements are in higher demand for athletes and younger adults but supplements of all kinds can be used for those of older age and even infants. Water plays an extremely big role in how supplements react within the body and since two-thirds of our body is made with water, it should always be an important role in what a person puts into their body. These supplements are not only helping people, but growing new businesses. These businesses, in return, are able to grow, create newer and improved supplements, and start building a better reputation as a company. Dietary, nutritional, and workout supplements are not bad for society as long as they are used the right way.

Quinoa Protein

Quinoa is a whole grain that has 13 grams of protein per serving. Try serving it to your loved one as a replacement for rice or mashed potatoes. Eggs Each egg contains six grams of protein, which is primarily located in the white of the egg. While egg yolks are a good source of B vitamins,

Pollan Being Healthy

Being Healthy Most Americans obsess over what they eat and how much of it they consume. Americans are also notorious for trying whatever new diet is popular at the moment. This is an example that accounts towards the weird relationship most Americans have with food. Mary Maxfield might frown upon American’s unhealthy relationship with food on people like Michael Pollan, who makes outrageous claims without any scientific proof. Michael Pollan offers what he considers to be the American paradox – “a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with…the idea of being healthy” (442).

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Everyone likes to stay fit and healthy, but not everyone is. Staying healthy is important to ensure a happy life without worries about the health as it helps the human steers clear of diseases. Additionally, at these times, high proportions of people are suffering from obesity, which is being overweight and unhealthy. To be healthy, it is necessary to know how to, so there are three main tips that people have to follow in order to stay healthy.

More about How To Keep Fit And Stay Healthy Essay

Health and Fitness Essay

An essay is a piece of writing that revolves around a particular theme and contains the academic opinions of the person writing it. A basic essay mainly consists of three parts: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.

Regular exercise helps us to keep fit and healthy. ‘Health and Fitness Essay’ will tell you everything you want to know about health and fitness.

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Health and Fitness Essay (950+ Words)

With his superior intellect, man has been able to control nature, making him the dominant species. However, it is essential for man to maintain a healthy body and mind, as a healthy individual is deemed wealthy. Engaging in regular exercise not only keeps the body fit but also keeps the mind alert. The soundness of one’s health is reflected in their mental state and emotions, as a weak and unfit body can adversely affect one’s psychological well-being.

Recent studies suggest that the increased stress of modern-day living is leading to a range of medical conditions, predominantly heart and neurological problems. Maintaining good health and fitness is crucial in cultivating a positive outlook towards work and life in general.

Life is meant to be positive and joyful, despite the challenges we may encounter. To enjoy the marvels of life, we require energy and vitality, which is only achievable through a healthy and fit body that can overcome life’s obstacles.

The care for good health starts during childhood, and it depends on how a feeding mother maintains her health and fitness. She should consume a balanced diet with the necessary nutrients and live in a hygienic environment. These are the primary requirements for both the mother and baby. Various children suffer from dreaded illnesses such as polio, diphtheria, and typhoid, making disease prevention crucial to keep children healthy.

Parents love their children and want them to grow physically and mentally well. They dream of having healthy, intelligent, and bright children. However, taking care of children is not just the parents’ responsibility. As children are the future of the country, everyone shares the responsibility of ensuring their good health and fitness.

A healthy child grows up to be a healthy and fit man. The growth and development of a child are crucial in shaping their future. A well-rounded development during childhood can lead to a productive resource for the country, benefiting society and humanity. It is essential for others to extend their services to help children maintain their good health and fitness.

Various individuals such as educators, neighbors, companions, athletes, teachers or masters in physical and mental training, media, social workers, doctors, and gymnasts can play a vital role in motivating children towards good health and fitness.

While schools provide children with an opportunity to develop their physical and mental abilities, good health holds more significance in this competitive era where modern demands must be met. Life has become fast-paced and stressful from an early age, and the educational syllabus is extensive, expectations are high, and competitions are becoming more challenging.

Given these conditions, it is crucial for students to study hard and spend long hours in the classroom. Educational institutions must prioritize physical exercise and recreational programs to promote good health and fitness among students. This is the primary means by which students can learn effectively while maintaining their well-being.

A school or educational institution that provides students with adequate facilities for sports and other activities that offer physical exercise and entertainment is considered excellent. After spending long hours studying and working mentally, students require outdoor activities to relieve their mental stress and weaknesses.

Irrespective of the career path chosen, every individual with a good academic record and sound health strives to achieve their goals in life. Good education and good health and fitness are crucial for individuals to face challenges confidently and achieve success.

A closer look reveals that individuals with good health and fitness perform better in their personal and professional lives. Both physical and mental health are equally essential for better performance and outcomes. It is essential for everyone to prioritize their health to become a result-oriented individual.

Even an untalented individual can succeed in their occupation through good health and fitness. We often observe individuals with good physiques working on farms all day, putting in their energy to earn a living for themselves and their families. This gives them mental satisfaction and a restful night’s sleep. Additionally, physically and mentally strong individuals can provide better support to society and receive appreciation from others.

There are various professions that require good health and fitness as a primary eligibility criteria. Individuals who are physically fit and mentally strong tend to excel in the armed forces, paramilitary , police, and other similar forces. We have witnessed numerous decorated members of these forces who have shown extraordinary performance and heroism while fighting the enemy or exhibiting bravery in incredibly challenging circumstances.

Having good health and fitness can open up numerous job opportunities for an individual, as even the private sector values a well-built appearance. Health is highly valued in all aspects of life and can benefit an individual greatly throughout their lifetime.

A person’s mental state can greatly impact their physical appearance. Negative thoughts and emotions can reflect in a person’s appearance, whereas a healthy mind can bring a positive glow. The connection between the mind and body is so strong that one can affect the other, and if not properly controlled, can create a cycle of negative reactions.

The lack of healthcare facilities in many areas has resulted in people suffering from diseases and injuries without proper medical attention. Poor individuals cannot afford treatment in big cities, and private hospitals charge exorbitant fees for major diseases. Relying solely on medical facilities is not enough to solve this issue; people need to be aware of the importance of regular physical exercise to maintain good health and efficiency. Joining Gymnasiums and Yoga camps can promote awareness and inspire others to follow good health practices.

By freeing oneself of unhealthy and negative thoughts, a person can motivate themselves to improve their body and avoid most psychological illnesses. When on the path to good health and fitness, a person can achieve a superior mind.

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Ielts writing task 2 sample 140 - best way to stay fit and healthy is simply to lead a normal life, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, in some societies, it is increasingly common to try to achieve good health and fitness through physically demanding sports, special diets, or preventative medicine conventional or alternative. some people, however, believe that the best way to stay fit and healthy is simply to lead a normal life..

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The top 16 foods to boost your immunity — and a dietitian's No. 1 pick to start eating today

Immunity boosting foods on white background.

Cold and flu season may be behind us, but it's still possible to catch a virus in the warmer months. What's more, a new variant of COVID is taking over and may lead to a summer surge. The good news is there are easy steps you can take to boost your immunity naturally, including these immunity-boosting foods, which are easy to add to your diet.

How to eat to boost the immune system

Your immune system is like an army with very sophisticated weapons in the form of cells and other compounds. For this army to function optimally, it needs a steady stream of supplies, which you get through your diet.

The best diet for your immune system is a minimally-processed, mostly plant-based diet — one that’s about 75% plant foods. That's because fruits and vegetables contain many of the various nutrients your immune system needs, such as:

Beta carotene , the precursor to vitamin A
Certain B vitamins, like folate
Polyphenols , antioxidants that get broken down into food and boost your gut environment, where about 80% of immune cells live

Zinc is another helpful nutrient to boost the immune system, largely found in cereals, meat, fish and other seafood, eggs and dairy products.

When choosing fruits and veggies, seek out a variety of options. Go for fresh, frozen, dried and canned fruits and veggies of all colors. Don’t forget that juices like 100% OJ, pomegranate juice and vegetable juice can also help you reach your fruit and veggie goals, which for most people is a minimum of 2 cups of fruit and 2 and half cups of veggies each day.

Keep in mind that you’re also better off getting the nutrients you need from your plate rather than a pill bottle, though select supplements may be useful in some cases, such as to ensure you get the necessary amount of vitamin D, a nutrient that’s only found in a limited number of foods.

Which food has the highest impact on immunity?

The No. 1 immune-boosting food is red bell peppers, according to TODAY nutrition editor Natalie Rizzo, registered dietitian.

Many people think vitamin C is the only nutrient that matters for immune health, but research shows that many nutrients play a role, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, B vitamins, zinc and probiotics. Eating a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods is the best way to cover your bases with all of these nutrients.

But one food that is extremely high in vitamin C and also has vitamin A and B vitamins is red bell peppers. A half-cup of red bell pepper has about 100 milligrams of vitamin C (111% daily value), 117 micrograms of vitamin A (13% daily value) and an array of B vitamins. Plus, they are accessible, affordable and easy to eat raw or cooked.

Which foods boost immunity fast?

The best way to boost your immunity is to eat a well-balanced and varied diet of mostly whole, plant-based foods, from fruits and veggies to beans, legumes and whole grains.

Here are the top foods to prioritize to boost your immunity.

Oranges are packed with vitamin C, an essential nutrient when you’re feeling under the weather. According to a review conducted by the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, at the Australian National University, vitamin C is helpful in preventing the common cold for people exposed to sickness-inducing environments, such as cold weather, and can help lower the duration and severity of a cold.

Blueberries

Blueberries are filled with antioxidants that can help treat and prevent coughs and colds. According to research conducted by the University of Auckland, consuming flavonoids — a class of antioxidants found in blueberries — made adults 33 percent less likely to catch a cold than those who did not eat flavonoid-rich foods or supplements daily

Tomatoes are a great food to eat when you’re sick due to their high concentration of vitamin C. Just one medium tomato contains a little over 16 milligrams of vitamin C, which is a proven fuel to your body’s immune system.

Wild salmon

Wild salmon is filled with zinc, a nutrient that has been proven to assist with reducing common cold symptoms. If you want your family, and especially your children, to avoid illness, then you should be giving them zinc-rich foods. Research has found zinc to be effective at both reducing severity and duration of cold symptoms, as well as preventing them from starting.

Dark chocolate

Believe it or not, dark chocolate can be extremely helpful in fighting off of a cold. Dark chocolate contains a heavy concentration of theobromine, an antioxidant that has been proven to alleviate coughing.

University of California in Los Angeles researchers reported broccoli can be a great addition to your diet if you’re trying to prevent a cold. Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables were proven to help boost immunity, according to the study. Researchers said that sulforaphane, a chemical in the vegetable, switches on antioxidant genes and enzymes in specific immune cells, which combat free radicals in your body and prevent you from getting sick.

Spinach is a major superfood that is great for your overall health. Not only is it packed with digestion-regulating fiber, but it also contains vitamin C.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” isn’t just a saying — apples actually can help prevent illnesses such as the common cold. This fruit contains phytochemical antioxidants, according to a study published in Nutrition Journal. These antioxidants help boost immunity and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

Pink grapefruit

One grapefruit packs 75 milligrams of vitamin C, a full day’s worth for women. It also contains an impressive amount of beta-carotene, which is converted by the body to vitamin A. Vitamin A has many functions, but one of its most important is to act as an antioxidant that can help boost immunity. It also plays a role in keeping the mucous membranes that line the nose, sinuses and mouth healthy.

Hemp seeds may be small, but they deliver big when it comes to nutrition. Not only do they contain plant-based protein, fiber and heart-healthy fats, but they are also loaded with zinc, a mineral that plays a role in supporting the immune system. Zinc activates lymphocytes, or T-cells, which are necessary to initiate an immune response.

One study in The Journal of Nutrition found that white button mushrooms, which make up about 90% of what's consumed in the U.S., have anti-viral properties and can help protect against a variety of infections. Researchers found an increase in a type of white blood cell that fights infection in mice fed a supplement of white button mushrooms. All ‘shrooms work, so pick your favorite and use it into a variety of dishes, from omelets to soups to salads.

Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt is filled with sickness-fighting probiotics and is packed with more protein than regular yogurt. A meta-analysis published in the journal Korean Journal of Family Medicine found that probiotics can help to prevent and treat the common cold. The researchers discovered that people who ate probiotics daily had a lower risk of catching a cold than those who did not eat any probiotic-rich food.

Extra virgin olive oil

This healthy oil has been shown to also help rebuild and boost the body’s immunity. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found olive oil’s high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the body, which also assisted in boosting the immune system and guarding the body of infection.

Whole-grain bread

Whole grains contain anti-inflammatory properties, which increase production of healthy bacteria, according to a study published by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. About 80% of your immune system lives in your gut, so it’s important to keep your gut healthy if you want to fend off any cold-causing germs.

Eggs, especially the yolks, are packed with immunity-boosting nutrients. Eggs contain a high amount of vitamin D, vital in regulating and strengthening immunity. According to a study published in JAMA, participants who took a daily serving of vitamin D in the winter were less likely to catch a cold or any other upper respiratory tract infection in comparison to those who did not.

Garlic has built a reputation for being one of the best cold-curing foods and for good reason. A review of the food published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews showed that a group of participants in a study who ate garlic over a three-month period only had 24 cases of the common cold total, compared to the 65 cases reported by the control group.

What drinks boost your immune system?

Many liquids contain powerful ingredients to fight of colds and other infections and can help make sure you're getting your recommended daily doses of necessary vitamins and minerals.

Turmeric latte

The star ingredient, turmeric, contains an important compound called curcumin, which has both anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. Turmeric lattes can be made in a variety of ways, but all you need is turmeric, warm almond milk (or other milk alternative), a little coconut oil and black pepper. Give this all a quick blend and you have a perfectly frothy latte that will have you feeling like you’re doing your body good with every sip.

When it comes to treating a common cold, ginger is one of the best foods for relief. In a review published in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine, researchers summarized that ginger’s potent anti-inflammatory properties were key in the root’s powers to combat a cold or flu. Because inflammation can affect your body’s immune response, anti-inflammatory ginger can play a key role in boosting your immunity.

When you’re feeling sick, good ol’ H2O can be one of the most helpful drinks to sip. Staying hydrated can help loosen trapped mucus. Try drinking at least the recommended eight glasses of water a day to keep yourself fully hydrated since we tend to lose more fluids when we’re sick.

Ginseng tea

Ginseng tea is popular for more reasons than its delicious taste. Namely, the tea has been used as a treatment for upper respiratory tract infections (aka the common cold). A review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal noted that ginseng has been shown to significantly reduce the symptoms of colds and influenza. However, the researchers noted that more research needs to be conducted to fully support ginseng’s immunity-boosting claims.

Green tea contains flavonoids, an antioxidant that boosts immunity, and has anti-inflammatory properties, according to a study published in the Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology. The study states that the antioxidant catechin, which is heavily prevalent in green tea, is known to be a powerful antibacterial and antiviral and can kill off cold-starting bacteria and the influenza virus.

Worst foods for the immune system

To keep your immune system strong, it’s also a good idea to limit these foods, which all play a role in weakening your defenses.

Added sugars

Whether from desserts, sugary drinks or sneakier sources like plant-based milks, whole grain cereals or yogurts, a high-sugar diet may tamp down your immune response.

Excessive alcohol

Too much alcohol can weaken your immune system. It has also been linked with a higher chance of respiratory infections . Stick to a drink (for women) or two (for men) a day.

Heavily processed foods

The majority of sodium in your diet comes from these foods and research suggests that excess salt might undermine your immune system’s ability to cope with an invader. Heavily processed foods are also made with refined grains, which alter your metabolic response and can ultimately leave you more susceptible to serious infections. Some major culprits include fast food meals, pizza and chips.

How to boost the immune system naturally

Hacks to boost the immune system abound online, but few of them are backed by research and will actually do something to keep viruses and other infections at bay. Staying up to date on your vaccinations against COVID, flu and other illnesses are the best way to keep your immune system strong.

In addition to eating a healthy diet, here are some other ways to boost your immune system naturally that you can trust.

Get enough sleep

Getting a good night of sleep can help your body recover from illnesses faster and keeps all aspects of your health strong. Research has shown that people who are fatigued have a higher risk of infection of all kinds.

Exercise regularly

Moving your body is good for your heart and bones, and many experts believe it can boost your immune system too. There are a few possible reasons for this, according to the National Library of Medicine : Physical activity may flush bacteria out of the lungs, exercise may cause antibodies and white blood cells to circulate more rapidly throughout the bloodstream, and the rise in body temperature from exercise may help fight off infection.

Don't use too much antibacterial soap

A proper hand washing prevents the spread of germs. Correct hand washing involves a good lather of soap for 20 seconds — or the amount of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” — and drying with a towel. People might think antibacterial soap makes hands cleaner by killing off nasty bacteria, but it actually causes another problem: It encourages antibiotic resistant bacteria to flourish. Just use regular soap and water.

Reduce stress

Research shows stress alters how well your immune system works. Preliminary research published in the journal Biological Psychiatry examined two groups of people, caregivers of family members with cancer and individuals without that type of stress. The scientists found something goes awry in the caregivers’ white blood cells, leaving them less responsive to inflammation and raising their risk of illness.

Samantha Cassetty , MS, RD, is a nutrition and wellness expert, author and columnist. Her latest book is " Sugar Shock ." You can follow Samantha's practical balanced eating advice on Instagram at @nutritionistsam .

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The New Science of Hip Mobility

Own the weight room, crush backyard football, and beat back pain by strengthening and stretching your hips.

Yes, really. Sure, there was a time when hip mobility mattered only if you were doing Jean-Claude Van Damme splits on Volvo trucks. But these days, more and more trainers are recognizing that tight hips can stealthily wreck nearly every part of your life. New hip stretches and exercises often flood FitTok, and a Google search for “hip mobility” turns up about 1 million results.

“It’s good that it’s trending,” says veteran trainer Lee Boyce . “Hip functionality dictates the efficiency of many capabilities we have.”

So whether you’re trying to slash your half-marathon time, crush a CrossFit WOD, or just keep up with your kids on the playground, buttery-loose hips can help. The best part is it doesn’t take much to train your hips. All you need to do to start: understand the answers to these five questions.

When Are My Tight Hips Hindering Me the Most?

EVERY SINGLE TIME you stand up after a few hours of sitting. When you’re sitting, whether you’re at your desk for the whole morning, on a long roadtrip in a car, or stuck on a ten-hour flight to Europe, your hip flexors, the muscles that help bring your thigh to your chest, wind up trapped in a shortened position, unable to stretch out. Your glutes, meanwhile, are in an ultra-relaxed, stretched position. When you stand, you’re often left with a nagging tightness in the front of your hips.

What's So Bad About That Tightness in My Hips?

WHEN YOUR HIP flexors are tight and your glutes aren’t strong, you may struggle to position your pelvis to support your spine. Your pelvis shifts into something called anterior pelvic tilt, the top of the pelvis tipping forward just slightly, butt sticking out a bit, Instagram-model style. This causes your lower back to arch in places it shouldn’t, and that can create serious issues, compressing the discs in your lower back, says Boyce. It also prevents you from being powerful during exercises like deadlifts and squats, as well as other activities, like running and jumping.

How Exactly Do Tight Hips Effect My Running and Jumping?

QUICK, STAND UP. Place your hands on your hip bones. Now squeeze your glutes as hard as possible. See how your hips shift forward ever so slightly? This position is called hip extension, and this motion helps propel you forward (if you’re running) or upward (if you’re jumping). If your hip flexors are tight, your glutes can’t “contract the way that they’re supposed to when they’re supposed to,” says Boyce—and that limits your speed and vertical leap.

Should I Stretch My Hip Flexors to Loosen Them?

AND STRENGTHEN THEM! Weak hip flexors cause other problems. Try this: While standing straight, lift your right knee as high as you can. Can you get your knee higher than your hip? If you can’t, you’re hurting your running ability by limiting the length of your stride. “The stronger your hip flexors are, then the more powerful and efficient your knee drive is going to be,” says Faris Khan, C.S.C.S. , the creator of the Men’s Health Summer Strength Challenge . To compensate, you may also round your back more than you should need to during everyday tasks.

What Else Does Poor Hip Mobility Hurt?

YOUR ABILITY TO change direction. Ideally, you’re able to turn your hips one way and your shoulders another, a key trait that defines agility. And even if you’re not an NFL cornerback, lacking that movement can cost you, making it harder to move quickly if you’re dodging somebody while rushing to catch your train—and harder to run down your daughter in a game of tag, too. The bright side: Just a few simple drills can ensure you’re preserving you hip mobility—although we should all leave the splits to Van Damme.

How to Stay Hip

AIM TO DO at least 1 of these 3 drills in your workout warmups every day to make sure you’re giving your hips plenty of TLC. Do 2 or 3 sets.

Hip Circles

Take your hips through their greatest range of motion. Start on all fours, knees beneath hips. Keeping your knee bent, lift your right leg outward to the right, then rotate it in a wide arc so that your right foot points toward the ceil-ing. Reverse the movement back to the start. Repeat 6 to 8 times per side.

Seated Hip Lift

Build hip flexor strength. Sit on the floor, chest up, legs straight, a kettle-bell or another object just outside your right ankle. Keeping your legs straight, lift your right leg over the object and touch your heel to the floor; return to the start. Do 8 to 10 reps per side.

Crescent Lunge

To loosen tight hip flexors, set up in a half-kneeling stance, right knee on the floor. Squeeze your right glute and push both hips forward; as you do this, reach your hands overhead. Hold for 2to 3 seconds, then return to the start. Do 3 to 5 reps per side.

A version of this story appeared in the May/June 2024 issue of Men's Health.

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It's more than just a parasocial relationship: BTS and their impact on my mental health

Listening to bts may not have cured my depression, but it helped me get through it, by lily doton.

2018 was one of the worst years of my life.

I was in my second semester of college, which was supposed to be part of the "best years of your life," but for me was anything but. I was severely depressed and could barely get myself out of bed to eat — let alone show up to my classes and do my homework. I felt isolated and lost.

And then I found a love for K-Pop boy group BTS .

BTS, who you've likely heard of by now, consists of seven members — RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. When I got invested in BTS, they had just started blowing up in the west the year before.

When I watched a video of one of their live performances of "Answer: Love Myself" for the first time, I started sobbing.

And despite what people often think, they weren't important to me because of how handsome they are or because Jungkook is boyfriend material. It wasn't because of the fashion and the dyed hair, or even because of the elaborate choreography and jaw-dropping performances.

While those are pretty valid reasons to love K-pop, and definitely helped grab my attention, the reason BTS became so special to me is less surface-level.

I had heard of them before. In high school, my best friend loved K-pop, especially BTS, and I had listened to and liked some of their songs. But as a Korean adoptee growing up in Vermont , one of the whitest states in America, I wasn't eager to make myself come across as any more Asian than I already was.

When we both went away to college, we kept texting. Sharing details of our day, talking about how hard things were.

Even though my mental health was declining, I was also beginning to come to terms with what being Korean American meant to me. It had always made me uncomfortable, made me feel "other," but I wanted to know more now.

And when BTS came up again in conversation, I decided to finally really look into them.

Discovering the Bangtan Boys

I started with reading translations of the lyrics as I listened. Then I watched all their music videos. Soon, I was making my way through every live performance and every interview I could find and even going down the rabbit hole of watching fan-made compilation videos on YouTube.

When I watched a video of one of their live performances of "Answer: Love Myself" for the first time, I started sobbing. I didn't even need to understand all of the lyrics — just hearing the crowd sing, "You've shown me I have reasons I should love myself," along with the seven of them on stage struck me.

I was struggling to like myself enough to take care of myself in the simplest ways, but soon enough I was singing along:

I'm looking for myself again But I don't wanna die anymore Me, who used to be sad Me, who used to be hurt It'll make me more beautiful

BTS was not only my connection to the culture I had resisted and ignored my entire life, but also became a light for me when everything else felt bleak.

At first, I might not have believed it when I was singing along to Jin's solo song "Epiphany" and declaring:

I'm the one I should love in this world Shining me, precious soul of mine I finally realized, so I love me Not so perfect but so beautiful

But I began to.

It sounds corny, but they helped me through that extremely difficult period of my life in a way that nothing else really could. Listening to BTS didn't cure my depression , but the openness in their lyrics provided me with a sense of comfort and reassurance that I desperately needed.

The song that made the biggest impact on me, and still does, is from RM's 2018 solo mixtape "mono." In "지나가 (everythingoes)," RM repeats over and over "It all passes, someday, for sure, certainly / It passes (Everything goes)."

But instead of being a message of toxic positivity, he goes on to say that rather than using "unclear words saying to have strength" and "instead of the lies that it's all just the way things are," he prays that "like the winds it will pass."

It may be hard to understand why BTS fans are so ride-or-die for them, but moments like that are part of the reason why. It's not just me who's been affected by them this deeply — seeing their impact is as easy as searching "BTS Answer: Love Myself reaction" on YouTube or googling "how BTS changed my life."

Embracing the community

I first saw the widespread impact they've had when I rejoined Twitter and rebranded as a stan account.

BTS was not only my connection to the culture I had resisted and ignored my entire life, but also became a light for me when everything else felt bleak.

At the time, the BTS members didn't have their own individual Instagram accounts, and Twitter was the place for updates, selfies and personal posts from each of them. Their Twitter account currently has 48.4 million followers and a quick scroll through will show you stan account after stan account dedicated specifically to them, with edited photos of one of the members as the icon and a handle that references their lyrics.

It may appear that those accounts are faceless and impersonal, but when I was feeling isolated at a new school , I found a community there. There are countless examples of how toxic stan Twitter can be, but it doesn't always have to be. I joined group chats to talk about favorite albums, rehash the latest performance and dissect lyrics, and I ended up making friends across the world.

It's easy to look at all of this and only see how it contributes to what we've come to know as the parasocial relationship between celebrities and their fans. Especially within the K-pop community, when fans do things like spend thousands of dollars on albums for a short video call, stay up all hours of the night to catch a livestream and even buy expensive and elaborate gifts for their bias on their birthday.

While this certainly exists within BTS' fanbase, what sets the band apart is that they've consistently shared their personal struggles and journey to self-love throughout their career, in their music but also in interviews, livestreams and letters to fans.

In 2016, SUGA released a solo mixtape under his alter ego Agust D in which he details his struggles with depression and OCD and how he's gotten treatment for it.

In 2017, RM put out his song "Always" on SoundCloud that contains the lyrics:

One morning, when I opened my eyes I wished that I was dead I wish someone killed me In this loud silence I live to understand the world but the world has never understood me, why

In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly , SUGA emphasized the importance of open dialogue about mental health . "I think for not just us but other celebrities, if they talk about it openly — if they talk about depression for example like it's the common cold, then it becomes more and more accepted if it's a common disorder like the cold," he said. "More and more, I think artists or celebrities who have a voice should talk about these problems and bring it up to the surface."

The members' willingness to speak about their own mental health struggles and counseling is not only important because it normalizes it for their fans, but because it sheds a light on mental health in Korea and within the K-pop community.

According to The Korea Times , South Korea has held the highest suicide rate of OECD nations for almost 20 years, with a suicide rate of 24.1 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2021.

Just this April, 25-year-old ASTRO boyband member Moon Bin passed away by suicide. This comes after other losses that have hit the K-pop community, like SHINee's Jonghyun who was only 27 when he passed in 2017. In 2019, 25-year-old former f(x) member and actress Sulli also passed away from suicide, with 28-year-old Goo Hara from Kara following just weeks after.

With far too many examples of young people in the K-pop industry, and Korea in general, taking their own lives, it just makes publicly speaking to these issues even more important. Especially when it's being communicated to a fanbase like BTS' that consists of so many young people.

As much as I love K-pop, I can see how damaging the industry can be. It's rightfully criticized for setting impossibly high beauty standards , highlighting issues with fatphobia and colorism, and for the immense pressure put on idols to be "perfect" both while they're performing and when they're offstage.

With these kinds of standards, BTS being willing to acknowledge that they're human — that they struggle, question themselves and sometimes need help to get through it — is essential. At the height of fame, with the eyes of the world on them, they choose to be vulnerable and show others that they can do the same.

The flaws in the industry still exist, but there's no doubt that BTS will leave a lasting impact.

If you are in need of help, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Hours of operation are 24/7 and it's confidential.

about this topic

Representation heals: How watching K-dramas lifted the weight of white supremacy and freed my tongue
"Oegugin" influencers are rising to stardom in Korea. But there's a dark side to pop-nationalism
K-dramas cured my prejudice against Asian men

Lily Doton is an intern at Salon and will graduate from Castleton University in May. Though her true love is K-Pop, she is studying Media and Communication with a concentration in journalism and a minor in film studies. She is passionate about telling stories and seeking out Asian representation, whether that's in movies, shows, music or writing.

Signing off on 10 years writing about running: ‘Get outside, enjoy the fresh air and keep on going’

Mary jennings: i struggle to stick to my self-imposed writing and running deadlines.

Knowing I have a group of women waiting for me on the beach this evening will ensure I turn up in my running gear later, says Mary Jennings

This is the final time I put pen to paper on my Get Running column. With more than 200 articles in print, I have now covered all bases in the world of recreational running. There is something in the archives for whatever challenge running brings you this summer and beyond.

This summer, parents are looking for tips, advice and information on how to help their children thrive during the holiday months. You can read all about it at irishtimes.com/health/your-family

From good technique to self-belief, injury prevention to motivation, marathon training to parkrun pacing, I’ve said it all. The articles are online for you .

Who will keep me on track?

The biggest risk to my future writing is no longer having an editor or a publishing deadline. Just like the benefits of having a running training plan and a coach, my writing thrives on routine, deadlines and being accountable to others. After a decade of newspaper writing, one would think I’d have fine-tuned a quick and efficient process, but just like my running I spend a lot of time procrastinating before I even get started. The ideas spin in my head for a week before I even start typing. But once the first paragraph is complete (or my first five minutes of running) I fall into my rhythm and enjoy the process immensely.

I wonder why I took so long to get moving.

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‘My brother is meeting fabulous women, but they leave because he does not want more children’

Sound familiar? I know I’m not the only one to do this.

Accepting I need accountability

I struggle to stick to my self-imposed writing and running deadlines. But I now accept that it is only natural for some of us to prioritise everything else ahead of a task that seems overwhelming or daunting. I’ve given up judging myself for it. I may never be someone who hops out of bed and starts writing or running before checking my inbox. But I can only experience that wonderful feeling of finishing an article or completing a run by actually getting started.

I’ve learned to trick myself into taking the first step without relying on my own willpower or motivation. To make it happen, I know I need others in my corner.

Get-togethers and deadlines

If you spend as much time as I do putting off those big tasks, in work or in running, try using deadlines and dates to help you. Knowing this column has to be submitted this evening focuses my mind. I won’t let my editor down.

[ Runners, time to embrace the novelty of brighter evenings ]

Knowing I have a group of women waiting for me on the beach this evening will also ensure I turn up in my running gear later. Having committed to a post-Pilates coffee with a friend tomorrow morning will get me to that Pilates class. Setting up a WhatsApp group with some neighbours to arrange sea dips will mean I’ll go myself.

There is no room for negotiation when others are depending on me.

Having a team and a goal

While not everyone has a newspaper editor or a running coach to keep them on their toes, having a race deadline and a training group has kept many runners disciplined and successful over the years. The support, encouragement and camaraderie lifts the pressure from our own shoulders. If you are tired of trying to convince yourself to do something that seems too difficult to start, it’s time to team up. Get a buddy or join a group.

We can do so much more together than solely relying on our own strength, knowledge and willpower. As I launch my marathon coaching programme this month I know the accountability to the coaches and group members takes the hard work out of each individual’s training journey. It lightens the load when runners have others to bounce off and learn from each other’s ups and downs.

It’s the same old story

How much have you learned about yourself and running in the last decade? You may be able to highlight races, personal bests and running achievements, but do you remember the setbacks you also had along the way? Give yourself a pat on the back for the hurdles you have overcome. Your weekly routines and consistency have built your success, not just those memorable race days. You will appreciate all you have achieved if you delve into your training history and old photos.

I’ve not become a super-efficient writer, but I still have written regularly for 10 years. Let’s celebrate what we have achieved in the last decade not focus on what we didn’t do. As I look back over all the articles, I notice the same themes coming through. We all run for different reasons but to run well into our future, while also enjoying it, is the dream of most runners I have met.

What will the next 10 years bring?

If you would like to be still enjoying running 10 years from now, it is important you take responsibility for making that a real possibility. Remember why you started running and what you miss when you have not done it for a while. Imagine your future and the head space running will offer you when you need it most.

Mary Jennings is founder of ForgetTheGym and encourages busy women to find joy in running and spend time outdoors

Get help shaping your future by spending time with others who are further along the path you wish to travel. Look after your body, especially at that weak point you know might be an issue further down the line.

And finally, probably the one message I have repeated the most for 10 years. Stay in your own lane and don’t worry too much about the path others are following.

Be inspired by others but try not to compare too much.

Running doesn’t always have to be a race especially if it strips the joy and freedom from it.

Just get out the door, enjoy the fresh air and keep on running.

Mary Jennings is founder of ForgetTheGym and encourages busy women to find joy in running and spend time outdoors. Keep in touch with Mary via her blog and newsletter at ForgetTheGym.ie

Your weekly routines and consistency have built your success, not just those memorable race days

Beginner plan: Eight-week course that will build you up to running 30 minutes non-stop.
Stay on Track plan: Eight-week course for those who can squeeze in a 30-minute run a few times a week.
Advanced plan: Eight-week course for those who want to move up to the 10km mark.

IN THIS SECTION

Forget the pub, dublin’s twentysomethings have discovered the run club, ‘i would like now to share my tips on how you too can become an unbearably smug runner’, it’s time to put on your summer running shoes, ‘i bet you didn’t worry about your bills because all you cared about was whether you were safe’, fintan o’toole: there’s one fundamental reason we have a housing crisis, limerick election candidate sought €360,000 in ‘go-away money’, galway developer claims, man (85) charged with murder of woman (81) in co down, rsa calls for emergency laws to double penalty points for speeding and mobile phone use, postmortem shows ukrainian man did not die from assault injuries in monaghan, punchestown music festival 2024: daily line-ups, ticket availability, weather forecast and more, latest stories, eleven ways to let teenagers take healthy, positive risks this summer, china-made evs registered in europe jump almost a quarter this year, work on €2m makeover of dublin’s talbot street to start next week, woodpeckers breeding in killarney national park for first time in centuries, challenging times continue for ireland, on the double.

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In the pandemic, we were told to keep 6 feet apart. There’s no science to support that.

In a congressional appearance, infectious-disease expert Anthony S. Fauci characterized the recommendation as “an empiric decision that wasn’t based on data.”

The nation’s top mental health official had spent months asking for evidence behind the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s social distancing guidelines, warning that keeping Americans physically apart during the coronavirus pandemic would harm patients, businesses, and overall health and wellness.

Now, Elinore McCance-Katz, the Trump administration’s assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, was urging the CDC to justify its recommendation that Americans stay six feet apart to avoid contracting covid-19 — or get rid of it.

“I very much hope that CDC will revisit this decision or at least tell us that there is more and stronger data to support this rule than what I have been able to find online,” McCance-Katz wrote in a June 2020 memo submitted to the CDC and other health agency leaders and obtained by The Washington Post. “If not, they should pull it back.”

The CDC would keep its six-foot social distance recommendation in place until August 2022, with some modifications as Americans got vaccinated against the virus and officials pushed to reopen schools. Now, congressional investigators are set Monday to press Anthony S. Fauci, the infectious-disease doctor who served as a key coronavirus adviser during the Trump and Biden administrations, on why the CDC’s recommendation was allowed to shape so much of American life for so long, particularly given Fauci and other officials’ recent acknowledgments that there was little science behind the six-foot rule after all.

“It sort of just appeared, that six feet is going to be the distance,” Fauci testified to Congress in a January closed-door hearing, according to a transcribed interview released Friday. Fauci characterized the recommendation as “an empiric decision that wasn’t based on data.”

Francis S. Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health, also privately testified to Congress in January that he was not aware of evidence behind the social distancing recommendation, according to a transcript released in May.

Four years later, visible reminders of the six-foot rule remain with us, particularly in cities that rushed to adopt the CDC’s guidelines hoping to protect residents and keep businesses open. D.C. is dotted with signs in stores and schools — even on sidewalks or in government buildings — urging people to stand six feet apart.

Experts agree that social distancing saved lives, particularly early in the pandemic when Americans had no protections against a novel virus sickening millions of people. One recent paper published by the Brookings Institution , a nonpartisan think tank, concludes that behavior changes to avoid developing covid-19, followed later by vaccinations, prevented about 800,000 deaths. But that achievement came at enormous cost, the authors added, with inflexible strategies that weren’t driven by evidence.

“We never did the study about what works,” said Andrew Atkeson, a UCLA economist and co-author of the paper, lamenting the lack of evidence around the six-foot rule. He warned that persistent frustrations over social distancing and other measures might lead Americans to ignore public health advice during the next crisis.

The U.S. distancing measure was particularly stringent, as other countries adopted shorter distances; the World Health Organization set a distance of one meter, or slightly more than three feet, which experts concluded was roughly as effective as the six-foot mark at deterring infections, and would have allowed schools to reopen more rapidly.

The six-foot rule was “probably the single most costly intervention the CDC recommended that was consistently applied throughout the pandemic,” Scott Gottlieb, former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, wrote in his book about the pandemic, “Uncontrolled Spread.”

It’s still not clear who at the CDC settled on the six-foot distance; the agency has repeatedly declined to specify the authors of the guidance, which resembled its recommendations on how to avoid contracting the flu. A CDC spokesperson credited a team of experts, who drew from research such as a 1955 study on respiratory droplets . In his book, Gottlieb wrote that the Trump White House pushed back on the CDC’s initial recommendation of 10 feet of social distance, saying it would be too difficult to implement.

Perhaps the rule’s biggest impact was on children, despite ample evidence they were at relatively low risk of covid-related complications. Many schools were unable to accommodate six feet of space between students’ desks and forced to rely on virtual education for more than a year, said Joseph Allen, a Harvard University expert in environmental health, who called in 2020 for schools to adopt three feet of social distance.

“The six-foot rule was really an error that had been propagated for several decades, based on a misunderstanding of how particles traveled through indoor spaces,” Allen said, adding that health experts often wrongly focused on avoiding droplets from infected people rather than improving ventilation and filtration inside buildings.

Social distancing had champions before the pandemic. Bush administration officials, working on plans to fight bioterrorism, concluded that social distancing could save lives in a health crisis and renewed their calls as the coronavirus approached. The idea also took hold when public health experts initially believed that the coronavirus was often transmitted by droplets expelled by infected people, which could land several feet away; the CDC later acknowledged the virus was airborne and people could be exposed just by sharing the same air in a room, even if they were farther than six feet apart.

“There was no magic around six feet,” Robert R. Redfield, who served as CDC director during the Trump administration, told a congressional committee in March 2022. “It’s just historically that’s what was used for other respiratory pathogens. So that really became the first piece” of a strategy to protect Americans in the early days of the virus, he said.

It also became the standard that states and businesses adopted, with swift pressure on holdouts. Lawmakers and workers urged meat processing plants, delivery companies and other essential businesses to adopt the CDC’s social distancing recommendations as their employees continued reporting to work during the pandemic.

Some business leaders weren’t sure the measures made sense. Jeff Bezos, founder of online retail giant Amazon, petitioned the White House in March 2020 to consider revising the six-foot recommendation, said Adam Boehler, then a senior Trump administration official helping with the coronavirus response. At the time, Amazon was facing questions about a rising number of infections in its warehouses, and Democratic senators were urging the company to adopt social distancing.

“Bezos called me and asked, is there any real science behind this rule?” Boehler said, adding that Bezos pushed on whether Amazon could adopt an alternative distance if workers were masked, physically separated by dividers or other precautions were taken. “He said … it’s the backbone of trying to keep America running here, and when you separate somebody five feet versus six feet, it’s a big difference,” Boehler recalled. Bezos owns The Washington Post.

Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, confirmed that Bezos called Boehler and said the Amazon founder’s focus was the discrepancy between the U.S. recommendation and the WHO’s shorter distance. The company soon said it would follow the CDC’s six-foot social distancing guidelines in its warehouses and later developed technologies to try to enforce those guidelines. “We did it globally everywhere because it was the right thing to do,” Nantel said.

Boehler said he spoke with Redfield and Fauci about testing alternatives to the six-foot recommendation but that he was not aware of what happened to those tests or what they found. Fauci declined to comment. Redfield did not respond to requests for comment.

But challenging the six-foot recommendation, particularly in the pandemic’s early days, was seen as politically difficult. Rochelle Walensky, then chief of infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, argued in a July 2020 email that “if people are masked it is quite safe and much more practical to be at 3 feet” in many school settings.

Five months later, incoming president Joe Biden would tap Walensky as his CDC director. Walensky swiftly endorsed the six-foot distance before working to loosen it, announcing in March 2021 that elementary school students could sit three feet apart if they were masked. Walensky declined to comment.

The most persistent government critic of the social distancing guidelines may have been McCance-Katz, who did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Trump’s mental health chief had spent several years clashing with other Department of Health and Human Services officials on various matters and had few internal defenders by the time the pandemic arrived, hampering her message. But while her pleas failed to move the CDC, her warnings about the risks to mental health found an audience with Trump and his allies, who blamed federal bureaucrats for the six-foot rule and other measures.

“What is this nonsense that somehow it’s unsafe to return to school?” McCance-Katz said in September 2020 on an HHS podcast, lamenting the broader shutdown of American life. “I do think that Americans are smart people, and I think that they need to start asking questions about why is it this way.”

Paragraph on How To Stay Healthy

Students are often asked to write a paragraph on How To Stay Healthy in their schools. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 200-word, and 250-word paragraphs on the topic.

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Paragraph on How To Stay Healthy in 100 Words

Staying healthy is easy and important. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables because they are good for your body. Always drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated. Exercise every day, like playing outside, dancing, or doing yoga. This keeps your body strong. Don’t forget to sleep early and enough, as sleep helps your body rest and grow. Always wash your hands before you eat and after you play. This keeps germs away. And remember, a happy mind means a healthy body. So, always be happy, laugh a lot, and stay positive. That’s how you can stay healthy.

Paragraph on How To Stay Healthy in 200 Words

Staying healthy is like caring for a special plant; it needs the right food, exercise, and rest to grow strong. Eating balanced meals is the first step to a healthy body. Try to have a mix of fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins every day. These foods give you energy and help your body grow and repair itself. Drinking lots of water is also important to keep your body hydrated. Remember, water is the best drink for us. Exercising is like watering the plant. It keeps your body active and strong. You can play games, dance, swim, or even take a long walk. Try to move and play for at least an hour every day. Lastly, sleep is like the night rest for the plant. Our body needs to rest and recharge for at least 8 to 10 hours every night. Sleeping well helps us to think clearly, grow properly, and stay in a happy mood. So, like a good gardener takes care of his plant, remember to eat well, exercise, and rest to keep your body healthy and strong.

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Essay on How To Stay Healthy

Paragraph on How To Stay Healthy in 250 Words

Staying healthy is not complicated, and it is something that everyone can do with some simple steps. First, it’s essential to eat a balanced diet. This means having a mix of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains in your meals. Avoid foods that are high in sugar or fat. Drinking plenty of water is also crucial to keep your body working well. Second, exercise regularly. This could be anything from playing a sport, dancing, or even going for a brisk walk. Regular exercise helps to keep your heart strong and your body fit. Third, getting enough sleep each night is vital. When you sleep, your body has time to rest and repair itself. A good night’s sleep can help you feel refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Fourth, it’s important to keep your mind healthy too. Reading, solving puzzles, or learning a new skill can help to keep your brain sharp. Lastly, remember to wash your hands often and avoid touching your face to keep germs at bay. Staying healthy is not just about being free from illness; it’s about feeling good in your body and mind. By following these simple steps, you can take charge of your health and enjoy a happier, healthier life.

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When Prison and Mental Illness Amount to a Death Sentence

The downward spiral of one inmate, Markus Johnson, shows the larger failures of the nation’s prisons to care for the mentally ill.

Supported by

By Glenn Thrush

Photographs by Carlos Javier Ortiz

Glenn Thrush spent more than a year reporting this article, interviewing close to 50 people and reviewing court-obtained body-camera footage and more than 1,500 pages of documents.

Published May 5, 2024 Updated May 7, 2024

Markus Johnson slumped naked against the wall of his cell, skin flecked with pepper spray, his face a mask of puzzlement, exhaustion and resignation. Four men in black tactical gear pinned him, his face to the concrete, to cuff his hands behind his back.

He did not resist. He couldn’t. He was so gravely dehydrated he would be dead by their next shift change.

Listen to this article with reporter commentary

“I didn’t do anything,” Mr. Johnson moaned as they pressed a shield between his shoulders.

It was 1:19 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2019, in the Danville Correctional Center, a medium-security prison a few hours south of Chicago. Mr. Johnson, 21 and serving a short sentence for gun possession, was in the throes of a mental collapse that had gone largely untreated, but hardly unwatched.

He had entered in good health, with hopes of using the time to gain work skills. But for the previous three weeks, Mr. Johnson, who suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had refused to eat or take his medication. Most dangerous of all, he had stealthily stopped drinking water, hastening the physical collapse that often accompanies full-scale mental crises.

Mr. Johnson’s horrific downward spiral, which has not been previously reported, represents the larger failures of the nation’s prisons to care for the mentally ill. Many seriously ill people receive no treatment . For those who do, the outcome is often determined by the vigilance and commitment of individual supervisors and frontline staff, which vary greatly from system to system, prison to prison, and even shift to shift.

The country’s jails and prisons have become its largest provider of inpatient mental health treatment, with 10 times as many seriously mentally ill people now held behind bars as in hospitals. Estimating the population of incarcerated people with major psychological problems is difficult, but the number is likely 200,000 to 300,000, experts say.

Many of these institutions remain ill-equipped to handle such a task, and the burden often falls on prison staff and health care personnel who struggle with the dual roles of jailer and caregiver in a high-stress, dangerous, often dehumanizing environment.

In 2021, Joshua McLemore , a 29-year-old with schizophrenia held for weeks in an isolation cell in Jackson County, Ind., died of organ failure resulting from a “refusal to eat or drink,” according to an autopsy. In April, New York City agreed to pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Nicholas Feliciano, a young man with a history of mental illness who suffered severe brain damage after attempting to hang himself on Rikers Island — as correctional officers stood by.

Mr. Johnson’s mother has filed a wrongful-death suit against the state and Wexford Health Sources, a for-profit health care contractor in Illinois prisons. The New York Times reviewed more than 1,500 pages of reports, along with depositions taken from those involved. Together, they reveal a cascade of missteps, missed opportunities, potential breaches of protocol and, at times, lapses in common sense.

A woman wearing a jeans jacket sitting at a table showing photos of a young boy on her cellphone.

Prison officials and Wexford staff took few steps to intervene even after it became clear that Mr. Johnson, who had been hospitalized repeatedly for similar episodes and recovered, had refused to take medication. Most notably, they did not transfer him to a state prison facility that provides more intensive mental health treatment than is available at regular prisons, records show.

The quality of medical care was also questionable, said Mr. Johnson’s lawyers, Sarah Grady and Howard Kaplan, a married legal team in Chicago. Mr. Johnson lost 50 to 60 pounds during three weeks in solitary confinement, but officials did not initiate interventions like intravenous feedings or transfer him to a non-prison hospital.

And they did not take the most basic step — dialing 911 — until it was too late.

There have been many attempts to improve the quality of mental health treatment in jails and prisons by putting care on par with punishment — including a major effort in Chicago . But improvements have proved difficult to enact and harder to sustain, hampered by funding and staffing shortages.

Lawyers representing the state corrections department, Wexford and staff members who worked at Danville declined to comment on Mr. Johnson’s death, citing the unresolved litigation. In their interviews with state police investigators, and in depositions, employees defended their professionalism and adherence to procedure, while citing problems with high staff turnover, difficult work conditions, limited resources and shortcomings of co-workers.

But some expressed a sense of resignation about the fate of Mr. Johnson and others like him.

Prisoners have “much better chances in a hospital, but that’s not their situation,” said a senior member of Wexford’s health care team in a deposition.

“I didn’t put them in prison,” he added. “They are in there for a reason.”

Markus Mison Johnson was born on March 1, 1998, to a mother who believed she was not capable of caring for him.

Days after his birth, he was taken in by Lisa Barker Johnson, a foster mother in her 30s who lived in Zion, Ill., a working-class city halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Markus eventually became one of four children she adopted from different families.

The Johnson house is a lively split level, with nieces, nephews, grandchildren and neighbors’ children, family keepsakes, video screens and juice boxes. Ms. Johnson sits at its center on a kitchen chair, chin resting on her hand as children wander over to share their thoughts, or to tug on her T-shirt to ask her to be their bathroom buddy.

From the start, her bond with Markus was particularly powerful, in part because the two looked so much alike, with distinctive dimpled smiles. Many neighbors assumed he was her biological son. The middle name she chose for him was intended to convey that message.

“Mison is short for ‘my son,’” she said standing over his modest footstone grave last summer.

He was happy at home. School was different. His grades were good, but he was intensely shy and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in elementary school.

That was around the time the bullying began. His sisters were fierce defenders, but they could only do so much. He did the best he could, developing a quick, taunting tongue.

These experiences filled him with a powerful yearning to fit in.

It was not to be.

When he was around 15, he called 911 in a panic, telling the dispatcher he saw two men standing near the small park next to his house threatening to abduct children playing there. The officers who responded found nothing out of the ordinary, and rang the Johnsons’ doorbell.

He later told his mother he had heard a voice telling him to “protect the kids.”

He was hospitalized for the first time at 16, and given medications that stabilized him for stretches of time. But the crises would strike every six months or so, often triggered by his decision to stop taking his medication.

His family became adept at reading signs he was “getting sick.” He would put on his tan Timberlands and a heavy winter coat, no matter the season, and perch on the edge of his bed as if bracing for battle. Sometimes, he would cook his own food, paranoid that someone might poison him.

He graduated six months early, on the dean’s list, but was rudderless, and hanging out with younger boys, often paying their way.

His mother pointed out the perils of buying friendship.

“I don’t care,” he said. “At least I’ll be popular for a minute.”

Zion’s inviting green grid of Bible-named streets belies the reality that it is a rough, unforgiving place to grow up. Family members say Markus wanted desperately to prove he was tough, and emulated his younger, reckless group of friends.

Like many of them, he obtained a pistol. He used it to hold up a convenience store clerk for $425 in January 2017, according to police records. He cut a plea deal for two years of probation, and never explained to his family what had made him do it.

But he kept getting into violent confrontations. In late July 2018, he was arrested in a neighbor’s garage with a handgun he later admitted was his. He was still on probation for the robbery, and his public defender negotiated a plea deal that would send him to state prison until January 2020.

An inpatient mental health system

Around 40 percent of the about 1.8 million people in local, state and federal jails and prison suffer from at least one mental illness, and many of these people have concurrent issues with substance abuse, according to recent Justice Department estimates.

Psychological problems, often exacerbated by drug use, often lead to significant medical problems resulting from a lack of hygiene or access to good health care.

“When you suffer depression in the outside world, it’s hard to concentrate, you have reduced energy, your sleep is disrupted, you have a very gloomy outlook, so you stop taking care of yourself,” said Robert L. Trestman , a Virginia Tech medical school professor who has worked on state prison mental health reforms.

The paradox is that prison is often the only place where sick people have access to even minimal care.

But the harsh work environment, remote location of many prisons, and low pay have led to severe shortages of corrections staff and the unwillingness of doctors, nurses and counselors to work with the incarcerated mentally ill.

In the early 2000s, prisoners’ rights lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit against Illinois claiming “deliberate indifference” to the plight of about 5,000 mentally ill prisoners locked in segregated units and denied treatment and medication.

In 2014, the parties reached a settlement that included minimum staffing mandates, revamped screening protocols, restrictions on the use of solitary confinement and the allocation of about $100 million to double capacity in the system’s specialized mental health units.

Yet within six months of the deal, Pablo Stewart, an independent monitor chosen to oversee its enforcement, declared the system to be in a state of emergency.

Over the years, some significant improvements have been made. But Dr. Stewart’s final report , drafted in 2022, gave the system failing marks for its medication and staffing policies and reliance on solitary confinement “crisis watch” cells.

Ms. Grady, one of Mr. Johnson’s lawyers, cited an additional problem: a lack of coordination between corrections staff and Wexford’s professionals, beyond dutifully filling out dozens of mandated status reports.

“Markus Johnson was basically documented to death,” she said.

‘I’m just trying to keep my head up’

Mr. Johnson was not exactly looking forward to prison. But he saw it as an opportunity to learn a trade so he could start a family when he got out.

On Dec. 18, 2018, he arrived at a processing center in Joliet, where he sat for an intake interview. He was coherent and cooperative, well-groomed and maintained eye contact. He was taking his medication, not suicidal and had a hearty appetite. He was listed as 5 feet 6 inches tall and 256 pounds.

Mr. Johnson described his mood as “go with the flow.”

A few days later, after arriving in Danville, he offered a less settled assessment during a telehealth visit with a Wexford psychiatrist, Dr. Nitin Thapar. Mr. Johnson admitted to being plagued by feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and “constant uncontrollable worrying” that affected his sleep.

He told Dr. Thapar he had heard voices in the past — but not now — telling him he was a failure, and warning that people were out to get him.

At the time he was incarcerated, the basic options for mentally ill people in Illinois prisons included placement in the general population or transfer to a special residential treatment program at the Dixon Correctional Center, west of Chicago. Mr. Johnson seemed out of immediate danger, so he was assigned to a standard two-man cell in the prison’s general population, with regular mental health counseling and medication.

Things started off well enough. “I’m just trying to keep my head up,” he wrote to his mother. “Every day I learn to be stronger & stronger.”

But his daily phone calls back home hinted at friction with other inmates. And there was not much for him to do after being turned down for a janitorial training program.

Then, in the spring of 2019, his grandmother died, sending him into a deep hole.

Dr. Thapar prescribed a new drug used to treat major depressive disorders. Its most common side effect is weight gain. Mr. Johnson stopped taking it.

On July 4, he told Dr. Thapar matter-of-factly during a telehealth check-in that he was no longer taking any of his medications. “I’ve been feeling normal, I guess,” he said. “I feel like I don’t need the medication anymore.”

Dr. Thapar said he thought that was a mistake, but accepted the decision and removed Mr. Johnson from his regular mental health caseload — instructing him to “reach out” if he needed help, records show.

The pace of calls back home slackened. Mr. Johnson spent more time in bed, and became more surly. At a group-therapy session, he sat stone silent, after showing up late.

By early August, he was telling guards he had stopped eating.

At some point, no one knows when, he had intermittently stopped drinking fluids.

‘I’m having a breakdown’

Then came the crash.

On Aug. 12, Mr. Johnson got into a fight with his older cellmate.

He was taken to a one-man disciplinary cell. A few hours later, Wexford’s on-site mental health counselor, Melanie Easton, was shocked by his disoriented condition. Mr. Johnson stared blankly, then burst into tears when asked if he had “suffered a loss in the previous six months.”

He was so unresponsive to her questions she could not finish the evaluation.

Ms. Easton ordered that he be moved to a 9-foot by 8-foot crisis cell — solitary confinement with enhanced monitoring. At this moment, a supervisor could have ticked the box for “residential treatment” on a form to transfer him to Dixon. That did not happen, according to records and depositions.

Around this time, he asked to be placed back on his medication but nothing seems to have come of it, records show.

By mid-August, he said he was visualizing “people that were not there,” according to case notes. At first, he was acting more aggressively, once flicking water at a guard through a hole in his cell door. But his energy ebbed, and he gradually migrated downward — from standing to bunk to floor.

“I’m having a breakdown,” he confided to a Wexford employee.

At the time, inmates in Illinois were required to declare an official hunger strike before prison officials would initiate protocols, including blood testing or forced feedings. But when a guard asked Mr. Johnson why he would not eat, he said he was “fasting,” as opposed to starving himself, and no action seems to have been taken.

‘Tell me this is OK!’

Lt. Matthew Morrison, one of the few people at Danville to take a personal interest in Mr. Johnson, reported seeing a white rind around his mouth in early September. He told other staff members the cell gave off “a death smell,” according to a deposition.

On Sept. 5, they moved Mr. Johnson to one of six cells adjacent to the prison’s small, bare-bones infirmary. Prison officials finally placed him on the official hunger strike protocol without his consent.

Mr. Morrison, in his deposition, said he was troubled by the inaction of the Wexford staff, and the lack of urgency exhibited by the medical director, Dr. Justin Young.

On Sept. 5, Mr. Morrison approached Dr. Young to express his concerns, and the doctor agreed to order blood and urine tests. But Dr. Young lived in Chicago, and was on site at the prison about four times a week, according to Mr. Kaplan. Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, was not one of those days.

Mr. Morrison arrived at work that morning, expecting to find Mr. Johnson’s testing underway. A Wexford nurse told him Dr. Young believed the tests could wait.

Mr. Morrison, stunned, asked her to call Dr. Young.

“He’s good till Monday,” Dr. Young responded, according to Mr. Morrison.

“Come on, come on, look at this guy! You tell me this is OK!” the officer responded.

Eventually, Justin Duprey, a licensed nurse practitioner and the most senior Wexford employee on duty that day, authorized the test himself.

Mr. Morrison, thinking he had averted a disaster, entered the cell and implored Mr. Johnson into taking the tests. He refused.

So prison officials obtained approval to remove him forcibly from his cell.

‘Oh, my God’

What happened next is documented in video taken from cameras held by officers on the extraction team and obtained by The Times through a court order.

Mr. Johnson is scarcely recognizable as the neatly groomed 21-year-old captured in a cellphone picture a few months earlier. His skin is ashen, eyes fixed on the middle distance. He might be 40. Or 60.

At first, he places his hands forward through the hole in his cell door to be cuffed. This is against procedure, the officers shout. His hands must be in back.

He will not, or cannot, comply. He wanders to the rear of his cell and falls hard. Two blasts of pepper spray barely elicit a reaction. The leader of the tactical team later said he found it unusual and unnerving.

The next video is in the medical unit. A shield is pressed to his chest. He is in agony, begging for them to stop, as two nurses attempt to insert a catheter.

Then they move him, half-conscious and limp, onto a wheelchair for the blood draw.

For the next 20 minutes, the Wexford nurse performing the procedure, Angelica Wachtor, jabs hands and arms to find a vessel that will hold shape. She winces with each puncture, tries to comfort him, and grows increasingly rattled.

“Oh, my God,” she mutters, and asks why help is not on the way.

She did not request assistance or discuss calling 911, records indicate.

“Can you please stop — it’s burning real bad,” Mr. Johnson said.

Soon after, a member of the tactical team reminds Ms. Wachtor to take Mr. Johnson’s vitals before taking him back to his cell. She would later tell Dr. Young she had been unable to able to obtain his blood pressure.

“You good?” one of the team members asks as they are preparing to leave.

“Yeah, I’ll have to be,” she replies in the recording.

Officers lifted him back onto his bunk, leaving him unconscious and naked except for a covering draped over his groin. His expressionless face is visible through the window on the cell door as it closes.

‘Cardiac arrest.’

Mr. Duprey, the nurse practitioner, had been sitting inside his office after corrections staff ordered him to shelter for his own protection, he said. When he emerged, he found Ms. Wachtor sobbing, and after a delay, he was let into the cell. Finding no pulse, Mr. Duprey asked a prison employee to call 911 so Mr. Johnson could be taken to a local emergency room.

The Wexford staff initiated CPR. It did not work.

At 3:38 p.m., the paramedics declared Markus Mison Johnson dead.

Afterward, a senior official at Danville called the Johnson family to say he had died of “cardiac arrest.”

Lisa Johnson pressed for more information, but none was initially forthcoming. She would soon receive a box hastily crammed with his possessions: uneaten snacks, notebooks, an inspirational memoir by a man who had served 20 years at Leavenworth.

Later, Shiping Bao, the coroner who examined his body, determined Mr. Johnson had died of severe dehydration. He told the state police it “was one of the driest bodies he had ever seen.”

For a long time, Ms. Johnson blamed herself. She says that her biggest mistake was assuming that the state, with all its resources, would provide a level of care comparable to what she had been able to provide her son.

She had stopped accepting foster care children while she was raising Markus and his siblings. But as the months dragged on, she decided her once-boisterous house had become oppressively still, and let local agencies know she was available again.

“It is good to have children around,” she said. “It was too quiet around here.”

Read by Glenn Thrush

Audio produced by Jack D’Isidoro .

Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice. He joined The Times in 2017 after working for Politico, Newsday, Bloomberg News, The New York Daily News, The Birmingham Post-Herald and City Limits. More about Glenn Thrush

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