3 Categories of Health That Often Get Overlooked

Everyone thinks about heart health. We all know someone who has heart problems and has to be a lot more regimented about food and exercise. Popular breakfast cereals constantly tout how heart smart they are. Even if you don’t have heart problems, being heart smart still makes a lot of sense. It is possible to replace a faulty heart. But the best course of action is to take really good care of the one you have.

We are also very aware of muscular health. To be clear, muscular health has nothing to do with body building. That’s more performance art than health. That said, strong, elastic muscles are the key to good health. Muscle weakness is to be avoided. Your muscles grow weaker when not in use. Sedentary lifestyles take a negative tole on the body and must be counteracted with intentional, vigorous exercise. Part of that exercise has to be devoted to muscular health.

It is not enough just to say that you are serious about your health. That is too big of a category and you can’t possibly keep up with all your body’s special needs at once. You might have to break it down to heart health Tuesday and muscular Monday. Here are a few other aspects of health that often get overlooked:

Skeletal Health

Right now, you can buy a powered exoskeleton suit to supply increased strength, endurance, and safety in industrial settings. That is no longer in the province of science fiction or future tech. But an exoskeleton will do you little good if your inner skeleton is unhealthy. Vitamin D tablets are the first things to reach for on the day you have set aside to focus on skeletal health.

There are three prominent ways to take in vitamin D. You can get it directly from the sun. Unfortunately, it is hard to get enough of it that way, especially for people with a darker complexion. It is best to wear plenty of sunscreen when spending a lot of time in the sun. That also has the effect of blocking the vitamin D you can get from Sol.

You can take supplements which is the more sensible choice. It is also easiest to precisely control. The third way is to get it from food. While food sources, alone, are often insufficient, here are some healthy ways to add vitamin D to your diet as recommended by Business Insider India:

• Foods highest in vitamin D include certain fish, like trout, but if you’re vegetarian you can get your RDA from fortified food.
• Orange juice, milk, and cereal are popular foods fortified with vitamin D.
• Egg yolks and mushrooms are also a good vegetarian-friendly source of vitamin D.

Gut Health

When we have a hunch about something, we often say we feel it in our gut. When making dietary changes, another thing frequently felt in the gut is pain. It is important to be aware of how your gut is affected by different foods and situations. You will not necessarily know the difference between gut pain caused by food and pain from stress. Yogurt is often recommended to help with gut discomfort. If you find that your gut issues are not going away with dietary changes, see a gastroenterologist right away.

Brain and Emotional Health

Your brain is an organ. And it would be helpful for you to think of your emotions in the same way. Omega 3 fatty acids, ginkgo biloba, and ginseng are three of the most common and effective supplements for a healthy brain. Vitamin D, B12, and probiotics are good for emotional health. Magnesium is good for sleep, another important component of emotional health.

Health is more than weight and body mass index. Calorie intake is not the last word in healthy eating. When it comes to health, you have to think more broadly. Don’t forget about skeletal health, gut health, and brain/emotional health the next time you find yourself at a GNC.