5 Little-Known (Yet Powerful) Ways to Protect Your Health

When you seek out health advice, most experts begin with common suggestions such as eating a varied, nutritious diet and exercising more. If you’ve already taken these steps, you might be curious about lesser-known tips for protecting your health. 

At Westmed Family Healthcare in Westminster, Colorado, board-certified family physicians Clifton Etienne, MD, and Michael Cavanagh, MD, are always ready to give you personalized guidance after reviewing your health status during annual wellness visits and other health check-ins. 

Our team can point you toward reasonable lifestyle changes that align with your health goals or offer tips to reduce your health risks. 

If you’re looking for niche tips for protecting your health, you’ve come to the right place. Use this guide to make powerful, yet unexpected, changes that will help you stay as healthy as possible. 

1. Keep hand sanitizer handy

You’ve probably been told to wash your hands frequently, especially during the “sick season.” Practicing good hygiene is essential for reducing germs such as viruses and bacteria. It helps you avoid getting sick and spreading sicknesses to others. 

Keeping a personal bottle of hand sanitizer in your purse, pocket, or glove compartment can help you clean your hands at times when you’re nowhere near soap and water. 

You should continue washing your hands when possible, but using hand sanitizer offers an extra layer of protection against illnesses like the flu and common cold. 

2. Protect the good bacteria

Hand washing and sanitizing aim to eliminate some of the bad bacteria on your skin, but your body harbors good bacteria, as well. One way to protect some of the beneficial bacteria is by consuming probiotics. 

Probiotics include food products like yogurt, kefir, and kombucha. They contribute to the healthy bacteria populations inside your digestive system that maintain your gut health. 

Off-balance gut bacteria can lead to dysbiosis, a condition characterized by a weakened gut microbiome, which contributes to inflammation. The good bacteria in probiotics can help your body fight common infections and inflammatory conditions such as atopic dermatitis, gum disease, and urinary tract infections (UTIs). 

Not all probiotics are alike, so be sure to do your research on which types of bacteria are in a probiotic and which parts of your body they support. 

3. Make sleep hygiene a priority

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for everyday energy, but did you know that your poor sleep could be a reason you keep getting sick? A lack of sleep disturbs your immune system, impacting its ability to fight off common infections. 

If you consistently have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, try practicing sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene involves habits that set the stage for higher quality, more consistent sleep, including:

• Using your bed only for sleep
• Making your bedroom as dark as possible
• Making your room quiet (or using white noise or other strategies to drown out noise)
• Sticking to a fixed sleep schedule (same bedtime and waking time every day)
• Avoiding caffeine and alcohol in the evening
• Avoiding screen time before bed

Whatever habits you think might help support your sleep, try to implement them on a nightly basis. 

4. Replace sugary treats

Do you tend to crave sweets? You might be eating much more sugar than you realize. Sugar can be fine in an occasional treat, but too much sugar impacts your health in numerous ways. Added sugar can:

• Increase your heart disease risk
• Raise your blood pressure
• Contribute to chronic inflammation
• Age your skin
• Lower your immunity

Avoiding added sugars, such as high-fructose corn syrup and honey, can be difficult, but it gets easier as time goes on. Try replacing some of your favorite sugary treats with healthier alternatives. For example, if you enjoy candy, stock your kitchen with fruit instead. 

5. Write down your health goals

Science says that when you write down your goals, you’re more likely to achieve them. Health goals are no exception. If you have specific goals for staying healthy, write them down and keep them in a place you’ll see them regularly. 

Our team at Westmed Family Healthcare can help you identify tangible health goals you can work toward for the rest of the year and beyond. 

Get in touch

Want more lesser-known tips for protecting your health? Contact Westmed Family Healthcare to schedule an appointment. Call our office today or book online anytime.