Lifestyle Modification Demystified

Dr Vrishali Patil explains lifestyle modification techniques

- Dr Vrishali Patil

Lifestyle is the aggregation of personal decisions which an individual controls. These decisions are said to contribute to or cause a change in their well-being.

Lifestyle modification involves altering long-term habits and maintaining new behaviour for months or years. It involves major modifiable factors such as diet, exercise, stress, smoking and alcohol consumption. It can be used to control and treat a host of conditions like obesity, Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, depression, cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Dietary modification

Eating right is the most important component of lifestyle modification. Eating a variety of foods regularly and in the right amounts is the best formula for a healthy diet. It is not about a single meal, it is about balanced food choice over time that will make a difference. For good health, we need more than 40 different nutrients and no single food can supply them all. So, including a variety of food items in our plate can help us fulfil our daily nutritional requirement.

Fruits and vegetables are an important source of vitamins, minerals and fibre. We should try to eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Replacing refined carbohydrates with whole grain foods and increasing intake of vegetables and other foods high in dietary fibre is vital. Protein forms an essential part of a healthy diet and should account for anywhere from 10 to 35 per cent of total calories. Lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts can be consumed for a healthy diet.