5 Eco-Friendly Ways to Improve Your Health

We all want to be healthy. Maybe it's because we enjoy active lives or maybe we simply want to stave off death. I'd wager that it's a bit of both for most people. Living a green lifestyle isn't just good for the planet, it is also good for you.

1. Don't Smoke
   Smoking is obviously a health hazard. It causes lung cancer and other ailments. Luckily, the activity has lost popularity in the last couple of decades. It's been banned in restaurants, hotels, bars in cities across the country. As a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. It's been years since my last cigarette and yet, every now and then, I am struck by the urge. I even have nightmares that I start smoking again.
   
   
   • Why Quitting Smoking is Green
     Smoking pollutes the air. Second-hand and now third-hand smoke can affect non-smokers. Don't forget the packaging waste, the cigarette butts and the acres and acres of tobaccos fields that could be put to better use making food for those affected by global warming.


2. Don't Idle Your Car
   The emissions released by car exhaust from idling cars can damage the lungs. The elderly and children are at the most risk.
   
   
   • Why Reducing Your Idling is Green
     Idling wastes gas and adds to global warming. It also contributes to acid rain.


3. Ride a Bike or Walk to Work
   Exercise is always good for you. It can help you lose weight and build muscles. Cardiovascular exercise is also good for the heart. Exercise is also good for depression. Biking and walking are great exercise.
   
   
   • Why Riding a Bike and Walking is Green
     These forms of transportation are emission-free. Both require the most natural of resources, your legs.


4. Eat Less Red Meat and Fish
   The saturated animal fats found in red meat contribute to heart disease and atherosclerosis. The people who indulge in red meat most often run a higher risk of colon cancer. You should limit your fish intake due to the risk of mercury contamination.
   
   
   • Why Changing Your Meat Habits is Green
     The transportation of livestock and their meats has a high carbon footprint. This goes for other animals that produce white meat as well. Eating a chicken may be healthier than eating a cow, but the chicken is still a carbon-intensive animal. Fish are being over fished. They need time to recoup their numbers.
   
   


5. Eat Organic Foods
   Organic foods have more nutrients and less pesticide residue. They also have a higher level of antioxidants.
   
   
   • Why Eating Organic Foods is Green
     The lack of pesticides is a real boon for the earth. Pesticides tend to get into the water supply and kill fish and other animals.

More on Eco-Friendly Health:
How to Go Green: Food & Health
10 Mold Prevention Tips
Dear Ladies: Cellulite Is Natural

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