Now more so than ever, it is vital to look after your health. A full 60% of Americans have some kind of serious health condition, increasing their risk of illness and debilitating disease.
The first step towards making the right decisions about your health and fitness is knowing whether or not you are actually unwell. If you’re wondering how to know if you are healthy, you will be glad to learn that determining your physical health is a relatively easy and straightforward process.
As long as you know the main telltale signs of good health, you can begin making more informed lifestyle choices. With that in mind, here are six ways to tell if you are healthy.
1. Healthy Eating Habits
When checking your physical health, how you eat is often the easiest way to determine the results. There are many eating habits that indicate good health. If you eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full, that is a very positive sign.
If you have a wholesome diet that incorporates all of the main food groups, you are likely to be healthy. Even simply enjoying your food and having a positive relationship with it is a strong indicator of good health.
2. Energy Levels
If you have low levels of energy throughout the day, then it is possible you are suffering from poor health. A healthy person should have enough energy to get through the day and should feel refreshed when they wake up in the morning.
In addition, you should be able to complete simple tasks such as climbing two flights of stairs with minimal effort and without raising your heart rate. If you cannot do these things, have your blood sugar checked, as diabetes might be the culprit.
3. A Low Body Fat Percentage
When it comes to determining a healthy weight, many people still tend to use BMI. However, as this BMI vs body fat percentage guide explains, this is not the most reliable way to assess your weight.
Rather, you should be using body fat percentage, rather than body mass index, as a reliable indicator. For men, a healthy body fat percentage is 8-19%. For women, it is 21-33%.
4. Clear Eyes
This one seems simplistic, but it can be incredibly reliable as an indicator of health. If the whites of your eyes are not looking so white, then you could be experiencing the symptoms of a wide range of health conditions.
Keep an eye out for jaundiced or bloodshot eyes, as these are telltale signs of generally poor health as well as specific diseases.
5. Normal Sleeping Patterns
How you sleep can go a long way towards determining your health. If you sleep between seven and nine hours per night, you are in the healthy range.
If you fall asleep quickly (but not immediately) when you get to bed, this is healthy. If your sleep is mostly uninterrupted, then that is a good sign.
6. Emotional Wellbeing
Finally, don’t forget to check on your emotional wellbeing and mental health. Being happy all of the time does not mean you are healthy. You should be able to experience the full range of human emotions, without veering towards extremes.
Dramatic mood swings, manic behavior, and extended bouts of sadness can all be signs of poor health and should be confronted immediately.
How to Know if You Are Healthy
When wondering how to know if you are healthy, these simple indicators are a good start. However, these alone are not enough to make informed decisions about your health.
For this, it helps to educate yourself on the healthcare information and trends that are relevant to you. You can do this by consulting our extensive and expertly-curated Health & Fitness section to find out exactly what you need to know about good health.
