Find balance – Feel better – Live well

There is no question that today’s lifestyle is easily referred to as imbalanced. We are spending more time at work, eating food farther from it’s source and living a more sedentary lifestyle than ever before. The American Heart Association has estimated that only 3% of the population have an overall prevalence of healthy lifestyle indicators (i.e., eating nutritiously, being active and within a healthy body weight)* and despite all the gyms and diet crazes, there seems to be growing gap between our lifestyle and our priority on real health.

Balance Tree exists to help you put your health first – giving you the opportunity to cultivate your health from the inside out, offering expert advice and tutorials in the main areas of healthy living – and here are some reasons why you should.

Movement

Physical inactivity has been identified as the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality and is estimated to be the main cause for approximately 21–25% of breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes and approximately 30% of heart disease burden.

Regular and adequate levels of physical activity in adults:

  • reduce the risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, breast and colon cancer, depression and the risk of falls;
  • improve bone and functional health; and
  • are a key determinant of energy expenditure, and thus fundamental to energy balance and weight control.

(Retrieved from the World Health Organization‘s Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health)

Nutrition

In a 2009 study of 200,000 people in 52 countries found that the prevalence of inadequate diet is “remarkably high” across the globe. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine reported on the study which also stated that “Low fruit and vegetable consumption is a risk factor for overweight and obesity, and adequate consumption decreases risk for developing several chronic diseases.”

Stress Relief

Stress and Stress Control from the Calgary Forum

Dr. Tim Armstrong of the World Health Organization has said “we believe that prevention is the best answer to the problem. We can prevent these diseases by small changes in people’s behaviour. For example, 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day, that is the equivalent of a brisk walk, can reduce your risk of a heart attack by up to 50%. Increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption can reduce your risk of colon cancer by up to 50%. So these changes are real, they are achievable. What we as WHO, and of course governments are encouraged to, do is to create the policies and the environment for people to be able to make these small choices. The health benefits are there, they are real, they are measured and they are cost effective.

*http://americanheart.org/downloadable/heart/1265665152970DS-3241%20HeartStrokeUpdate_2010.pdf