Eat a healthy diet
Photo: FAO/J. Grey
Eat a combination of different foods, including fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains. Adults should eat at least five portions (400g) of fruit and vegetables per day. You can improve your intake of fruits and vegetables by always including veggies in your meal; eating fresh fruit and vegetables as snacks; eating a variety of fruits and vegetables; and eating them in season.
2. Consume less salt and sugar
Photo: WHO/C. Black
Filipinos consume twice the recommended amount of sodium, putting them at risk of high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Most people get their sodium through salt. Reduce your salt intake to 5g per day, equivalent to about one teaspoon. It’s easier to do this by limiting the amount of salt, soy sauce, fish sauce and other high-sodium condiments when preparing meals; removing salt, seasonings and condiments from your meal table; avoiding salty snacks; and choosing low-sodium products.
. Reduce intake of harmful fats
Photo: WHO/S. Volkov
Fats consumed should be less than 30% of your total energy intake. This will help prevent unhealthy weight gain and NCDs. There are different types of fats, but unsaturated fats are preferable over saturated fats and trans-fats. WHO recommends reducing saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy intake; reducing trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake; and replacing both saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats.
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5. Don’t smoke
Photo: WHO/Y. Shimizu
Smoking tobacco causes NCDs such as lung disease, heart disease and stroke.
6. Be active
Photo: WHO/Y. Shimizu
Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.
. Check your blood pressure regularly
Photo: WHO/F. Tanggol
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is called a “silent killer”. This is because many people who have hypertension may not be aware of the problem as it may not have any symptoms.
8. Get tested
Photo: WHO/F. Tanggol
Getting yourself tested is an important step in knowing your health status, especially when it comes to HIV, hepatitis B, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB
9. Get vaccinated
Photo: WHO/F. Tanggol
Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent diseases