Better prevention than cure, you may have heard that before. It is also correct. You can better live a healthy life, exercise, eat healthy and take a rest than a sedentary lifestyle. Rehabilitation or healing always takes longer. In this article we are talking about BRAVO. You may have heard about BRAVO before. BRAVO is a dutch tool for general health. Translated BRAVO stands for exercise, smoking, alcohol and drugs, food & relaxation.

To move or exercise
In general, people exercise too little. The Dutch standard for healthy exercise (2017) indicates that someone should have at least 150 minutes per week of moderately intensive exercise. Take swimming, walking or cycling as an example. More and more often we go to work by public transport, we sit at the computer at work, and we relax on the couch after work. So a large number does not meet this standard.

Smoking
Everyone knows that smoking is not healthy. Smoking has a major impact on your health. That is why quitting smoking is a must have if you want to work on your health.

Alcohol and drugs
Like smoking, it is generally known that alcohol and drugs are not good for your health.

Nutrition
Just like exercise, a healthy diet is very important for your health. Poor nutrition leads to obesity and diabetes. Obesity has many disadvantages such as an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but also physical complaints such as lower back complaints. Do you want to know which diet suits you best? Then contact a dietician.

Relaxation
Don't forget to relax! Nowadays stress is not an unknown thing, but what exactly does stress mean. Stress is a natural response to life-threatening situations. Take as an example that you encounter a bear. Through hormones such as adrenaline & cortisol, your body prepares to flee or fight. This is super useful when you encounter a bear, but it doesn't happen that often now. You can also experience stress from busy days at work, arguing with your partner or getting annoyed by the traffic every day. Stress is very functional for short situations, only when stress lasts longer can it become harmful to your body. Long-term stress can affect your heart, breathing, digestion, immune system and muscles. By relaxing more, you ensure that the stress level will drop and complaints that are influenced by stress can decrease. Everyone reduces stress in a different way. Some ways to relax are saunas, going for walks, yoga or mindfulness. Would you like to read more about mindfulness? Then read "Mindfulness, insights from physiotherapy".   

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Kind regards,  

Sascha Bargi BSc. Pt. & MSc. Ost. in training