Most people can’t even comprehend the life changing benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. In many cases we know that something is good for us, but we don’t really slow down to take the time and really understand it to the fullest extent.

The shocking results in a recent study at the University of South Carolina might help put in to perspective the seriousness of living a healthy lifestyle.

A team of researchers lead by Dr. Dana King set out on a study of middle aged adults to see what kind of results they could obtain from habits like eating vegetables and walking 30 minutes per day.

The study showed that the adults from ages 45-64 who started eating five or more fruits and vegetables each day, exercising for a minimum of 2.5 hours per week, keeping their weight down and not smoking actually decreased their risk of heart disease by 35 percent and their risk of death by at least 40 percent at the end of a 4 year study.

Now, I don’t know about you but to me that is very inspirational. “The adopters of a healthy lifestyle basically caught up. Within four years, their mortality rate and rate of heart attacks matched the people who had been doing these behaviors all along,” said Dr. Dana King at the Medical University of South Carolina, who led the research. Dr. King added “even if you have not had a healthy lifestyle previously, it’s not too late to adopt those healthy lifestyle habits and gain almost immediate benefits.”

What that tells me is that, it’s NEVER too late to start living healthy. Similar studies have also shown this to be true and have actually stated that an average person can add 7-10 years to their life just by following these suggestions. That’s the “average”. Many believe that you can add 20 years to your life if you start living this lifestyle in your 20’s and 30’s.

So, the four most important things to remember is that…..

1. Eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every single day. To add additional value to this I would highly recommend organic fruits and vegetables as they are much higher in nutritional value.
2. Moderate exercise for a minimum of 2.5 hours per week.
3. Maintain a healthy weight for your body weight.
4. Don’t smoke!

Of course I have many other recommendations like avoiding excessive amount of alcohol and staying away from processed sugars that you find in sodas, candies and other sorts of junk foods.!

It took all four — having just three of the healthy habits yielded no heart benefits and a more modest decrease in overall risk of death. Still, said Dr. Nichola Davis at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, “These benefits are on a continuum. The more of the healthy habits that you can adapt, the better. …These are modest changes that they’re talking about.”

I leave you with this, great things are possible in our lives. Most of these things are possible by simply making a choice. Making a choice to be great and obtain greatness in your life. A choice to not accept mediocrity.

The choice is indeed yours.