Number serves a lot of important functions in our lives, and one of them has something to do with our health. You can find out whether you are healthy or not from these seven important numbers:
- Calories you need daily
Never understimate how many calories you consume daily because calories can have a huge influence on your health. If you are a person doing normal activities every day, then in general you need only 2.000 calories per day (if you are a woman) or 2.550 calories (for men). When you buy packaged foods, they usually have the Nutrition Facts label. You can use it as a reference when you eat the foods. If you are planning on losing weight, you can eat about 500 calories less every day.
- The size of your waist
Knowing the size of your waist is important because the number indicates your belly fat. Having too much belly fat can increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. So what’s the ideal waist size? For women, it should not be more than 35 inches, whereas for men the health risk begins when the waist size is over 40 inches. So take a tape measure, wrap it around your belly, start measuring and find out. Don’t cheat by pulling your stomach in!
- Your blood pressure
Your blood pressure rises and falls during the day, and that’s normal. A normal blood pressure should be 120/80 mmHG or less. Having a normal blood pressure will decrease the risk of premature death and disability. What about having a high blood pressure? It increases your risk of stroke, heart attack and kidney disease. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not have the symptoms, so it’s best to go see the doctor and get your blood pressure checked.
- Your cholesterol levels
Talking about cholesterol, there are two things that you need to know: the LDL (bad) cholesterol and the HDL (good) cholesterol. Your LDL should be under 100mg/dL and HDL over 50. The total cholesterol number should be below 200. If your cholesterol is too high, you are at risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Your blood sugar
Your body has a main source of energy, sugar. The sugar that is stored in your blood is called gluctose. The average blood sugar should range between 70 and 130. Higher or lower than that, there’s a risk of suffering from diabetes.
- C-reactive protein
The ideal number for C-reactive protein is less than 1. If you have inflammation somewhere in your body, your C-reactive protein will rise. Having inflammation can mean trouble. You’ll have increased risk of heart disease, stroke and arthritis if your C-reactive protein is higher than 1.
- Your pulse
What is pulse? It’s the number of times your heart beats in one minute. A normal resting pulse rate is 60 to 90 beats per minute. Regular monitoring of your pulse is really recommended, and the best time to do it is in the morning when you are relaxed. Healthy people will usually have lower pulse rates because their heart muscles are in good shape. If you want to strengthen your heart, do daily workouts.
