You are not sick? So much the better ! But health is much more than that and it needs to be maintained.. So far it has been taken care of by your parents.
Be up to date with your vaccinations
Polio, tuberculosis, rabies, tetanus, meningitis or even hepatitis…: today most serious infectious diseases have disappeared, thanks to vaccines, administered according to a precise schedule from an early age. To find out if you benefit from this 100% protection, start by taking stock with your doctor, using your health record. Then stay up to date with mandatory reminders to stay protected against certain diseases:
And if you travel to certain countries, don’t forget to get vaccinated to avoid contracting certain endemic diseases. To do this, the Institut Pasteur offers you an interactive map, with the vaccines required or recommended.
Eat a balanced diet
Obesity and overweight kill nearly 3 million people every year, or more than 5 people per minute 1 . 800 million people suffer from it today in the world, including 124 million young people 1 . And the evil progresses at high speed. The cause: an unbalanced diet and an overly sedentary life. The fat cells produced during childhood and youth being much more difficult to fight than those acquired in adulthood, take the right habits now. By eating balanced 2 , that is to say:
Prefer whole starchy foods (1/day), fish (2/week including 1 fat), rapeseed oil, walnuts or olives), poultry and dairy products (2/day).
Reduce alcohol (maximum 2 glasses/day and not every day), sugary drinks, fatty, sugary, salty and ultra-processed foods, salty products and salt, cold meats (150 g/week maximum) and pork, beef, veal, lamb, offal (500 g/week maximum).
Move
In addition to “junk food”, physical inactivity is the 2nd cause of overweight and obesity. Not to mention that it also promotes musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases and depression. So, to stay in shape and fill up on endorphins:
Increase your physical activity, with at least 30 minutes of exercise per day: gym, bike, run or any other sport, preferably outside.
Take care of your teeth
If the oral health of the French has improved significantly in recent years thanks to prevention during childhood, dental capital is never 100% acquired, it is maintained. Because the mouth is the gateway to our health. Oral inflammation, even without symptoms, can in fact migrate to other organs and promote cardiovascular disease; Bad dental occlusion can cause digestion problems and bad breath can cause relationship problems. To avoid getting there: some good reflexes:
Brush your teeth morning and evening for 2 minutes with fluoride toothpaste, insisting on the spaces between the teeth with dental floss or brushes, then an alcohol-free mouthwash.
Get rid of possible addictions
Tobacco kills 75,000 people each year in France 2 and alcohol nearly 50,000 2 , making it the two leading causes of death. We may know it, we continue to smoke and drink to excess, especially when we are young. To avoid the devastating effects of these addictions:
Because if some can smoke without ever having serious health problems, others may develop cancer and smoke 1 cigarette a day.
Less frequent, addictions to recreational or hard drugs are nevertheless proportionally more dangerous because the proportion of users who are hit with serious consequences is higher. Here too, there are consultations and detoxification centres. to get help.
Protect yourself from STDs
It is not because there are treatments for HIV today that it has disappeared. It remains a serious chronic disease that requires patients to take lifelong treatment, with side effects and a reduced quality of life. Not to mention the other sexually transmitted diseases: syphilis, herpes, cancers, etc.
Track your health online
With digital tools, tracking your health, finding a doctor and getting reimbursed has become child’s play. All insured persons have an ameli account that they can activate from the age of 18. It will allow you to follow your reimbursements, your sickness benefits and your procedures with Social Security online. Most complementary mutuals also offer one.