Lifestyle illnesses, such as stroke, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease cost billions of dollars in healthcare costs every year. They not only take up a great deal of your time but also pose risks for premature death and at the very least decrease your ability to enjoy the things you love to do.

Instead of living with disability and sickness, there are several holistic ways to improve your health and avoid the hardships that come with chronic disease.

Regular Physical Activity

There are many healthful benefits to exercise. Exercise can involve aerobic exercises like walking, running, swimming, or cycling, or anaerobic exercises, like lifting weights and using weight machines at the gym. Research has consistently shown that, by engaging in regular exercise, you can decrease your chances of suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many types of cancer, including colorectal cancer and lung cancer.

Exercise is not only something you do for your body's health. Exercise can easily help your mental health as well. Exercise is known to increase the brain's endogenous endorphins so you feel better and have a decreased perception of pain.

It also decreases your chances of suffering from an early death. One study from the Brigham and Woman's Hospital revealed that those people who engaged in a regular exercise program had a decreased risk of premature death by nearly a third.

Keep a Healthy Weight

It has been well established that people with a normal weight for their height have better health and function better in daily activities. Unfortunately, obesity is on the rise and this means an increase in chronic illnesses. There are many ways you can keep your weight within the normal range.

Exercising on a daily basis can go a long way toward improving your weight and eating a low calorie healthy diet is also essential in avoiding weight gain and the medical problems that go along with being overweight. You don't have to drastically change your weight. Losing just a few pounds can make the difference between poor health and good health.

Get Vaccinated and Screened For Chronic Illnesses

While getting a vaccine against the flu or pneumonia isn't technically holistic, they are important things you will want to do, especially as you age. In addition, you need to see your doctor on a regular basis to be screened for many of the chronic illnesses that go on to having a poor quality of life.

Screening for diabetes alone can identify your risk for the disease and can help you stave off the complications that go along with having this chronic illness. Cholesterol screening, too, can identify your risk for heart diseases and can lead you toward better eating habits that will lower your cholesterol and improve your overall health.

Stay Social

People who isolate themselves have worse health than those who spend time with friends and loved ones. It can involve taking out time to eat together as a family, going out periodically with your spouse, or engaging in an exercise program with a close friend. Your social network is just as important to your health as any other healthful activity you can engage in.