New Year's Resolution: 12 Pain-free Ways to a Healthier Life

By Dr. David Butler-Jones

New Year's resolutions sometimes have a way of fading faster than the final strains of Auld Lang Syne. By mid January, the holiday spirit and our resolve may be just a distant memory. Maybe the goals we set are too lofty, too difficult to keep. To be successful it helps if we make the right choices, the easy choices, or at least the ones easier to realize.

So as Canada 's Chief Public Health Officer, I want to offer some practical and achievable resolutions that can be part of making 2005 a little healthier, and hopefully, a little more personally fulfilling. Of course, one of the best things Canadians can do to improve their health is stop smoking and avoid second-hand smoke. Enough said.

Also, we know that how and where we live, our work, education, economics, income, the environment and other factors, all influence our ability to be healthy. And these factors are essential challenges we must face as a society if we hope to improve and sustain health.

In addition there are some personal choices to influence our own health, and they may not be too difficult.

Let's call these the "12 relatively pain-free ways to a healthier life." If we take even some of them to heart, they really can improve our odds for a happy and healthy year.

1. Wash Hands. Our mothers were right on this one. We come in contact with all kinds of potential infections every day and frequent hand washing is our best protection for ourselves and others.
2. Exercise. This doesn't have to mean trying out for the national ski team or a whole new exercise wardrobe. For most of us it means just doing a bit more and thinking about opportunities to keep active. Consider just 10 to 15 minutes of extra activity each day. Stretching, a short jaunt with the dog, parking a few blocks from work, or better yet, cycling to work all help.
3. Eat Healthier, not More. This one is not an easy resolution to keep, as most of us know from experience over the holidays. But obesity is one of Canada 's increasingly serious public health issues, and small changes can mean a lot. Just cutting out one sweet soft drink a day could reduce your weight by five to 10 pounds a year. Think small and eventually you'll get big results.
4. Keep a Healthy Kitchen. Treat your own kitchen as you would expect in a four-star restaurant. Wash your hands (again!), keep food preparation surfaces clean, cook meats to the proper temperature before serving, and keep things cold that are meant to be kept cold. Bacteria that cause food poisoning thrive at room temperature.
5. Coming Down with Something? Stay Home. I have yet to meet someone who is completely indispensable at work for a few days, despite what our egos tell us. When ill, stay home to recover faster and not pass your illness on to fellow workers.
6. Get Your Flu Shot. Most high risk Canadians have already had their flu shot this season. Unfortunately, the average for the population is only about 30 per cent. Younger, healthy people who catch it spread it to others so we should all get a flu shot, not only to avoid that week or two of misery for ourselves, but to protect others more likely to die or be hospitalized.
7. Clean Up Those Cupboards. Find out what is lurking in your cleaning closet or medicine cabinet. Old cleaners and medicines that you haven't touched in years should probably go, but remember they need to be disposed of properly. And they should be kept out of reach or locked away. Even homes without small children may have a young visitor, who could swallow something very dangerous.
8. Make Your Home Safe. What dangers lurk on the rickety basement stairs? Improved health is also about living in a safer home environment. Resolve to reduce clutter, childproof the family room, upgrade the fuse box, install smoke detectors and, yes, repair those stairs and put up a handrail. Your home is not an obstacle course.
9. Play Safe. Resolve to watch out for dangers to yourself and those close to you. Get a helmet for every bike in the garage. Keep young kids off motorized vehicles, including ATV's, snowmobiles and even lawn tractors. You know what dangers are lurking for your unsuspecting children; make sure they know as well.
10. Travel Smart. Vaccinations are not just for fighting the flu. Smart travellers think ahead, consult their family physician or travel clinic, and receive the appropriate immunization and get good travel advice before they leave home.
11. Volunteer. Helping out, giving of ourselves, volunteering - whether it's through religious organizations, service clubs or community groups - translates not only into better communities but better health and well being for those who volunteer.
12. Chill Out and Do Something. The more we look for miracle pills or answers the more we find that engaging life to the fullest possible, with a little moderation, is an effective course to health and well-being. Eat well, be active, be involved in your community, even take a few risks (within reason), and funnily enough, you'll probably be healthier.

That's it. Any or all of these resolutions will help keep you out of the hospital, prolong your life and bring me closer to keeping one of my resolutions upon taking this job -- to be part of ensuring that Canadians become the healthiest people in the world. It sounds like an impossible task, but together I think we have a very good chance of succeeding.

Dr. David Butler-Jones is Canada 's Chief Public Health Officer and the head of the Public Health Agency of Canada .