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Canadians are living longer but not always in good health.  Research shows that many of us may be spending the last 10 years of our lives battling illness and disability. But our lifestyle choices today can change our future so we can do the things we love instead of battling disease.  Here are 5 big health issues and nutrition savvy tips for what you can do to help lower your risk.

 1.  Overweight & Obesity
Currently, 59% of adult Canadians are either overweight or obese, putting Canada in the midst of an epidemic of overweight and obesity.
What can you do? Follow a nutritionally balanced, calorie-reduced diet to achieve and maintain a lower, healthier body weight. Dietitians of Canada has weight management tips. If your BMI is 25 or greater, consider weight loss of 5-10% of initial body weight which will improve other disease risks factors for diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

2. Diabetes
More than 9 million Canadians live with diabetes/prediabetes. Diabetes can be a serious and debilitating illness that shortens lives. Sadly, 1 in 5 people with diabetes also suffer from depression. The good news is that many diabetes cases are preventable and manageable if the right interventions are taken.
What can you do? Get informed about diabetes. Follow Canada’s Food Guide, meet with a registered dietitian for individualized advice and get physically active.  Canadian Diabetes Association

3. Cardiovascular Disease
1.6 million Canadians are living with heart disease and stroke. 9/10 adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease and stroke. (HSF 2011)
What can you do?  The choices you make every day can help shape your heart health. For example maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active and eating at least seven to eight servings of vegetables and fruit per day for women and eight to 10 for men is a good start.  Heart and Stroke Foundation / healthy living

4. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Currently, about 500,000 Canadians are living with AD and within a generation, that number is expected to more than double to 1.1 million.  The risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease increases as we get older.
What can you do? Enjoy a variety of foods regularly and keep your brain and body active. Preliminary studies demonstrate that omega-3 type fats can increase the resilience of the brain to withstand some injury. Canada’s Food Guide recommends at least two servings (75 grams each) of fish a week.  A 75 gram serving of fish is about the size of a deck of cards. Alzheimer Society of Canada

5. Digestive health
More than 20 million Canadians suffer from digestive disorders every year, and 1 in 133 Canadians have celiac disease.
What can you do?  For good health, make at least half of your grain choices whole grain each day. Unless you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, or you are allergic to one of these grains, you don’t need to avoid them. Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF)