Making changes to improve your health can lead to benefits for your body, your mind, your wallet, and even the environment.

1. Prevents disease
Healthy habits can reduce the risk of various diseases, including those that may run in your family.
For example, in a recent study, adults who followed a standard diet (rich in fruits and vegetables) for 8 weeks had a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
In another study, researchers found that every 66-gram increase in daily fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 25 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
In terms of exercise, as little as 11 minutes a day may add years to your life. In a 2020 study, researchers tracked more than 44,000 adults. Those who got 11 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day had a lower risk of death compared to those who only exercised at that intensity for 2 minutes. This comparison held true even if people sat for 8.5 hours every day.

2. Saves money
It’s always smart to see your primary care physician for an annual physical exam. This is especially true seeing how some health conditions, such as high blood pressure, are “silent.” This means they don’t have any symptoms, so unless you are checked, you usually don’t know you have the condition.
However, the healthier you are, the less likely you will have to see a doctor. This could save money by reducing co-pays, the need for prescriptions, and other treatments.

3. Lengthens lifespan
Basic healthy habits are connected with living a longer life. If, at age 50, you’ve never smoked, maintain a healthy weight, are regularly active, follow a healthy diet, and keep alcohol to a moderate consumption, you could live up to 14 years.

4. It can be good for the environment
Ultra-processed foods are those that contain refined grains and additives to change the texture, taste, or color. Some examples of these foods are cheese puffs, packaged dessert cakes, chicken nuggets, and sweetened breakfast cereals. More than 70 percent of foods in supermarkets are ultra-processed.
The making of ultra-processed foods contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, decreased biodiversity, plastic waste, and deforestation.
Then, there are animal products. According to a 2013 study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (an agency within the U.N. that focuses on reducing hunger and food inequality worldwide), raising livestock for meat and dairy makes up 14.5 percent of human-created greenhouse gases.

However, there are easy fixes for this. For example, if everyone cut their weekly beef consumption by 1/4 pound, the decrease in global warming gas emissions would be the equivalent of taking four to six million cars off the road, according to the National Resources Defense Council.

But it’s not only about what you eat more or less of. Replacing short car rides with biking can also cut back on the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

In a non-peer reviewed 2010 study, researchers estimated that if 20 percent of citizens in Madison, Wisconsin biked for trips less than 5 miles, it would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 57,000 tons each year.

And, a 2017 study in Stockholm found that, if drivers who lived within a half-hour bike ride to and from work commuted by bike rather than car, it could save 449 years of life annually in the county due to reduced vehicle emission.