Health Is Wealth: A Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle in Adelaide
- Which key issues do Adelaideans face in terms of health?
- How to Have a Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle in Adelaide
- Ways to Improve Physical Health
- Running, Hiking, and Cycling
- Where to Run, Hike, and Bike in Adelaide
- Hit the gym
- Adelaide’s Best Gyms
- Try Pilates
- Attend Heart Foundation’s walking trips
- Eat healthy
- Where to Buy Healthy Food in Adelaide
- Avoid smoking
- Tips for Those Who Want to Quit Smoking
- Limit your alcohol intake
- How to Control Your Alcohol Consumption
- Get enough sleep
- How to Sleep Better
- Drink enough water
- Know your family’s medical history
- Take advantage of Adelaide’s local health programs
- Adelaide’s Best Clinics for Checkups
- Ways to Boost Your Mental Health
- Strive for good work-life balance
- Eat healthy
- Be active
- Don’t spend too much time on social media
- Connect with other people
- Find what soothes your senses
- Take a Break, Reward Yourself
- Don’t be afraid to get help
- FAQs about Living a Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle
Are you ready to start your fitness journey? Achieving a healthy lifestyle can be an incredibly rewarding and transformative experience, and we’re here to support you in attaining this goal.
In this article, our team will discuss achieving a healthier body and mind while living in Adelaide.
Which key issues do Adelaideans face in terms of health?
Before we delve into our health improvement tips, let’s take a quick look at the common health issues faced by our fellow Adelaideans.
According to local statistics, Adelaideans rated their health as excellent in 2021, which is a 3% drop from 2020.
The stats also reveal the most prevalent health concerns among residents:
- Overweight/obesity (53%)
- High cholesterol (20.6%)
- Hypertension (14%)
Given the changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no surprise that these health issues have seen an increase.
However, here’s the silver lining: our city boasts a plethora of local initiatives and resources that can help you whip yourself into shape in no time!
How to Have a Healthy and Balanced Lifestyle in Adelaide
Ways to Improve Physical Health
We’ll start this guide by talking about physical health. According to MindBodyOnline, Adelaide is the second healthiest city in the country, with 53% of Adelaideans exercising for more than 90 minutes per week.
If you want to be a part of this fit population, stick with us. Prepare your gym membership and your diet planner!
Here are the best ways to build a healthier body in Adelaide.
Running, Hiking, and Cycling
Improving your cardio is often considered the first step to having a healthier physique. Running, hiking, and cycling are our top cardio exercises because they’re metabolically demanding physical activities.
This means they burn many calories while improving your blood and oxygen circulation. Additionally, the American College of Cardiology states that people who hike, bike, and run have a 45% lower risk of acquiring fatal heart diseases.
Where to Run, Hike, and Bike in Adelaide
Running, hiking, and cycling are more fantastic in Adelaide too because of the city’s beautiful trails. From vineyards to reserves, here are the places where we usually do our cardio exercises.
| TRAIL | LOCATION | BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
| Belair National Park | Upper Sturt Rd, Belair SA 5052 | A national reserve with long trails along woodlands and grasslands |
| Myponga Reservoir Reserve | 30 South Rd, Myponga SA 5202 | An enticing trail with ascending and descending paths |
| Mount Lofty | 16.6 km southeast of the CBD via Greenhill Rd/B26 (fastest route) | Adelaide’s top hiking spots with steep and beautiful trails |
Hit the gym
Well, this shouldn’t be a surprise at all! The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare notes that gym exercises are one of the best ways to achieve a healthier body.
Routines like squatting, bench pressing, and deadlifting will gain you benefits like stronger bones and muscles and reduced health risks. Plus, gym exercises are exceptional for enhancing your body’s muscle tones and shape.
Adelaide’s Best Gyms
As writers who always travel, being physically fit is important for us. That’s why we always pull some weights and complete reps at the following gyms.
| GYM | LOCATION | BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
| Iron Industry Gym – Basement | Basement/120-128 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000 | A gym with traditional equipment and combat sports programs |
| Challenger Fitness Club | 13 Shannon Pl, Adelaide SA 5000 | A fitness center that focuses on weight loss programs |
| Powerhouse Fitness Gym | 76 Churchill Rd, Prospect SA 5082 | An old-school community gym complete with weightlifting and cardio-improving equipment |
Try Pilates
Pilates is an excellent exercise choice for anyone, especially seniors, because it is low-impact and emphasizes flexibility and strength. One of its major benefits is it enhances balance.
Additionally, Pilates incorporates relaxation and meditation components, so it not only benefits your physical well-being but also enhances your mental health with every session.
Attend Heart Foundation’s walking trips
If you’re in the mood for a casual and relaxed activity, why not join the regular walks organized by the Heart Foundation? They take place in front of the North Adelaide Public Library, making it super convenient to join in!
And the best part? You’ll have the opportunity to make plenty of new friends along the way!
The walks are open to everyone, and I had a blast chatting with the wonderful people I walked with. Trust me, it’s a fantastic way to socialize and have a great time while staying active!
Eat healthy
According to Mayo Clinic, exercising is futile if you don’t eat healthy food. It doesn’t matter if you run tens of kilometers per day if you’ll just eat oily chips and high-caloric meals after you exercise.
Planning a healthy diet can get a bit tricky, so we’re here to provide you with a helping hand. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that if you want to have a healthier body, these should be your daily source of sustenance:
- Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts (minimum of 400 g per day)
- Sugar for energy (minimum of 50 g or 12 tsp)
- Food (avoid unhealthy ones like pizza and burgers) with unsaturated fats like fish and healthy oils (11 to 22 g per day)
- Iodized salt (maximum of 5 g or 1 tsp per day)
By consuming these every day, you’ll get major health benefits like longer life, healthier skin, eyes, and teeth, and more energy.
Where to Buy Healthy Food in Adelaide
If we’re not shopping for necessities (and random goods), you may find our team looking for healthy food to eat. Here are some of the city’s shops where we get our healthy meals.
| SHOP | LOCATION | BRIEF DESCRIPTION |
| Whole + Some | Shop 21/22 Central Market Plaza, Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000 | A grocery store with pre-planned healthy meals |
| Adelaide Farmers’ Market | 1Rose Terrace, Wayville SA 5034 | A market that offers healthy and farm-fresh products grown and harvested by Adelaide’s best farmers |
| House of Health Collective | 44-60 Gouger St, Adelaide SA 5000 | A shop that specializes in pre-planned vegan food and consumables |
Avoid smoking
The CDC says that smoking causes extreme damage to our health. Causing fatal respiratory diseases like lung cancer and tuberculosis and deadly chronic conditions such as bronchitis and emphysema, smoking is a certified health destroyer.
The CDC also adds that the life expectancy of smokers is at least 10 years shorter compared to that of nonsmokers. The latter is expected to have a 90% reduced chance of passing from diseases caused by smoking.
Tips for Those Who Want to Quit Smoking
We had a few smokers on our team before, but these tips helped them quit their smoking habits. These are suggested by HealthDirect, so they’re approved by medical professionals.
- Find a healthier alternative for smoking (candy, lozenges, tablets)
- Focus on other activities that can distract you whenever you want to smoke
- Consult a medical professional who can set out an elaborate quitting plan and prescribe you proper medicine
- Join a support group
- Distance yourself from smoking triggers such as situations that intensify your desire to smoke
- Try NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy)
- Contact Quitline to start your quitting process
Here are some centers in Adelaide that can assist you with your plan of quitting smoking.
| CENTER | LOCATION |
| AcuQuit Adelaide – Laser Acupuncture to Quit Smoking | 25 North St, Adelaide SA 5000 |
| Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking – Adelaide | Plympton Glenelg RSL Hall, 464 Marion Rd, Plympton Park SA 5038 |
| Quit Quick Adelaide | Unit 3/10 Davis Rd, Glynde SA 5070 |
Limit your alcohol intake
The CDC also warns us about the many perils of heavy alcohol drinking. According to them, alcoholics are at risk of acquiring threatening conditions like cancer, heart disease, and digestive problems.
The National Institute of Health also provides a grim reminder that heavy drinkers have an average life expectancy of only 47 to 53 years old for men and 50 to 58 years old for women.
How to Control Your Alcohol Consumption
We’d be lying if we say we don’t drink alcohol. However, we only drink in moderation.
If you’re planning to control your alcohol consumption, here are tips provided by Lifeline—an organization that acts as a support group for people with substance abuse issues.
| SHORT-TERM | LONG-TERM |
| • Identify what triggers you to drink. These triggers can be stress, people, or the beverage itself. • Create a detailed action plan. Lifeline recommends exercising and journaling. • Avoid your triggers. | • Join a support group such as Narcotics Anonymous: Australia and GROW Australia. • Talk to a professional for therapy. Contacting the National Alcohol and Other Drugs Hotline is also strongly suggested. • Enter rehabilitation. • Socialize. Lifeline greatly recommends joining volunteer groups, charities, and online discussions. |
Additionally, here are some centers in Adelaide that can help you control or stop your heavy consumption of liquor.
| CENTER | LOCATION |
| Visible Recovery Pty Ltd | 307 South Tce, Adelaide SA 5000 |
| Drug and Alcohol Services SA – Southern | 209 Main S Rd, Morphett Vale SA 5162 |
| Insinc Healthcare | 65 Edward St, Norwood SA 5067 |
Get enough sleep
No matter how busy your schedule is, always remember to get an ample amount of sleep (6 to 8 hours a day). The South Australian Health Department reminds us that sufficient sleeping time is essential for body metabolism and physical recuperation.
The amount of shut-eye you get will also determine the state of your cardiac system and brain development.
The University of Sydney even warns that sleep-deprived individuals are at risk of developing conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
How to Sleep Better
Despite our busy schedule, we can safely say that our sleeping time and pattern are very healthy. Our teammates get 6 to 8 hours of sleep per day, and we’re already in bed before 10 pm.
Here are some important tips from the CDC that we always follow for deep and restful sleep.
- Ensure that your bedroom is quiet and dark
- Set your bedroom to the temperature you’re most comfortable with
- Avoid using all sorts of gadgets in bed
- Do not consume heavy meals or drink caffeinated beverages 2 to 3 hours before you try to sleep
- Exercise before you sleep
Aside from these CDC-given tips, we also recommend investing in better-sleeping products or professional services and advice. Here are some of our suggestions.
| PRODUCT / SERVICE | WHERE TO BUY / LOCATION |
| Dreamland’s Mattresses and Pillows | Shop 43, Gepps X Home HQ, 720-780 Main North Road, Gepps Cross SA 5094 |
| Sleep Solutions’ High-Tech Sleeping Products (Pillows with Ear Plugs, Sound Machines, Audio Pillow with Relaxing Music, etc.) | You may order at SleepSolutions |
| Somnia Sleep Services (Professional Help) | 191 Melbourne St, North Adelaide SA 5006 |
Drink enough water
Who else remembers when the “stay hydrated” meme ruled the Internet? Well, hopefully, you took the message seriously because according to the CDC, water is crucial to your physical well-being.
Here are the major reasons why your body needs water:
- Water regulates your body’s temperature.
- It lubricates your joints and moistens your oral, visual, and aural tissues.
- Without water, your body can’t excrete waste
- It also transports oxygen and nutrients throughout your body.
Know your family’s medical history
Knowing yourself and your family’s history will significantly improve your body’s health.
The University of Adelaide believes that if you want to be healthy, you must identify the health risks and medical tendencies that you and your relatives have encountered before.
By doing this, you lessen the risk of acquiring hereditary diseases and conditions that are often undetected until it’s too late.
According to the university’s medical professionals, you can prevent this from happening by setting regular appointments with physicians.
Take advantage of Adelaide’s local health programs
Healthy doesn’t mean costly! Us Adelaideans receive great support from the local government through various health programs catered to different communities.
For instance, you can access mental health support, free checkups, and year-round educational programs. Just check out this link to see the different community health centers in Adelaide.
Adelaide’s Best Clinics for Checkups
These are some of the best clinics in Adelaide when it comes to full-body checkups.
| CLINIC | LOCATION |
| Adelaide Healthcare | 43 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 |
| Vitality Healthcare Medical Centre | U55/56, 81 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 |
| Globe Medical Adelaide | 1/21 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide SA 5000 |
Ways to Boost Your Mental Health
Strive for good work-life balance
Achieving a good work-life balance is all about finding that sweet spot between your professional responsibilities and personal life.
According to Harvard Business Review, you can achieve a good work-life balance by doing the following:
- Check which parts of your schedule stresses you
- Understand the emotions you feel when working
- Rank your priorities
- Consider alternatives
- Create a day-to-day schedule
Eat healthy
A healthy diet doesn’t only result in a better physique, it will enhance your mental health too. Sutter Health says that eating unhealthy food, especially alcoholic and high-caloric ones, induces stress triggers that may even result in anxiety disorders and depression.
To maintain a great mental state, we follow the diet designed by Health Direct. In this diet, we consume the following.
| FOOD | LEVEL OF CONSUMPTION |
| Fruits | High |
| Legumes | High |
| Nuts | High |
| Vegetables | High |
| Poultry | Moderate |
| Eggs | Moderate |
| Dairy Products | Moderate |
| Red Meat (Occasional only) | Very low |
The meals in the table above have nutrients like omega-3 fats, B vitamins, and amino acids which are considered by doctors to be nutrients that greatly boost mental health.
Additionally, some of the food above, especially fruits, legumes, and nuts generate serotonin, a chemical that regulates our mood and slows the death of neurons.
Be active
We talked about the physical benefits of staying active in the earlier sections. Well, turns out that exercise can enhance your mental health too.
Health Direct states that whenever you do physical activities, your body generates serotonin and endorphin which immensely affects your mental state.
The National Institute of Health also adds that physical activities strengthen cognitive functions and establish a strong sense of self-esteem.
Here’s a graph from Sapien Labs that shows how people who work out have better mental health quotient (MHQ) than those who don’t.
The MHQ score provides insight into various aspects of your mental function and how they contribute to your overall mental well-being. It measures how well you perceive yourself along the six dimensions of mental health.
It’s important to note that a person’s MHQ isn’t a direct or sole indicator of their happiness or satisfaction in life. However, it’s regarded as a signifier of how well a person manages his overall mental well-being during difficult or sad situations.
If you want to know what your MHQ score is, you can take Sapien Lab’s test.
Don’t spend too much time on social media
As reported by Headspace, too much social media usage is directly linked to mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Cyberbullying and unhealthy body image perceptions are two of the major factors that cause these problems.
According to Sleep Foundation, social media addiction often results in sleep deprivation.
Moreover, an article published by Harvard reports that sleep-deprived individuals are more prone to anxiety, anger issues, depression, and mental exhaustion.
For this issue to be resolved, Help Guide recommends trimming your daily social media exposure to just 30 minutes.
Connect with other people
As cliche, as it may sound, no man is an island. In fact, an article by the Mercy Medical Center found that people who socialize have lighter and happier moods.
These individuals have a lower risk of developing mental disorders too like dementia and depression.
According to the Mercy Medical Center, socialization achieves this positive mental health result because it creates a safe space and a sense of belongingness.
Find what soothes your senses
Whenever I get stressed or sad, I squeeze a stress ball to feel better. It works because I am doing something that Dr. Frank Lipman would call “appealing to the senses” or “grounding.”
According to Dr. Lipman, grounding generates a sensory experience that helps your brain focus and feel relaxed. This is highly effective whenever you feel intense emotional pain, confusion, or distress.
Your type of grounding will also depend on what relaxes you. We suggest experimenting so that you’ll get to know yourself better.
Take a Break, Reward Yourself
We all work hard for a successful career and a better future. But did you know that the WHO lists overworking as one of the major reasons why adults suffer mental disorders?
This is the reason why you should remember to regularly blow off steam by rewarding yourself with a much-needed breather. Cornell University notes that by taking breaks, your mind can refocus and recharge—resulting in better productivity.
By taking breaks, you can also do your hobbies and favorite leisure activities, so it’s a great win for your mental health!
Don’t be afraid to get help
If you or someone you know requires support, you can always contact the country’s Mental Health Line at 1800-011-511.
You may also ask the following for counseling and help. You can do this by chatting online or by giving them a direct call.
- Lifeline – 13 11 14
- BeyondBlue – 1300 22 4636
- KidsHelpLine – 1800 55 1800
- MentalHealthCoalitonofSouthAustralia – 08 8212 8873
Their lines and social media accounts are open 24 hours and seven days a week.
You can visit Adelaide’s clinics that offer mental health assistance and services too.
| CLINIC | LOCATION |
| Skylight Mental Health Wayville | 5 Cooke Terrace, Wayville SA 5034 |
| Urgent Mental Health Care Center | 215 Grenfell St, Adelaide SA 5000 |
| Headspace Adelaide | Kaurna Country, 173 Wakefield St, Adelaide SA 5000 |
