Here we publish our students’ best essays devoted to the issues of HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.

Sakhnina Liza:

Since ancient times the mankind has been searching for a way to live forever. The philosophers’ stone, the amrita, the elixir of eternal youth — these are the most renowned kinds of «medicine» that were believed to «cure» death.
Today, when technologies are developing fast and science has reached unbelievable heights, people have no more faith in such ways of becoming immortal. However, there are some people, especially in the East, who live for more than a hundred years. What is the secret of their longevity? How can people live, if not forever, then at least for a century?
It seems quite clear to me that humans can prolong their lives by leading a healthy lifestyle. The following tips based on scientific research and my personal experience may help to do so.
On the one hand, a person should eat different types of food which contain various vitamins essential for the proper functioning of an organism. It is also important to control your weight, as frequent loss and gaining of weight may lead to health problems. Getting plenty of regular exercise is another forming component of long life. Exercises help to keep one’s body in tone. Moreover, each person should always find some time to relax as being stressed out won’t do good to anyone.
On the other hand, in order to live a long and healthy life you shouldn’t eat too much. It is always better to eat less than more, as overnutrition leads to obesity, diabetes, etc. Then, you mustn’t drive often. It is better to walk or cycle if it is possible. And once again, to become a long-liver, a person mustn’t worry. He/she must be just happy. Stress is a certain way to get seriously ill. It has been found that in more than half cases stress is one of the main causes of cancer.
To conclude, the mentioned elements of healthy lifestyle certainly improve a person’s health and as a result the quality of their life. They do help a man to feel better. And this very fact to my mind must persuade people to follow a healthy lifestyle.

Salnikova Masha:

To illustrate my vision of the topic of this essay I would like to give an example of my own story and my own ways of feeling really better.
Some years ago I didn’t quite understand how I could live without chocolate, bread, sugar and tasty cakes made by my grandmother. It was very difficult to resist the temptation of having some pancakes with caviar, for example. I can’t say that I was eating a lot and I was plump but now I realize that I looked really awful and I find it very embarrassing.
The point is that we are all human, so there are situations when you don’t care what people think and the way you look after yourself. That was my case too. For about half a year I was eating everything in unlimited amounts, especially chocolates and spaghetti. It was summer, and I was pretty and cheerful and there was nothing to worry about. Some time passed and I felt I had to do something to change my life.
So, I decided to eat only healthy food, to go to the gym, take care of myself and forget about all unhealthy temptations of my life. That worked. I read so many articles on the Internet, the true stories of the people who changed their life and began to live in a happier way. I did my best to overcome laziness and to take steps to healthy and wonderful life.
Now I can’t say that I have reached great results or have become an ideal person. It is just like a little victory of my own when I feel that I am full of energy and I feel much better in the mornings than I used to. Despite the fact that I sleep about three or four hours every night including weekends I always feel like a butterfly. I feel as if I have just returned from a great Caribbean vacation!
Now I can finally say, that am not blindly following the tips given by all experts who advice you what to eat and what to do. I had only chosen my own suitable way of keeping a healthy diet and building up energy in the right way.
Some people surf the internet trying to find something that will change their life. And they find a lot of advice but it is very difficult to follow all these tips while not listening to your own body. That is the reason why some girls while being on a diet have the days when they can’t stand it anymore and begin to eat even everything day and night.
I personally can give my own piece of advice and I really hope it will bring people health, wealth and wisdom. The main rule is to control what exactly you eat, and your latest meal should be taken three or four hours before going to sleep. The second one is that people should not limit themselves when it comes to tasty things but they should consume small amounts and try to eat five times a day, not drinking water after every meal. That really works! And finally, sports and breathing fresh air are the best ways for keeping fit and having a clear mind!
To conclude, I would like to add: the cause of depression is not what surrounds us, but our inner problems. And listening to our own body and following its needs body will be the only right decision!

Kosheleva Elizaveta:

My view on aspects of staying healthy
These days we are really bombarded with advice from experts (and, I believe, non-experts too) on ways of staying healthy. Social networks teem with thousands of posts about healthy lifestyle. Usually I just scan these pieces of advice and don’t pay them a lot of attention. Eventually, I have understood that the best advice is given by my body itself. I have even made some small experiments in order to make out what ways would help me to feel better.
To start with, I would like to comment on the list of healthy eating habits provided in our textbook. I’m proud to say that I follow all of them. Actually, I’m crazy about my diet. It all started about three years ago when I decided to be a vegan. My mother was very angry and concerned about it, and, to set her mind at rest, I promised that I would eat proper vegetarian food with all those proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins that my growing body needed. And I do it now. I eat mostly vegetables and combine them with such sources of vegetable protein as beans, soya and mushrooms. I practically refuse from sugar (except small little pleasures like chocolate, once a month). It has done a good job: I have lost about 20 kilograms and got rid of some skin problems.
Unfortunately, I believe that my good diet is the only contribution to my healthy lifestyle. As for “getting plenty of regular exercise”, I can comment that it’s just not my cup of tea. I hate all kinds of exercise and I’m too lazy to do them. And I obviously can’t “find ways to relax”. How can anyone avoid getting stressed in a big city? To my mind, all that stuff , such as meditation is such a nonsense. Apart from being able to enjoy walking on foot, I’m a smoker, a drinker and a constantly stressed out person. I can admit it, and, frankly, sometimes I think about giving up, but… I’m such an addict.
To sum it up, I can say that I’m surely not a model for healthy living, but I’ve found my own golden middle. And I’m OK with it.

Ivantsov Roman:

Look after yourself
Our world is full of harmful things which surround people wherever they go. Dangers are waiting for us everywhere and at any moment some accident can destroy you physically and ruin your life. To my mind, there are two categories of such risks.
The first category includes the risks which depend on the outside factors. People cannot influence such factors as fortune and the good or bad luck. The second group depends only on the person, namely on his/her health and lifestyle. And that brings up the main issue. It is how important it is to look after yourself. Indifferent attitude to taking care of yourself could have fatal consequences for anyone.
There is a list of advice on the «dos» and «don’ts» concerned with nutrition, physical activities and bad habits. It is each person’s private choice whether to follow these rules or not. From my point of view, all these rules could be divided into four groups. They are: diet, sport, concomitant circumstances and addictions. I don’t want to talk about myself and my own experience; I just want to present some general ideas of mine.
The diet which a person chooses depends on the main purpose. If somebody just wants to be healthy (s)he should follow one kind of diet. For example, (s)he should eat well-balanced food, control weight, eat less sugar, avoid fast food, etc. If a person has a purpose to be strong and brawny, (s)he should follow another type of diet. (S)he might eat practically everything, devour a lot of proteins and consume much meat. Sport is also very important. It would be great if everybody on the Earth had more physical exercises or at least walked on foot more. However, this aspect also depends on the purpose of a person who is interested in it.
Now let’s talk about concomitant circumstances, such as mental condition, stress, and so on.These things have a strong impact on our state of health. Finally, the last negative factor is addiction. There are a lot of addiction, such as drug abuse, gambling, computer addiction, smoking and alcohol. However, there is no doubt that bad habits undermine our health and this fact should not be ignored. To conclude I want to add that everything should be done in moderation. To abuse or to totally avoid something is not right. Drinking a glass of wine once a week won’t hurt you; perhaps it even could help you in feel better. Stop obsessing about things! Change your life for the better!

TO BE CONTINUED