Most adults today believe that kids have it much easier than they ever did. But every generation holds this perspective. And believe it or not, today’s teens and young adults have just as much difficulty navigating life’s waters as the generations before them.
From dealing with online relationships to developing health-friendly lifestyles amid a world of bright, blinking fast-food signs, teens and young adults are presented with many choices today that aren’t conducive to living a health-conscious life. But thankfully, there are many options for helping your teen to choose a well-balanced path.
Health requires more than proper nutrition. And in order for your teen to develop a health-supporting life and live to his or her full potential, a number of factors need to be considered.
In the following, we’ll explore a few ways for helping your teen to make healthy choices by introducing them to a few options for supporting their health as they grow into adults.
Antioxidant Multivitamins
Our bodies are exposed to a large number of harmful elements on a daily basis, even though we may not realize it. And harmful elements that every human being is exposed to are free radicals.
Free radicals are molecules that lack a component, an electron for example, that makes them unstable. Being unstable molecules, they attempt to steal the components they need from other molecules in order to become stable. In doing so, this causes the adjacent molecules to become unstable and steal from other molecules, essentially creating a chain reaction event within our bodies. And this is sometimes referred to as oxidative stress.
With antioxidant multivitamins, you introduce vitamins and minerals that are rich in antioxidants which can fight off free radicals and support cell growth. And as all teens need optimal cell growth in order to be healthy, the poor food choices of many teens can cause a lack of nutrients.
Supporting Mental Health
As mentioned, teens today have just as much stress to deal with as with generations past. But many experts believe the current generation has more to cope with simply because of the online world.
During the days before the Internet was a shaping force in our lives, teenagers had to cope with common issues such as bullying, trying to fit in, attempting to establish self-identity, and many of the things all teens and young adults typically go through. Today, the online world offers cyberspace as an additional medium that adds stress through social media profiles, cyberbullying, and the daily production of disruptive content that many teens are exposed to.
Additionally, many mental health experts have theorized that increased rates of mental health issues in teens have been caused because of online exposure. As such, limiting this exposure has often been a recommended solution.
At the end of the day, setting boundaries and limits for online usage may work to support your teen’s mental health, and help them to adopt a mental health-friendly lifestyle.
Team Sports
Being a part of a team has often been associated with building social skills, developing the ability to work alongside others to meet a common goal, and promoting the ideal of camaraderie. And team sports can be a health-friendly outlet for teens and young adults who are trying to navigate their way through social ranks.
A few additional benefits of team sports include the following:
- Exercise and health benefits
- Promotes self-esteem
- Teaches problem-solving skills
- Works to support academic aptitude
- Provides a social outlet
Perhaps one of the best elements for teens when engaging in team sports concerns the physical exercise that can help to support a health-friendly lifestyle. This is because team sports, especially school-sponsored team sports, require daily practice during the school week. And this type of exercise regimen can not only keep your teen fit, but it can also give them something to look forward to each day as well.
Team sports within a school setting are also often tied to academic standings. And many schools will not allow a teen to play on a team with subpar grades, or if they’ve been found to be using controlled substances. As such, team sports can help to structure a health-friendly lifestyle for your teen in several ways.
Staying health-friendly means staying away from food choices that cause a lack of nutrients. And this is because health is associated with one’s whole being, both physically and mentally. As such, introducing your teen to quality health habits while they’re still youthful is a great way to keep them health-oriented as they go through life.