Daily Things Every Woman Can Do to be healthier

Sometimes it can feel like it takes monumental effort to live healthfully. Not true! Case in point: Here are four little things you can start doing today that will have big health payoffs.

1. Take your shoes off at the front door. Did I hear a groan or two? I know, we love our shoes. I love my shoes! But, I take them off at the door each and every time. Here’s why: Study after study have indicated that we track in all kinds of unhealthy things into our homes when we leave our shoes on (everything from pesticides from the grass to bacteria from public restroom floors). “Walking through your house in shoes you wear outside tracks in allergens and contaminants,” reports Prevention magazine. “One study found that lawn chemicals were tracked inside the house for a full week after application, with most chemicals concentrated around the entryway. Shoes also carry in pollen and other allergens.”

2. Talk to your doc about your vitamin D levels. I interview a lot of health experts in my line of work, and the thing doctors keep telling me over and over again is to spread the word to women to get their vitamin D levels checked. It’s a simple blood test, and the knowledge could help you know how much you need to supplement. We seem to learn a new health benefit of vitamin D everyday, so you do not want to be lacking in this important nutrient.

3. Don’t store your medicine in the bathroom. Surprising, right? Well, Prevention reports that many medicines and vitamins can lose their effectiveness when the temperature rises (and, it’s common for a bathroom to get hot and steamy–up to 100 degrees even–when you’re taking a hot shower). Instead, leave your meds in a cool kitchen cabinet (away from kiddos, of course), or in a pillbox on the counter.