What We Can Learn from the Healthiest Countries in the World

With great healthcare systems in place, good nutrition, and emphasis on exercise, these countries lead the pack when it comes to all round healthy citizens. There is a lot we can learn from a country that focuses on health and healthy living. All round good health, nutrition and exercise play an important role in over all happiness too and my bet is a lot of these countries will probably lead a satisfaction survey as well.  So let's look at some healthy countries and what we can learn from them.

JapanThough Japan is a fast paced country with a high stress business culture, it still has very high average life expectancy: 86 for women and 79 for men. The key could lie in the fact that their diet is rich in fish and seaweed, and also that emphasis is given to exercise with government sponsored exercise programs. What do we take out from all of this?  In spite of the fast pace of today’s world, we can still live healthy uncomplicated lives if we eat well and stay active. 

AustraliaAustralia has one of the lowest rates of heart disease and high blood pressure. We all know about how much Australians love their sports and the great outdoors. Sports and fitness play a central role in the life of an Australian child. But they also eat a lot of steak. Hmm, red meat and low heart disease? That doesn’t sound right. Well, if you look at it in relation to how active an average Australian is, the fat and protein found in steak definitely promotes a healthy balance. 

ItalyA lot has been said about the Mediterranean countries and their diets rich in olive oil and fish, so I’m not going to delve further into that. But another aspect to shopping and living in countries like Italy is that there are no large scale grocery chains and going grocery shopping usually means a trip to the butcher, baker or grocer selling un-packaged, unprocessed, fresh, whole foods. Unlike shopping in America, where an average citizen goes to huge chains to shop and buys mainly packaged, processed food, many European countries have fresh dairy and groceries more often than not. For us this means, stick to fresh, unprocessed food as much as possible, which is not so difficult in a country like ours.

SwedenSweden with its high cancer survival rates and excellent children’s healthcare is undeniably one of the healthiest countries. But what makes Sweden a notch above many other countries that provide excellent healthcare to their citizens? Its belief in holistic health. From providing well-lit public spaces promoting evening walks to creating happy professional lives for its workers, Sweden believes that healthcare is more than just about providing medical help.