More people are asking: how can I live healthy in a way that fits my lifestyle, budget, and environment? The answer lies in going back to the basics. Clean living isn’t just a global trend, it’s deeply African. To live healthy here means embracing fresh local foods, natural products, cleaner habits, and strong community ties. Whether you’re in Lagos, Nairobi, or Accra, you can start small and make powerful changes. These healthy tips are designed to help you make choices that will enable you to live healthy in your community – naturally, affordably, and with intention.
1. Eat Local and Fresh
To live healthy, start with your plate. Embrace local foods – leafy greens, yams, okra, millet, beans – which are nutrient-rich and often grown with fewer chemicals. Shopping at local markets not only supports your community but also gives you access to seasonal, fresh produce that fuels your body the natural way.
2. Prioritize Clean Water
Access to clean water is essential. If tap water quality is uncertain, simple steps like boiling, using ceramic or charcoal filters, or solar water disinfection (SODIS) can make a big difference. Staying hydrated with clean water helps prevent disease, improve energy, and support your overall well-being.
3. Use Natural Products
Our grandparents knew it, natural is often best. Shea butter, African black soap, coconut oil, and moringa are powerful, affordable, and chemical-free. Choosing natural skincare and cleaning options reduces toxic exposure and helps you live healthy from the inside out.
4. Move Your Body to Live Healthy
You don’t need a gym membership to live a healthy lifestyle – walking to work, dancing, farming, or even household chores keep you physically active. Moving regularly helps manage stress, boost mood, and improve heart health, all key to clean, healthy living.
5. Reduce Plastic and Waste
Living in a clean environment supports your ability to live healthy. Carry a reusable bag, buy unpackaged goods at the market, and avoid single-use plastics. Lagos state, for instance, has introduced fees on single-use plastic bags in all major supermarkets as a way to reduce waste and encourage adoption of reusable bags. Reducing waste protects our land and water, and keeps harmful toxins out of your home.
6. Choose Cleaner Energy
In many African homes, cooking is at the heart of daily life, but how we cook can directly impact how we live. While gas and electric stoves are becoming more common, a large number of households – especially in peri-urban and rural areas – still rely on firewood, charcoal, or kerosene for cooking. These traditional methods often produce smoke and harmful indoor air pollutants, which are linked to respiratory issues, eye problems, and long-term health risks, particularly for women and children who spend the most time near the kitchen.
Switching to cleaner cooking methods, such as LPG gas, electric induction stoves, or energy-efficient biomass stoves, can significantly reduce these risks and help you live healthy in your home environment. Even for those already using gas or electricity, maintaining proper ventilation, using covered pots to reduce cooking time, and opting for energy-efficient appliances can make a meaningful difference.
Investing in safer cooking isn’t just about convenience, it’s a key part of creating a cleaner, healthier home. When your kitchen air is clean, your lungs are clear, and your energy bills are manageable, you’re taking real steps to live healthy every day.
7. Build a Supportive Community
A strong support system is vital to living healthy – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Join groups that you share a common interest with; these can be hobby-related, to make them more fun. Community makes healthy habits easier to maintain and turns clean living into a lifestyle, not a solo mission.
8. Limit Toxins to Live Healthy Safely
This is not just about what we eat or how we move, it’s also about what we’re exposed to in our homes and everyday environments. Across many households, toxins quietly build up through common products and practices, often without us realizing the risks.
Pesticides used on fruits and vegetables, especially imported or mass-produced ones, can leave harmful chemical residues. Bleach-based cleaners, while effective, release fumes that may irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs over time, especially in poorly ventilated spaces. Even materials like untreated wood, wall paint, or roofing sheets can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals, which contribute to indoor pollution and long-term health problems.
Make these small but powerful changes:
- Wash produce thoroughly, or choose trusted local sources and organic sellers whenever possible.
- Switch to natural cleaning agents like white vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, and essential oils which are just as effective and far less toxic.
- Ensure cross-ventilation by opening windows and using extractor fans if available, especially while cooking or cleaning.
- If building or renovating, ask for low-VOC paints and safely treated materials when possible.
Reducing toxic exposure in your home environment supports better breathing, clearer skin, fewer allergic reactions, and long-term disease prevention. It’s a quiet but powerful way to live healthy, starting right where you are.