How To Stay Healthy And Prevent Disease
“Health is not simply the absent of sickness”
What is the true definition of Healthy Living? It sounds silly that we need to define Healthy Living. After all, we know what Healthy is and we also know what Living is. Let‘s first start with what Health is. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Interestingly enough, health is not simply defined as just the absence of disease. The actual definition of Healthy Living is the steps, actions and strategies one puts in place to achieve optimum health. Healthy Living is about taking responsibility and making smart health choices for today and for the future. Eating right, getting physically fit, emotional wellness, spiritual wellness and prevention are all apart of creating a healthy lifestyle. Since the entire YOU, meaning all aspects of one’s self, must work in harmony to achieve wellness, you need to put balanced energy into each aspect of yourself.
• The body or Physical You requires good nutrition, appropriate weight, beneficial exercise, adequate rest and proper stress management.
• The mind or Emotional You needs self-supportive attitudes, positive thoughts and viewpoints and a positive self-image. You also need to give and receive forgiveness, love and compassion; you need to laugh and experience happiness; you need joyful relationships with yourself and others.
EXERCISE:
The very best
Exercise helps people live better as well as longer. Again and again, studies show that people who exercise regularly enjoy a sense of well-being. They feel and look younger than non-exercisers. They have more energy, and they don’t feel tired out – thanks to better muscle tone and circulation. Routine, vigorous exercise is also one of the best ways known to reduce stress of all kinds; it can even outperform drugs in the treatment of mild to moderate depression.
Besides boosting the psyche, exercise provides countless Health benefits. It prevents heart disease, strengthens bones and reduces the risk of high blood pressure. It raises levels of the “good” cholesterol, combats obesity and provides energy.
Exercise staves off heart disease in part because it alters other risk factors. Regular exercisers are much less likely to be overweight; exercise not only burns calories, it appears to suppress appetite. Exercise reduces blood pressure; in fact, exercise combined with weight loss can often control high blood pressure without medication. Smokers who start exercise programs often quit smoking. The aerobic exercise – specifically jogging – has been shown to raise levels of HDL cholesterol, which is associated with greater risk of heart disease.
Exercise also strengthens bones. Without exercise, bones lose their calcium and grow brittle. This happens most rapidly with bed rest ( and it’s one reason patients are urged to get out of bed as soon as possible, even after major surgery or heart attacks). Calcium loss has been observed in astronauts returning from space, where zero gravity can rob exercise of its value.
Weak and brittle bones due to lack of exercise are common in the aged. For older people, the upshot is more than a broken bone. Almost everyone has seen an older friend or relative break a hip and then go rapidly downhill. Too often fractures in older people mean the end of an active and useful life.
FOOD FOR LIFE
How much do you know about nutrition? Or better yet, how much do you want to know? While almost everyone is interested in food, people vary greatly in how much they want to know about food’s connection to health. For this reason, this chapter presents you with jewels, rules and tools. The jewels, or gems of knowledge, lead to the rules are provided. Use themas you need them.
In a nationwide survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, 40 percent of the adults interviewed said they had not eaten a single piece of fruit in the past 24 hours. Approximately 20 percent had not eaten a vegetable. And more than 80 percent had not had any high-fiber cereals or whole-grain breads. Yet these very foods are the keys to a nutritious diet. They are high in nutrients and fiber, free of harmful fats and excess protein, and moderate in calories.
Of course, good nutrition alone cannot guarantee good health; health and well-being are influenced by many factors, including heredity, environment, lifestyle and attitude. Nor will food work miracles. Vitamin C will not cure cancer, and vitamin E will not prevent aging . but eating wisely and well can help you feel and look your best. Moreover, evidence mounts daily to show that healthy eating can cut your chances of developing some devastating illnesses.
Conclusion : One of the most important things we can do to stay healthy and prevent disease is to
provide our bodies with appropriate nutrients that strengthen the immune system.
Have you ever looked in horror at pictures of our major cities blanketed by smog? This is just one example of how our modern environment is “choking” our immune systems.
No wonder sickness and disease is reaching epidemic proportions.
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