For the Discerning Fall 2016 | Page 15

Health? It remains a topic that concerns every life. To start with, what is health and why is it important? Generally speaking, health is the state of being free from illness or injury. In order words, it is a person’s mental or physical condition. Meanwhile, it can have different definitions to different people- depending on the situation that surrounds its use. In addition, healthy lifestyle can be regarded as a particular way of living which makes a person live longer; reducing the risk of illness or death. Do you know we can easily avoid so many things even though they are tagged “unpreventable”? Healthy lifestyle remains very crucial because once we are fit, energetic and the risks of having diseases are minimized; they would be the result of the daily choices we make about our habits. Healthy lifestyle is a priority for every individual to adopt, regardless of the class, financial status, sex or position in the society. Basically, from research, some “bad behaviors” are detrimental to our health and many are not too ignorant of this fact. Habits such as smoking, large consumption of alcohol, lack of exercises (many are guilty of this) and eating less fruits and vegetables; which study says are very refreshing and paramount for longevity. Luxurious lifestyle daily sends many to early grave also. It does not matter how large, what matters is how rich, how nutritious, how balanced these four things are. Too much of alcohol is bad, smoking shrinks the lung. Some would say, okay… we are used to that line. But it remains a fact, still. For the physical exercises, which a large number of persons hardly do; upon consumption of foods that have some bit of calories, they have to be expended lest some weight gain develops- which makes one prone to heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Luckily, there are some steps we can adopt to live healthy and correct the unhealthy mankind behaviors. Every activity one engages in should fit into the schedule and lifestyle that we preach. I will summarize them as “moderation is key”. As regard the psychological and emotional healthiness, we would be talking about how much sleep is required by the body and mind to be mentally and emotionally fit. During sleep, their is a replacement of the cellular tissues and some metabolic activities take place. It is a period of reduced physical activity when there is a consolidation of the memory and for a healthy lifestyle, about 8-9hours of sleep will do. They include: • Exercises (physical activity) • Moderate and adequate sleep • Keep a true smile • Correct and limit the addictions • Feel some peace within; be grateful and forgive. Furthermore, healthy lifestyle can be broadly grouped into two, these are: 1. Physical healthiness 2. Psychological and emotional healthiness The physical healthiness entails the food we eat, the physical exercises we do and the things we drink or smoke. They all contribute to the nutrient that are supplied to the body for the growth of cells and metabolic activities. The cardiovascular and musculoskeletal immune as well as the other body systems involved depend largely on this factor. Another important thing to take note of is stress. The body has a way of prompting a response to the daily stress we undergo by releasing a hormone which makes us react, someway. It is important to relax our minds, to minimize or avoid pains, aches and insomnia. It is important to pause in the middle of some works or activities to relax; for a healthy psychological and emotional life. Other things include: not overfeeding, having good sex, do not stay lonely. And finally, what did I say about “moderation”? It is key.… Stay Healthy!!!