We all have our normal routine which we adhere to either strictly or casually, consciously or unconsciously. Sometimes these routine activities are as a result of upbringing, personal training or personal reasons but regardless of the reason, they impact our health, if not in the short term, then in the long run.
It's important for us to adopt healthy habits for life.
Before I proceed I have to put a disclaimer that, these things which I will outline as healthy habits are not necessarily going to ensure you have a long life or a healthy life, this is because certain diseases have unknown causes or triggers and also death can occur in many ways regardless of how fit an individual is.
Lifestyle Modifications;
These are changes in habits which an individual undertakes inorder to improve mood, health, quality of life and possibly the quantity too.
These modifications, I encourage them because their benefits outweigh their risks.
The importance of lifestyle modifications comes into play when we consider chronic diseases. I know the next question would be what are chronic diseases?
Well, they are those illnesses that run a long course, they are usually not painful or disturbing to the individual but gradually cause damages to the cells, tissues and organs of a person.
The commonest chronic diseases that are preventable with lifestyle modifications are hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Hypertension is a continuously raised blood pressure while Diabetes mellitus refers to uncontrolled blood sugar levels which the body cannot regulate on its own.
Now, the body normally regulates blood pressure and blood sugar levels within normal limits for good health and functioning of the individual, because too much or too low is problematic.
There are risk factors for one to develop either hypertension or diabetes mellitus or both (yes, an individual can have both diseases).
I want to point out that these diseases are not communicable, that is to say that someone living with the disease cannot infect another person with it.
Risk factors do not mean that once you have a risk factor or more, you will get down with the disease and vice versa. They just mean that the likelihood of coming down with the disease would increase with the presence of one or more of these factors.
They include;
Overweight/Obesity; an individual who is either obese or overweight is at risk of both Hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Sedentary lifestyle; a lifestyle that involves little movement, in which the individual is mostly sitting in one place or uses vehicles, bikes, wheelchairs, etc for mobility.
Eating Unhealthy; unwatched diets puts individuals at risk. Diets containing high amounts of salt(sodium), excessive fats, sweeteners (eg sugar), etc puts an individual at risk.
Unmanaged stress; stress predisposes an individual to hypertension. If the stress becomes prolonged or unmanaged, it poses significant risk to the individual.
Family History; if someone in a family develops any of these diseases, it signifies that the individuals in that family are at risk of developing it(that doesn't mean it is contagious).
Excess smoking and alcohol consumption; they put one at risk. If you must smoke or drink, moderation is emphasized.
If any individual has one of these risk factors or more, the chances of these diseases is increased in the individual. Although it doesn't impose the disease on the person. An individual may have some of the risks and yet live a healthy normal life, but the chances of this happening is slim.
Necessary modifications which everyone should imbibe regardless of the presence or absence of these risk factors.
Exercise; the importance of exercise can not be overemphasized. It is important to meet your physician before you begin intense exercise, do not go from a sedentary life to an intensive exercise, it is synonymous to going from 0 - 100 quickly. Your body may not handle it and the exercise becomes counterproductive and cause other problems.
For people with excess weight, loosing even a little helps reduce the risk of both hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
Proper dieting; eat good food, reduce the intake of junks, sweeteners and high salt intake. Take fruits and vegetables regularly. Remember, an apple a day keeps the doctor away (other fruits too)
Get adequate sleep and try to minimise stress.
Adopt health seeking behaviours like regular blood pressure monitoring and blood sugar recording (at least once a month). This is important because both hypertension and diabetes have a preliminary stage (pre hypertension and pre diabetic stage) within which if discovered, the prognosis is very good. And this can only be possible if there is regular testing, except the individual is lucky.
Quit smoking, smoking plays a role in a whole lot of diseases and not just hypertension.
Reduce alcohol consumption; to reduce the risk of both hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
If one is already down with any of these diseases, it's important to be consistent with the drugs prescribed by your physician. This is because even though the disease may not disturb the individual, a lot of complications can develop, ranging from foot ulcers, to non healing of wounds, stroke, atherosclerosis, to mention just a few.
Prevention is better than cure
As popular and cliché as this may sound, it is not popular enough. Not only is prevention better, it is cheaper, less stressful and more easily achievable than cure.
The cost of drugs are quite high and remember I mentioned that these diseases are chronic (taking a long time). They are practically incurable (for now) and it's important to know that the presence of one disease increases the risk of a person getting the other because they share risk factors and have a lot in common.
So the best thing would be to prevent them, even if there is a family history or presence of any other risk factor.
I would end by pointing out that it is never late to begin health seeking behaviours, which also includes sharing important information with loved ones who may be putting themselves at risk by ignorantly sticking to risky behaviours, diets and lifestyle.
Thanks for your time.
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Wow, that's wonderful. Thank you so much
You're making a difference @graat! Your first posts on Hive are helping to grow the community. Keep it up!
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Thank you!
Spoken like a medics which you are.
Most times, it's ignorance that kills most persons but by the post, I hope many sees it and modifies their lifestyle
Taking the U-turns necessary
Well said, succinctly put.
Thank you so much.
I do my best😊