Living Healthy:
Health is the general condition of body and mind; it is a healthy state of wellbeing that is free from disease. But have no doubts about it, healthy living is a long-term commitment; it is not a chance thing, and that means you have a major role to play in how your health turns out. Mrs. Pauline Bamidele Aribisala – a board certified nurse, is the Principal of the Lagos State School of Nursing; she strongly believes that “health is not a gift.”

Yet healthy living is actually within the reach of everyone if only they know what to do, and it has always been so from time immemorial.

Preventive measures for accessing and maintaining good health Aribisala says, will normally involve each of us being self responsible. Thus we ought to get the requisite knowledge for this to happen; living healthy is a choice you will have to make yourself.

What you must know about healthy Living:
One good habit to adopt is health screening. Speaking at a community health workshop in Alagbado – Lagos, Aribisala advises that as you approach the age of forty and above, you should begin to check yourself.

While highlighting some of the major health challenges as it affects both men and women, she stated that this practice will ensure that you know the state of your organs.

A man must understand that as he ages his prostrate (gland) may begin to increase in size. But this is just a benign state i.e. it is not cancerous; still, you need to take proper care of it to avoid any (further) health complications about this vital male organ. The prostate is a firm partly muscular chestnut sized gland in males, situated at the neck of the urethra. It produces a viscid secretion that is the fluid part of your semen.

At the extreme of an enlarged prostate however, you may wish to operate to remove it (prostatectomy) if you are through with having children – so you do not have to worry about it any longer. Thus the necessary interventions must be applied in order to prevent the prostate from becoming cancerous.

Aribisala also reminds the women folk to get knowledge concerning the health of their cervix. She warns that the cervix being the neck-like opening to the uterus, which leads to the vagina, is to be protected specially.

She pointed out that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is mostly responsible for cervical cancer; this dangerous infection can as well be escalated and propagated by the practice of keeping multiple sex partners by the woman.

She urges every woman as from the age of forty to begin precautionary measures such as doing a Pap smear. This is necessary so that you are able to know what to do, and prevent any risk of impending cancer if any. According to an Oncologist, Dr. Kehinde Okunade, “cervical cancer had killed more people worldwide than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria put together.” Okunade who is also a Director, Sebeccly Cancer Care and Support Centre, an NGO, said that no fewer than 9,000 Nigerian women die yearly as a result of cervical cancer.

This problem experts say is rampant with ladies who have been exposed to early sexual activities. It is pertinent therefore, that young ladies (21-29 years) in these situations avail themselves of the opportunity to be screened early enough. As a preventive measure, experts advise that ladies must avoid early sex, and having multiple sex partners.

Both men and women are also advised to avoid smoking, as well as much alcohol (especially beer for the men) while the girl-child should be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine at age nine, in order to further prevent the above mentioned health issues.

In addition, Aribisala urges ladies to always do self examination on their breasts by palpating it for early warning signs such as (unusual) lumps.

She also added that you must be wary of the following signs: “If the breast of a woman who is not lactating (breastfeeding) should emit substance when the husband sucks, it is not a good sign; if you press the breast and there is an emission of fluid it is also not normal.

And so you must get yourself checked to avoid risking cancer due to delay”, she said.

Taking decisive actions
Apart from the happenstances of life such as genetic factors, etc, leading a healthy life requires that you must be responsible for a lot of things.

And there are steps you can take right now that will make today healthier than yesterday and pave the way for healthy living tomorrow, too. These, apart from health screening and vaccination, will entail a wholesome dietary (nutrition) behaviour, exercise, good sleep and stress management.

You should also engage your mind positively by participating in mentally stimulating activities both privately and with other people.

Nutritional approach

“You need to eat regularly and responsibly; you do not skip your breakfast only to eat up a big bowl of food in the evening (trying to make up for the ones you missed). This is very wrong,” Aribisala said. Continuing she added, “But if your morning routine does not require you being very busy (active), you do not need to eat a heavy breakfast because if you do, you are not going to be burning off enough calories.”

You must choose to eat more fruits and vegetables especially in their raw forms; they are loaded with the phytochemicals necessary for your system to ward off infections and diseases.

While you are at it, it is important to note that what you put into your system is more important than what you put on. And so you must endeavour to add this little bit in addition: Drink plenty of water daily, and go easy on refined and packaged foods as well as oily foods while taking to healthy oils, more of fish and less of (red) meat.

Exercise:
“There is a thin line between good health and ill health, and it is difficult to come back if you cross the line. You need to have regular exercise; your blood needs to flow freely, and if this does not happen, you may likely have a blood clot, and that is dangerous,” Aribisala said.

Thus exercise helps you to burn off fat and improve your (fat) metabolism thereby preventing thrombosis caused by clotting. Studies have shown that active people are less likely to suffer obesity, and cardiovascular related ailments than those who lead sedentary lifestyle.

If you must live healthy, you must choose today to take responsibility for your health. Learn therefore to master your body; eat healthy, learn to relax and ‘breathe properly’. You should also get active. Sometimes why you say that obesity ‘runs in your family’ could actually be because – nobody is running! Your life may be a gift, but not so with your health.

By Morgan Nwanguma