Living Healthy

LIVING HEALTHY
By Madeeha Muhammad

Fitness …fitness… fitness… everyone talks about it now a days. It seems people are now getting more health conscious and the term doesn’t mean just to reduce weight, it has gone beyond that. But still obesity and overweight has turned out to be a global issue both in developed and underdeveloped countries and this represents large percentage of those who are not health conscious. Every year in U.S. about 400,000 deaths take place due to obesity according to research. This means that more is needed to be done to reduce this figure and to give awareness to the people of the affects of this deadly cause. Although, there has been many programs and development centers that are carrying out the task but, this should be further expanded on much more strategic levels. Coming back to the point as what actually fitness means? It means to be in shape and healthy both mentally and physically.
To have a healthy life style one must be fit. How a million dollar question? The answer is quite simple to that, however, a bit difficult when carrying out. To remain fit one must take balanced diet i.e. daily intake of fruits and vegetables, essential proteins and carbohydrates. Maintaining water level is also an essential part of overall fitness program. According to research an average person’s required water from three sources beverages 60%, food 30% metabolism 10% and in the same way it loses water in four ways i.e. urine 60%, skin & lungs 30%, sweat 5%, feces 5%. Make sure that water that’s being used for drinking is not contaminated and clean and hygienically fit to drink. Because in many places tap water is not clean or its PH level is not up the mark that causes diseases like hepatitis, malaria, and jaundice etc. so you need to be careful when you drink water, use boiled water for both drinking and nasal cleaning. Individuals, should drink sufficient amount of water prior to exercise, they should also drink approximately 500ml of fluids about 2 hours before exercise. Add oat meal to your diet as well it’s a good source of fiber. Avoid all kinds of junk food and fast food, this would add calories. Make a habit of daily exercise. Do any type of exercise that suits you. Either join gym, or go for walk, jogging, play any game or sport anything that results in exertion. A bleak forecast research has found that overweight or obese children have a substantial risk of growing up to be an overweight or obese adult. This finding is particularly alarming, giving the dramatic rise in childhood overweight and obesity rates.
Adding to these suggestions, if one has gone over weight then he/she can go for detoxification programs such as fasting this would make you relax both mentally and physically. Meal replacement is another good option, where you can go for salad or something light in calories. Replace your snacks with dry fruits bowl or with some fresh fruit juice. Again, as said above selection of food is important. Are you taking junk food or high calorie diet then immediately stop taking it. Otherwise, you might get in a big trouble. As this, might lead to several diseases like heart attacks, diabetes, strokes and many others. Here for an effective detoxification program regular exercise is a must and it plays a vital role in the program. Exercise is an ideal way of removing toxins from the body. Thus, exercise shouldn’t be exempted when carrying out this program.
Research has also shown that, obesity and overweight causes sleep disorder too. Especially, in people who smoke as well. They experience a feeling of restlessness after a night’s sleep than non-smokers. A proper full night sleep should be taken say from 10p.m. at night to 4a.m. in the morning. Try to use blue night blubs as they give calmness. Another, major cause of being unfit is stress. This affects the whole body especially brain and nervous system, which then further causes several other diseases like depression, insomnia, anxiety, fatigue, lethargy etc. that not only disturbs you mentally but physically too. Avoid such things that causes stress, opt those things that bring calmness in you. Add banana as part of your regular diet plan. Keep a small fish aquarium as this would reduce your stress and blood pressure, it also helps in controlling your diabetes as well.
Furthermore, avoid excessive use of electronic items like mobile phones, PCs, microwaves as they spread harmful rays. Go for greenery- means go for gardening. Do home plantation as much as you can and try to keep your surrounding green and natural. Ornamental plants are one of the good examples for home and workplace. These plants increase memory retention and concentration. When working under such environment performance rose with high quality and accuracy rate than when this kind of environment was absent. Living with plants improves memory up to twenty percent said by a recent study at University of Michigan (Sewach). In a much similar way planting flowers around your home and workplace greatly reduces a person’s stress level. Ornamental flower are said to be great way of lowering stress levels and anxiety. People who tend to keep flowers in their homes and offices are more relaxed and secured. The positive energy that is being derived there by reduces the stress related problems like depression. In a nut shell flowers or perhaps the nature makes one to look at the optimistic side of his/her life, brings one to the visual simulation and increase the happiness.
Nevertheless, it’s high time to take some measures to come up the above mentioned problems. As said earlier, people are now getting health conscious but they are few in number. It’s everyone’s responsibility to create awareness as much as one can and help people understand how they can overcome this deadly phenomenon. Although, there had been much research and work done in past and it is still in progress, many institutions are working day and night to find a way out. But, as an individual it’s our responsibility how far we contribute in it.