A Scientific Approach to Health

By: Hiba Tanvir

A Scientific Approach to Health

"Learn what public health experts have to say about the benefits of adopting a new healthy lifestyle" 

With the rising accounts of health problems and illnesses, fitness experts are concerned about the new generation. Although new technology and mass awareness campaigns have encouraged people to change their lifestyle, it is still not enough. To reduce the number of diseases in the world, numerous health specialists have proposed four important keys to help people understand a healthy lifestyle with greater depth.   

1. Nutrition

           source from media by Wix

Let's start with our dietary choices- the varieties and quantities of food we consume. They are a crucial determinant of human health. Why? Because inadequate dietary conditions have led to none of the top 15  risk factors for global morbidity (Forouzanfar et al., 2013).

Nearly 40% of global mortality is associated with diseases induced by poor food quality, including coronary heart diseases (CHD), stroke, colorectal cancers, and type II diabetes (Lancet, 2015).

Now the question is, what can we eat to help prevent such health problems? Several health experts have proposed key things and their importance to plan a nutritious diet:

• A plant-based diet of vegetables, fruits, and fiber: Helps lower the risk of colorectal cancer and liver cancer. It prevents dementia, cognitive decline, and sleep apnea in the body. It also improves gut health. ​​(1)  (5)
• Adequate amounts of calcium and magnesium: Makes bones and teeth stronger and prevents osteoporosis and osteoarthritis later in life. (2)  (3)
• Low Glycemic load such as Green vegetables, most fruits, raw carrots, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, and bran breakfast cereals: Decreases symptoms of depression and fatigue, thus, improving mental health. (4)
• High protein menus like eggs, almonds, oats, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and milk. Controlled amounts of meat such as red and white meat: Excellent sources of Vitamins. Helps increase metabolic rate, reduce hunger, and promote fullness. It can also promote an increase in muscle mass, form stronger bones, and absorb iron better. ​(6) (7) (8) (9)

To be able to perform well, you have to make yourself physically stronger, and the best way to achieve that is by eating organic food and trashing out processed, oily, and unhygienic food. 

                                                                                                                                Source from food tribune

2. Physical Activity

Many of you must have heard your doctors suggest physical activity at least once in a lifetime. But have you wondered why? It is simple to understand the concept of physical activity. PA helps us stay fit, healthy, and active as we age. People who don't opt for this mostly ends up being a victim of obesity. Besides, physical inactivity is one of the leading modifiable risk factors for global mortality. It is estimated that 20% to 30% increased risk of death compared with those who are physically active. To combat chronic diseases, especially Cardio-Vascular Diseases (CVD), an increase in the levels of physical activity and aerobic-exercise is needed to increase the levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) Worldwide. 

There have been numerous studies published that exhibit the inverse relationship between PA, CRF level, and daily exercise, with the likelihood of CVD, myocardial infarction (MI), and CVD fatality (Wisloff & Lavie, 2017). 

                                                                                                                           Sourced from Pixabay

To further note, There are tons of physical benefits to physical activity:

• Regular exercise has shown to increase your metabolic rate, which will burn more calories and help you lose weight.  (10)
• Practicing regular physical activity is essential to reducing muscle loss and maintaining strength as you age. (11) 
• It helps build bone density when you’re younger, in addition to helping to prevent osteoporosis later in life. (12)
• A study shows that PA also acts as an energy booster and can stimulate blood flow and induce skin cell adaptations that can help delay the appearance of skin aging. (13)
• Also has many advantages to mental health: increases heart rate that promotes the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain, and stimulates the production of hormones that can enhance the growth of brain cells. (14)
•  It can help you relax and sleep better and prevent cognitive decline and sleep apnea in the body. (15)

To sum it all up, I would like to share my own experience with PA. Ever since I began working out and registered for a swimming membership, my work efficiency has significantly improved with time and, I feel more active than I used to. You can achieve the same by following all the above points! 

3. Hygiene

Each day, you come in contact with millions of germs and viruses through touching, eating, and even breathing. These microscopic creatures have the tendency to stay on the surface of your body and food, and in some instances, they may make you physically ill. To protect yourself from all this, personal hygiene practices can benefit you in numerous ways. They can also contribute to self-confidence and self-care. 

Poor personal hygiene habits, however, can lead to some minor side effects, like body odor and greasy skin. They can also lead to more alarming or even serious problems varying from stomach viruses to pink eye. 

Furthermore, poor dental care is also a risk factor for several pressing health issues, including heart disease. (16) 

To develop good personal hygiene habits, you should first start with washing your hands before eating or preparing food, taking a bath regularly, brushing your teeth twice a day. (17)

                                                          Source from pixabay

Besides personal hygiene, another important determinant for a safer future is food hygiene. Food hygiene is the conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety of food from production to consumption. It is the process of properly chilling, cooking, cleaning food, and avoiding cross-contamination to prevent the spread of bacteria in food. It is useful for preventing food poisoning. (18) 

Globally, people are severely affected each day by illnesses that are created by eating unsanitary and unsafe food. We have to give adequate importance to good hygienic customs to prevent and control foodborne diseases (Bryan, 1988). Foodborne diseases result from eating foods that contain dangerous or noxious substances (Curtis & Cairncross, 2003). (19) 

Here is a video by WHO to understand this subject better!

4. Attitude

Last and the foremost important step in the road to a healthy lifestyle is Attitude. Attitude is what determines your choices and decisions. A constructive view of life and aging may help you ensure a happy longer future. To help you understand the importance of an optimistic attitude, a famous professor Dr. Laura Kubzansky has described the health effects of several forms of psychological well-being in her researches. She determined that emotionality vitality— a sense of positive energy, and ability to regulate behavior and emotions, and a feeling of engagement in life— has the power to reduce risks for heart attacks and strokes and improve mental health. 

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Researchers assert that positive psychological well-being may influence health by buffering against the effects of stress (Rozanski & Kubzansky, 2005) and monitoring behavior by methods of engagement and disengagement (Scheier & Carver, 1985).

In 2007 Kubzansky's team reported that among 6,025 participants, those who had high levels of emotional vitality at the onset had significantly lower rates of cardiovascular disease an average of 15 years later. In 2015 they reported that among 6,019 participants studied for an average of 16 years, greater emotional vitality was associated with a lower likelihood of having a stroke. 

How can you achieve emotional vitality?

• Practicing mindfulness. (20)

• Avoid dwelling on your age and feeling younger than your age. (21)
• Focusing on what is important. (22)
• Keeping a sense of purpose. (23)

Watch Dr. Wayne Dyer talk about the positive attitude and emotional vitality in the video below.

To succeed in attaining a positive attitude can be very challenging, but it is the major step towards a healthy lifestyle, and the motivation to follow this has to come within yourself. To achieve this, the first thing that you need to do is have a moment of self-reflection. Try to question yourself, why do you need to take these measures? How would they impact your life? Weigh the pros and cons until you conclude what is best for you. To have better nutrition, motivation to perform physical activity, and gain a sense of responsibility for hygiene, you need to have a positive attitude. Remember, no one can bring change for you but, you have to bring change yourself. 

Thank you for reading!

References

1. GBD 2013 Risk Factors Collaborator M. H. Forouzanfar et al .; GBD 2013 Risk Factors Collaborators, Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioral, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990-2013: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2013. Lancet 386, 2287–2323 (2015). [TheLancet]

2. IHM, GBD Compare. https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/. Accessed 28 October 2020.

3. Wisloff U, Lavie CJ. Taking physical activity, exercise, and fitness to a higher level. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 2017;60:1–2. [PubMed]

4. Vuori IM, Lavie CJ, Blair SN. Physical activity promotion in the health care system. Mayo Clin Proc 2013;88:1446–61. [PubMed]

5. Harber MP, Kaminsky LA, Arena R, et al. Impact of cardiorespiratory fitness on all-cause and disease-specific mortality: advances since 2009. Prog Cardiovasc Dis 2017;60:11–20. [PubMed]

6. Curtis V, Cairncross S. Effect of washing hands with soap on diarrhea risk in the community: A systematic review. Lancet Infect Dis. 2003;3:275–81. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

7. Bryan, F. L. (1988). Risks of practices, procedures, and procedures that lead to outbreaks of foodborne diseases. Journal of Food Protection, 51, 663–673.[PubMed]

8. World Health Organisation (2000). Foodborne disease: Focus on health. [WHO]

9. Rozanski A, Kubzansky LD. Psychologic functioning and physical health: A paradigm of flexibility. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2005;67(Suppl 1): S47–53. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]