Improve your Well-Being - How your attitude to Health and Food Can Help!
1. ==== ====
For great Natural way to treat Type 2 DIABETES, Check this out:
www.healthy-inside-out.com
==== ====
What is Health?
How do you define health? Is it a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being? Is it
merely the absence of disease or infirmity? Or is health a resource for everyday life, rather than
the objective of living; a positive concept, emphasising social and personal resources as well as
physical capabilities?
Good health is harder to define than bad health (which can be equated with the presence of
disease), because it must convey a concept more positive than mere absence of disease, and
there is a variable area between health and disease. Health is clearly a complex, multidimensional
concept. Health is, ultimately, poorly defined and difficult to measure, despite impressive efforts by
epidemiologists, vital statisticians, social scientists and political economists. Each individual's
health is shaped by many factors, including medical care, social circumstances, and behavioural
choices.
Health Care
While it is true to say that health care is the prevention, treatment and management of illness, and
the preservation of mental and physical well-being, through the services offered by the medical,
nursing and allied health professions, health-related behaviour is influenced by our own values,
which are determined by upbringing, by example, by experience, by the company one keeps, by
the persuasive power of advertising (often a force of behaviour that can harm health), and by
effective health education. Healthy individuals are able to mobilise all their physical, mental, and
spiritual resources to improve their chances of survival, to live happy and fulfilling lives, and to be
of benefit to their dependants and society.
Achieving health, and remaining healthy, is an active process. Natural health is based on
prevention, and on keeping our bodies and minds in good shape. Health lies in balancing these
aspects within the body through a regimen consisting of diet, exercise, and regulation of the
emotions. The last of these is too often ignored when health advice is dispensed, but can have a
pronounced effect on physical well-being.
Diet
Every day, or so it seems, new research shows that some aspect of lifestyle - physical activity,
diet, alcohol consumption, and so on - affects health and longevity. Physical fitness is good bodily
health, and is the result of regular exercise, proper diet and nutrition, and proper rest for physical
recovery. The field of nutrition also studies foods and dietary supplements that improve
performance, promote health, and cure or prevent disease, such as fibrous foods to reduce the
2. risk of colon cancer, or supplements with vitamin C to strengthen teeth and gums and to improve
the immune system. When exercising, it becomes even more important to have a good diet to
ensure that the body has the correct ratio of macronutrients whilst providing ample micronutrients;
this is to aid the body in the recovery process following strenuous exercise.
If you're trying to lose weight by "dieting", don't call it a diet, first of all - successful dieters don't call
what they do a "diet". A healthy diet and regular physical activity are both important for maintaining
a healthy weight. Even literate, well-educated people sometimes have misguided views about
what makes or keeps them healthy, often believing that regular daily exercise, regular bowel
movements, or a specific dietary regime will alone suffice to preserve their good health. Despite
the ever-changing, ever-conflicting opinions of the medical experts as to what is good for us, one
aspect of what we eat and drink has remained constantly agreed by all: a balanced diet.
A balanced diet comprises a mixture of the main varieties of nutriments (protein, carbohydrates,
fats, minerals, and vitamins). Proper nutrition is just as, if not more, important to health as
exercise. If you're concerned about being overweight, you don't need to add the extra stress of
"dieting". No "low-fat this" or "low-carb that"; just healthful eating of smaller portions, with weight
loss being a satisfying side effect. Improve health by eating real food in moderation. (For many
reasons, not everyone has easy access to or incentives to eat a balanced diet. Nevertheless,
those who eat a well-balanced diet are healthier than those who do not.)
Exercise
Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness and overall health
(including healthy weight), building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and joints, promoting
physiological well-being, reducing surgical risks, and strengthening the immune system. Aerobic
exercises, such as walking, running and swimming, focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance
and muscle density. Anaerobic exercises, such as weight training or sprinting, increase muscle
mass and strength. Proper rest and recovery are also as important to health as exercise,
otherwise the body exists in a permanently injured state and will not improve or adapt adequately
to the exercise. The above two factors can be compromised by psychological compulsions (eating
disorders, such as exercise bulimia, anorexia, and other bulimias), misinformation, a lack of
organisation, or a lack of motivation.
Ask your doctor or physical therapist what exercises are best for you. Your doctor and/or physical
therapist can recommend specific types of exercise, depending on your particular situation. You
can use exercises to keep strong and limber, improve cardiovascular fitness, extend your joints'
range of motion, and reduce your weight. You should never be too busy to exercise. There's
always a way to squeeze in a little exercise, no matter where you are. Eliminate one or maybe
even two items from your busy schedule to free up time to fit in some exercise and some "YOU"
time. Finding an exercise partner is a common workout strategy.
Emotions
You may have heard about the benefits of diet and exercise ad nauseam, but may be unaware of
the effect that your emotions can have on your physical well-being and, indeed, your longevity.
Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life. Mental health is how we
think, feel, and act in order to face life's situations. Prolonged psychological stress may have a
3. negative impact on health, such as weakening the immune system.
Children are particularly vulnerable. Caring for and protecting a child's mental health is a major
part of helping that child to grow into a normal adult, accepted into society. Mental health problems
are not just a passing phase. Children are at greater risk for developing mental health problems
when certain factors occur in their lives or environments. Mental health problems include
depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder,
anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia and conduct disorder. Do your best to provide a
safe and loving home and community for your child, as well as nutritious meals, regular health
check-ups, immunisations and exercise. Many children experience mental health problems that
are real and painful, and they can be severe. Mental health problems affect at least one in every
five young people at any given time. Tragically, an estimated two-thirds of all young people with
mental health problems are not getting the help they need. Mental health problems can lead to
school failure, alcohol or other drug abuse, family discord, violence, or even suicide. A variety of
signs may point to a possible mental health problem in a child or teenager. Talk to your doctor, a
school counsellor, or other mental health professionals who are trained to assess whether your
child has a mental health problem.
Control your emotions. If a driver overtakes you on the wrong side, or pulls out of a side road in
front of you, don't seethe with rage and honk your horn; You're hurting no one but yourself by
raising your blood pressure. Anger has been linked to heart disease, and research has suggested
that hardening of the arteries occurs faster in people who score highly in hostility and anger tests.
Stay calm in such situations, and feel proud of yourself for doing so. Take comfort in the
knowledge that such aggressive drivers only increase their own blood pressure. Your passengers
will be more impressed with your "cool" than with your irascibility.
If you are in a constant rush, feeling that every second of your life counts, just slow down a little.
Yes, every second does count, but consider the concept of quality of life. Compare how you feel
when you're in a hurry with how you feel when you're not. Which feels better? Rushing everywhere
increases your stress level. The body tries to overcome stress by making certain physiological
adjustments. Some time after you slow down, the physiological adjustments and the stress
symptoms revert to normal. If you don't ever slow down, the physiological adjustments and the
stress symptoms persist. It is this persistence of the body's response that matters. You may
develop physical, physiological or psychological problems, and may not be able to lead a normal
life. Many cases of stress are somehow connected with money, or rather the lack of it. Such
people struggle to make ends meet or to acquire more material possessions. This brings us to our
final discussion: attitude.
Attitude
It is always pleasant to enjoy the fruits of our labours, of course. Sometimes, however, it seems
that whatever we do, it's just not enough to be able to afford that new car or that foreign holiday.
So, what do we usually do then? We work harder, longer; we increase the stress on our minds and
bodies; we spend less time with our families and friends; we become more irascible and less
likeable people. If you find yourself in this situation, just stop for a moment, and consider: Is it all
worth it? What is the purpose of life? Surely it is to be happy. You'll probably be happier if you
adopt the philosophy that true quality of life is not to be found in material things. If you convince
yourself that you want less, you'll need less. If you need less, you'll cope with life more easily, and
4. the happier, and therefore healthier, you'll be. Buddha called this "enlightenment". Enjoy a "good-
health attitude". Focus on your abilities instead of disabilities. Be satisfied with what you have,
rather than be dissatisfied about what you don't have and probably never will have.
If you simply cannot cope with a healthy diet, exercise and emotional control, but genuinely prefer
to eat junk food, be permanently drunk, be under constant stress, and be disliked by others, then
enjoy your life while it lasts, but understand that the trade-off is that it will probably not last long. If
you accept this willingly, you'll be happy. There is some merit in the philosophy that it is better to
live a short, happy life than a long, miserable one.
Conclusion
Personal or individual health is largely subjective. For most individuals and for many cultures,
however, health is a philosophical and subjective concept, associated with contentment, and often
taken for granted when all is going well. The evidence that behavioural factors such as diet,
physical activity, smoking and stress influence health is overwhelming. Thus, health is maintained
and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also
through the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices of the individual and society. Perhaps the best
thing you can do for your health is to keep a positive attitude. Optimal health can be defined as a
balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual health. Maintain a positive attitude!
Links to this article on the WorldWideNewsArticles web site are permitted by copying and pasting
this code: www.WorldWideNewsArticles.com/Health WorldWideNewsArticles.com publishes
hourly updated news items and daily articles on the most popular topics. Copyright
WorldWideNewsArticles.com. All rights reserved.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=William_Newart
==== ====
For great Natural way to treat Type 2 DIABETES, Check this out:
www.healthy-inside-out.com
==== ====