While maintaining good health habits not guarantee enjoy a longer life, it can definitely improve their quality. If practiced regularly, a few simple things can help minimize the risk of illness and enrich your life:
- Make exercise regularly and control weight
- Do not smoke or use drugs
- Not drinking too much alcohol and avoid it altogether if you have a history of alcoholism
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet
- Baby Teeth
- Control high blood pressure
- Follow good safety
EXERCISE
Exercise is a key factor in staying healthy. Exercise strengthens the bones, heart and lungs, tones muscles, improves vitality, helps you sleep better and relieves depression.
If you are just starting an exercise program and have any pre-existing conditions, such as obesity, hypertension or diabetes , ask your doctor about a stress test to help establish safe limits for the exercise program .
Tips for healthy exercise:
- It should start exercising gradually (perhaps with a brisk walk) and not expect to "get in shape" overnight. After three months of constant effort, physical condition will start to improve.
- The person must exercise enough to sweat during each exercise period, but not so strong that it can not hold a conversation.
- A workout plan 20 to 30 minutes, at least three or five days a week. Include stretching before and after exercise, which will help prevent injury. Remember to start slowly and listen to your body. If it hurts badly, then you are probably overdoing it.
- Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart and lungs and should be part of the routine to get in shape.Examples of these exercises include walking, running, jogging, swimming, cross-country skiing, rowing, jumping rope, dancing, racket sports and cycling. To achieve the greatest benefit, aerobic exercises should be performed for continuous periods of at least 10 to 12 minutes.
- The strength and flexibility exercises are important and help the person to maintain the ability to perform daily activities and maintain balance as it grows.
It is necessary to make adjustments to the exercise program for children, pregnant women, obese adults, elderly, disabled and survivors of heart attacks. The programs also need to be modified for high altitude and extreme heat or cold.
SMOKING
It is estimated that cigarette smoking causes over 400,000 deaths per year in the United States and is the largest preventable cause of premature death in this country. One in five deaths in the United States each year is the direct or indirect result of smoking.
Indirect exposure to smoking causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year. Studies have also linked secondhand smoke with heart disease snuff.
Serious illnesses most often caused by smoking are:
- Angina
- Chronic Bronchitis
- Emphysema
- Heart attack
- Leg pain as a result of blockages in the arteries of the lower extremities (claudication)
- Lung cancer (the risk for smokers is 10 times that of nonsmokers)
- Stroke (risk of smokers is almost three times that of non-smokers)
It is never too late to quit smoking. Two years after quitting, the risk of heart attack returns to average and the risk of lung cancer drops by about a third. After 10 years of not smoking, the risk of lung cancer returns to near normal.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
Drinking alcohol gradually depresses brain function and formerly affected emotions, thought processes and judgment. With continued drinking, motor control is impaired, causing slurred speech, slower reactions and loss of balance. Both increased body fat as the drinking on an empty stomach accelerates the rate of alcohol intoxication.
The disease most commonly caused by alcoholism are:
- Acute and chronic pancreatitis
- Bleeding esophageal varices
- Cancer of the larynx, esophagus, stomach and pancreas
- Cardiomyopathy
- Cirrhosis of the liver
- Hepatitis
- Impotence
- Mallory-Weiss
- Menstrual irregularity
- Sleep Disorders
- Wernicke-Korsakoff
Avoid alcohol during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most common known cause of mental retardation.
Parents should talk to their children about the harmful effects of alcohol and confidence to communicate with them, so that they can discuss sensitive issues. Do not allow children to be guided entirely by his friends.Children need firm and loving guidance.
DRUG USE AND ABUSE
Everyone reacts differently to medications. Always be sure to tell your doctor about any drugs you are taking, including nonprescription medicines and vitamins.
Interactions with medications can have serious health consequences. Adults should be particularly careful about interactions with multiple medications and should closely monitor this situation if appropriate. Bring a list of medications being taken at the time, especially when going to different doctors to treat different problems.
Avoid drinking alcohol while taking medications, because this combination can be very dangerous, especially tranquilizers and painkillers.
Expectant mothers should avoid taking any drugs not prescribed during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester when the fetus is very sensitive to drugs in the body of his mother. If the mother has been taking any drugs before pregnancy, you should inform your doctor.
Always take a drug in the form as prescribed : take any drug for purposes other than those of its own, or in a manner or in quantities other than directed, is considered drug abuse. Abuse and addiction are not just associated with illegal street drugs. Legal drugs such as laxatives, analgesics, nasal sprays, diet pills and cough medicines are also sometimes used improperly, causing serious health problems.
Addiction is defined as compulsive use of a substance despite continued negative consequences. Simply needing a drug (such as an analgesic or antidepressant) and take it the way it was prescribed is not addiction.
Symptoms and signs of addiction vary from person to person and the type of drug, but can include:
- Agitation
- Bloodshot eyes
- Dazed appearance
- Excessive sweating
- Skin redness
- Insomnia
- Persistent rhinorrhea
- Changes in personality
- Unexplained weight loss
- Unpredictable mood
Signs of drug abuse in teens are: apathy, tantrums, missing school, sloppy dress, lack of interest in studies, excessive demands for privacy and confidentiality, and changing group of friends. However, it is possible that some teens in trouble do not show any of these symptoms.
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress is normal. It can be a great motivator to get things done in small amounts can even improve health.However, excessive stress can cause symptoms such as insomnia, headaches, stomach problems, problems with mood and others.
It is important that the person learns to recognize the factors most likely to cause stress in your life. While it may not be avoided, the person may feel safer to know the source of your stress and it helps to have "more control" over the situation. The more control you feel you have over your life, the less damage caused by stress.
OBESITY
Obesity is a serious health concern that adds stress to the heart, bones and muscles and increases the risk of hypertension, stroke, varicose veins , breast cancer and gallbladder disease.
Overeating, an unhealthy diet and physical inactivity can lead to obesity. Family history also plays a role.
DIET
As a general rule, you should choose foods low in saturated and trans fats, like low cholesterol. Also, limit your intake of sugar, salt (sodium) and alcohol. We recommend eating more fiber , which can be found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grain products and nuts.
DENTAL CARE
Good dental hygiene is essential to keeping your teeth a lifetime and it is important that children with good dental habits early. Good hygiene includes:
- Brush your teeth twice a day and floss daily.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste.
- Regular dental checkups.
- Limit consumption of sugar.
- Use a toothbrush with soft bristles (the toothbrush should be replaced as soon as the bristles become bent).
- Having the dentist instructions on proper brushing and flossing.
- Knowing that toothpastes that "control board" have little or no effect on the plaque below the gum line and, therefore, do not provide protection against gum disease.
