Personal Health Care

Ask any nutritionist on what you need to do in order to ensure that you eat healthy for your personal health care, and you will probably get the same answer; eat a balanced diet made of a variety of foods and in moderation. Does that sound familiar? Well, that is just a general summation of the healthy eating tips that you need to observe.

The human body needs at least 40 different nutrients for maximum health. The sad news is that no single food item has them all. The good news on the other hand lies in the fact that the nutrients can be obtained from different foods. As such, healthy eating tips will often advise people to eat foods from all food groups. This includes proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins.

Among the healthy eating tips recommended by nutritionists include eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A healthy adult should eat an average of three fruit servings and four vegetable servings a day. Whole grains are recommended due to their roughage content and their reliability in providing the body with nutrients contained in the husks.
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Heart failure is a complex condition that can result from any disorder that affects the ability of the heart to pump blood adequately to meet the demands of the body.Prevalence increases with advancing age.

Causes heart failure:
*Coronary heart disease
*High blood pressure
*Heart valve problems
*Abnormalities of heart rhythm
*Heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathies)
*Diabetes Mellitus
*Alcohol related heart disease
*Thyroid heart disease

Over 17.2 million people die each year from cardiovascular diseases, making these the leading cause of death worldwide. Yet 80% of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke ( World Health Organization ).

Heart failure symptoms

*Tiredness
*Shortness of breath
*Limitation of physical activities
*Leg swelling

The good news, however, is that 80% of premature heart failure and strokes are preventable. Healthy heart  diet, regular physical activity, and stop smoking are the keys to prevention.

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Travelers are potentially exposed to a variety of health risks in unfamiliar environments. Most such risks, however, can be minimized by suitable precautions taken before, during and after travel.

Forward planning, appropriate preventive measures and careful precautions can substantially reduce risks of adverse health consequences during travel. Although the information here can guide the public and health care provider toward more healthy and safe travel, a risk assessment of every traveler should be performed. Travel health advice needs to be tailored both to the individual and to the itinerary.

This information is designed to complement and not replace the relationship that exists with your existing family doctor or travel health professional. Please discuss your travel health requirements with your regular family doctor or practice nurse. Remember that you should always discuss your particular needs or health requirements with your own doctor or nurse.

Tips before travel

*Buy adequate and appropriate travel insurance
*Check with Ministry of Health for general advice for travelers
*Check what vaccinations and chemoprophylaxis you need with your doctor at least six weeks before you travel
*Pack all medicine in your hand luggage
*If you are taking prescribed medication take the prescription and a doctor letter with you
*Most airlines restrict the amount of hand luggage allowed on flights. *Check with your airline prior to flying.
*Check your passport validity and visa requirement.

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The chest cavity (‘thorax’) is the area enclosed by your ribs, from below your neck and shoulders. Its floor is the diaphragm, a wide, thin dome of muscle a little above your waist. Below the diaphragm is the abdomen.

Most of the chest cavity is filled with two large, spongy lungs. The lungs are roughly cone-shaped, and are made up of sections or lobes – the left lung has two and the right lung has three. Between the lungs is the mediastinum, an area that contains the heart and large blood vessels, the trachea (windpipe), the oesophagus (the tube that carries food from mouth to stomach), and many glands called lymph nodes.

When we breathe in, air goes through the nose or mouth, into the throat, and down the windpipe into the chest. The windpipe branches into two bronchi, one going to each lung. Inside the lungs, the bronchi branch many times, like a tree, to form smaller bronchi and then thousands of tiny tubes (bronchioles). Each bronchiole ends up at tiny, bubble-like air sacs. It is these air sacs (alveoli) that make the lungs spongy.

Blood flows between the thin walls of adjacent air sacs. This allows oxygen to move from the air into the blood, and carbon dioxide a waste product from the body – to move from blood to air, to be breathed out

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The latest World Health Organization (WHO) projections indicate that at least one in three of the world’s adult population is overweight and almost one in 10 is obese. Additionally there are over 20 million children under age five who are overweight.

Being overweight or obese can have a serious impact on health. Carrying extra fat leads to serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon). These conditions cause premature death and substantial disability.

What is not widely known is that the risk of health problems starts when someone is only very slightly overweight, and that the likelihood of problems increases as someone becomes more and more overweight. Many of these conditions cause long-term suffering for individuals and families. In addition, the costs for the health care system can be extremely high.

The good news is that overweight and obesity are largely preventable. The key to success is to achieve an energy balance between calories consumed on one hand, and calories used on the other hand.

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