Silent Killers and Healthy Living Tips

Men are the heads of the home and in most cases the bread winners of their homes. It is only one who is healthy that can think of what to do and how to provide for his family. Therefore it is very essential for men to be careful with their health. Health they say is wealth. When you are healthy, you may not know the grace you are enjoying as a human being. A lot of wealthy men today are suffering from bad health and can do everything humanly possible to live healthy. But in the contrary money may not actually buy health. Money may buy you drugs, but it cannot buy you good health. Most men today are suffering from ailments they carelessly aloud to come to them as a result of reckless living. Food is good and very necessary and essential for healthy living, but you must eat the right type of food and in the right proportion to stay healthy. In this article I am going to discuss on the general health of men, the silent killers or ailments that affect men and women alike as well as some healthy tips to help us stay healthy and enjoy our living as men.

The Silent Killers: There a many ailments in this category that kills silently and slowly. For this article, am going to talk briefly on Hypertension, Obesity and Diabetes. Hypertension is always as a result of high blood pressure. One s said to be suffering from hypertension when he is constantly having his blood pressure on the high side. A normal blood pressure should be about 120/80 (120 the systolic, 80 the diastolic, your doctor can explain more on this to you). When your blood pressure is persistently equal to or greater than 140/90, your blood pressure is high (hypertension). One mistake many men make is to think that hypertension is only for old or aging people, this is wrong as it can happen to both young and old. Causes of hypertension include; stress, anxiety, excessive drinking of alcohol and excessive smoking. Hypertension destroys the heart, kidney, and blood cells. It also can lead to stroke, affects ones vision and can lead to untimely death. The opposite of hypertension is hypotension. The later occurs when your blood pressure is low. There are not many cases of the later, but it is always more severe than the former when it occurs.
Obesity can be caused by excess accumulation of body fats in ones system. Obesity affects the blood circulation in the system. These accumulated fats cover and block the artery that helps in blood circulation in the body. Reduction in the rate of blood circulation is mainly the danger of obesity. When this occurs, it can lead to hypertension. There are several ways to calculate obesity, but the most commonly used is the BMI (Body mass Index). If your BMI is between 19 and 24 one is okay. If your BMI is between 25 and 30 you are over weight. If your BMI is above 30 then you are obese. Your doctor can also help you to calculate your BMI. Another popular way is by use of machines that tell you exactly how over weight or not you are. We as men need to check the type of diets we take to avoid accumulating excess fats in our system which can cause obesity. This is because the more obese you are, the more chances of increase in your medical problems. Obesity in some cases is genetic, but most times it is as a result of bad dietary habits.
Diabetes occurs when there is excess sugar in somebody’s system. The common symptoms of diabetes include weight loss, dizziness, tiredness, excessive thirst, frequent urination and blurred vision. Like the other silent killers, diabetes has some complications which include; causing wounds not to heal fast, erectile dysfunction; it can also lead to stroke coma and untimely death.
Having identified these silent killers, how then do we avoid them and live healthy and longer?
• Go for regular check up: It is very essential to go for regular check especially as we advance in age. Check you blood pressure intermittently ,blood sugar, cholesterol level, blood count etc
• Keep good hygiene.
• Good dieting: Mix your food. Note that different foods have different nutrients that our body needs to grow and stay healthy. Eat balanced and varied diet. Remember your energy needs decreases as your age increases. Make sure you take your complete balanced diet, don’t skip meals but don’t over eat. For your breakfast, lunch and dinner make sure you combine the different groups of food in your meals. We have the energy giving foods( starch and carbohydrates ) ,Protein foods ( plant and animal protein) ,Vegetable foods( green vegetables and other vegetables that are not green) ,Fruits ,Fat and Oil. Try as much as possible to reduce your fat intake to the barest minimum. As much as you can reduce the intake of fried foods because they contain lots of fat. Try to take at least one type of fruit after or before every meal. Potassium from out fruits helps the heart muscles to function well. Fruits also contain antioxidants which protects our body from bacteria.

Summary:
Healthy living is of paramount importance to all men. I know as a man you will like to live longer and take care of your family. In summary to stay healthy and live healthy you have to;
• Eat the right food and the right proportion.
• Choose and eat food that contains more of vegetables.
• Reduce intake of fatty foods as it increases the calories in your system.
• Don’t eat heavily especially at night.
• Meat and egg are good, but as an adult you are not supposed to take more than 3 eggs in a week and not more than two pieces of meat per meal.
• Sea foods contain a lot of cholesterol which builds fat, reduce its intake.
• Choose diet moderate in sugar. Reduce your sugar intake to the barest minimum.
• Reduce intake of soft drinks, ice cream, etc these excess sugar from them later turn to fat.
• For your sugar needs, honey is preferable.
• Choose a diet moderate in salt and sodium.
• Take little of processed food.
• Reduce your intake of alcohol and cigarette, but it is advisable to STOP entirely.
• Avoid stress and anxiety as much as you can.
• Fruits and vegetables are very essential and should be taken on daily basis.
• Take enough water. Helps keep your blood pressure normal and remove toxic from your body. At least three liters of water a day is recommended.
• Exercise your body. A physical exercise helps your blood to pump well.