How to Stay Healthy throughout the Year

Our body is a complex organism that has the ability to heal itself if only we listen to it and respond with proper nourishment and care. In spite of all the abuse our bodies endure whether through exposure to environmental toxins, poor nutrition, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, or inactivity—they still usually serve us well for many years before signs of illness may start to appear.

• Make peace with your genes. Although diet and exercise can help you make the most of your shape, your genetic makeup plays a key role in determining your body size. There’s a limit to how much fat you can safely lose.
• Learn to accept your body. Embrace your best qualities. Physicians, psychotherapists and sex therapists have all found that a poor body image has negative effects on health and may lead to anxiety, depression, eating disorders and decreased sexual function.
• For a sturdy heart avoid trans fat. Trans fat finds its way into foods via a process called hydrogenation, is a major culprit in the development of heart disease. Avoid it, it is listed as “partially hydrogenated oil” on labels). Muffins, french fries are loaded with trans fat.
• Keep your weight in check. Added pounds mean added health risks–especially if these pounds fall around your middle.
• Shake your salt habit. Overdoing it on sodium can lead to high blood pressure in some women, which in turn raises risk of heart disease and stroke. The recommended daily intake is 1,500 milligrams, but you can get less!
• Kick the butt. A cigarette is not a cool accessory–it’s the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women.
• Get a mammogram. In general, you can’t feel a breast lump with your fingers if it’s less than 1 centimeter across–about the size of a large pea. A mammogram detects lumps that are only 1 millimeter across. If you’re a woman over the age of 40, try to fix an annual mammogram.
• Research your family health history to know if you’re more at risk for certain diseases, so you can begin taking preventive lifestyle measures–like eating a lowfat, high-fiber diet and exercising regularly–that will help you beat the odds. Breast and colon cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and depression tend to run in families.
• Check yourself. Watch out for suspicious moles to prevent skin cancer from developing. Alert your dermatologist if you notice any of these “Mole ABCDs”:

o A symmetry—when one side of a mole doesn’t match the other

o Borders—irregular, ragged edges

o Colour—any changes or uneven coloring

o Diameter–a mole that’s wider than a pencil eraser.

• Manage your stress. Your body takes a beating from chronic stress–in the form of heart disease, memory loss, gum disease, depression and weakened immunity. To squelch stress, try practicing deep breathing for at least 20 minutes a day.
• Do good to feel good.
• Go to bed earlier. Chronic sleep deprivation can weaken your immune system, making you prone to illness. Most people need a full eight hours per night. Lack of sleep also can cause irritability and lower your ability to handle stress.
• Don’t beg your doctor for antibiotics when you have a cold. Antibiotics kill bacteria; since colds are viral, antibiotics do not affect them.
• Use swipes, wash your hands often to keep germs at bay.
• Eat a colourful variety of fruits and vegetables to get your fill of disease-fighting antioxidants.
• Get moving anytime. The secret to your best body is squeezing exercise in wherever you can. Skip the elevator and take the stairs and do squats while you brush your teeth.
• Don’t skip the gym when you have monthly cramps.

Docs Speak:

• Eat a nutritious diet. Take cues from Food Guide Pyramid.
• Exercise. Skipping, jogging and running fight bulge and osteoporosis.
• Say no to tobacco, as it is a well known cancer causing agent.
• Say yes to health check ups. Prevention is better than cure.
• Acknowledge anger and always look at the bigger picture.

Inputs

Dr. SVS Deo—Surgical Oncologist AIIMS

Dr. Sushila Kataria—Internal Consultant, Medanta-the-Medicity

Nutritionists–Guardian Lifecare Nutritionists

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