Health
Laws Of Healthy Living
As with every other law (s) guiding life’s principles, the laws of health are those that if not strictly adhered to would not only affect other principles but result even to death.
The Natural Remedies Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, listed eight laws of health which include: the air you breath, the sunlight on your body, the power of abstemiousness, the rest your body needs, the exercise you obtain, the food you eat, the water that cleanses and your trust in God. A look at each of these laws.
The air you breathe: Millions of people suffer from a wide variety of ailments that are partly caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen. The problem is that most people do not breathe correctly and this continually weakens their health, their happiness and their hold on life itself.
Without air, man dies. Air is the most vital element for man and animals. One may live for weeks without food or for days without water, but deprived of air, he will die within minutes.
According to a health educator, Dr Fiberesima Iyaye, “ in order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full deep inspirations of pure air which fill the lungs with oxygen, purify the blood. They impart to it a bright colour and send it a life giving current event to every part of the body.”
A good respiration soothes the nerves. It stimulates the appetite, renders digestion more perfect and induces sound refreshing sleep. If an insufficient supply of oxygen is received, the blood moves sluggishly. The waste poisonous matter which should be thrown off in the exhalations from the lungs is retained and the blood becomes impure. Not only the lungs but the stomach, liver and brain are affected. The strain becomes sallow, digestion is retarted, the heart is depressed, the brain clouded, the thoughts are confused. Infact, the whole system becomes depressed and inactive and particularly susceptible to disease.
Even though the present security, social and economic states of the society may not encourage us to adhere to this rule, it should be noted that it is of the highest consequence to your life, health and happiness, that you keep fresh air in every room in your home and especially in your sleeping rooms. If you are not able to have windows open in very cold weather, then leave a door open into another room where a window is open. By the day and night, always keep a current of air flowing through the house. You do not want to sit or sleep in a draft but some air circulating throughout your home, a lot in the summer and less in winter is a necessity to good health.
The sunlight on your body: There are millions of red corpuscles constantly flowing through very small blood vessels throughout every part of the 3,000 square inches of the skin. There are also tiny oil glands just beneath the skin which biochemists call sterols. As sunshine strikes them, substances within them called ergosterols are irradiated and transformed into vitamin D which when carried to all parts of the body enables it to have strong bones, teeth and nails.
Every living thing in our world is dependent upon the sun. Without sunshine, nothing could live. Sunlight is composed of energy wavelengths of various types. Adequate sunlight on the body will lower respiratory rate and cause breathing to be slower, deeper and even easier. Sunlight increases the capacity of the blood to carry more oxygen and take it to the body tissue. It dramatically lowers high blood pressure, decreases blood cholesterol, lowers excessively high blood sugars and increases white blood cells.
Even a single exposure to the ultraviolent light in sunlight will greatly increase the oxygen content of the body and this effect will continue for several days. The Natural Remedies Encyclopedia also revealed that sunlight destroys harmful bacteria implying that it is used to treat bacterial infections.
Sunlight on the body both calms the nerves and increases adrenalin. This relaxation is not merely mental, it is physical also. Both gastric and duodenal ulcer patients have been found to improve under the beneficial effects of sunlight. Thus, as against the fear of darkening of the skin especially by the women folks, it has proven necessary that the body and living apartments be exposed to sunlight for a healthy living.
The rest your body needs: As one reads through any material on health remedies, the mention of rest is hardly heard apart from inject this and swallow that. Yet, rest is one of the most basic healers known to mankind. When you become sick, what is the first thing that you do? You lie down.
Can you imagine a hospital where all the patients only go to bed at night? No, they are lying flat in bed most of the day as well as all through the night because the restorative power of rest is a key to the success of all other remedial agencies. But now you are not ill. Do you need rest when you are well? To a startly degree, it is the lack of adequate rest while you are well that causes you to become sick.
For the simple principle, one does not always have to sleep in order to have rest. Just a change of Pace-doing something different can bring rest to the mind and body. Apart from lying down, the body can be trained to relax.
The “go, get, attitude” so common to western civilization leads many to nervous break downs. As objectionable a word in their diction, they simply do not take time to rest. The reason so many people have breakdowns is that they try to surpass and have the supremacy, so they go at high speed without adequate rest until the body machinery breaks under the load.
No muscle works continually. After some work, there are some rest. Even the heart, the highest working muscle in the body rests after each beat. The lungs rest at the end of each breath and it works for a lifetime, with only one tenth of second rest and so, whatever one does to deprive it of that rest will eventually cause a serious trouble.
Amid the hurry and rush of life, our bodies and minds need rest. Even metals can become tired.
They loose their vitality from repeated shocks and strains, become exhausted and breakdown under the load.
And we all need sleep, good sound sleep every night.
Work and rest during the day and when evening comes, endeavour to get good sleep and of course, in the natural way. During the sleeping hours, the body is repaired and invigorated for another day of work. So, be regular in obtaining your sleep and more so, on a definite schedule every night.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.