Health Essentials
Your kitchen holds the key to your heart
• What we eat or do not eat can affect our cardiovascular health
Whoever coined the phrase, “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” may have been onto something bigger than he or she had intended. We can now authoritatively state that this pathway applies to women and children as well and it may just not be what you are thinking. The kitchen may not only get you a life-partner, it may also determine your heart health.
This year we are discussing heart health from January so that together we can modify what we eat in the month that most people are very proactive about resolutions with health at the fore. Just as charity begins at home, so does heart health and to be more precise; “Heart Health Begins in the Kitchen.”
Cardiovascular diseases affect as many women as men but the risk among women is seriously underestimated. Heart disease is actually the number one killer of women in the world, causing 1 in 3 female deaths. Cardiovascular diseases claims over 17.5million lives each year and is the WORLD’S BIGGEST KILLER. This killer boasts of being responsible for 31 per cent of all deaths globally. Contrary to popular belief 4 out of 5 of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries and men and women were equally affected. Why? The high income countries often have the skill and technology to keep the victims alive.
Children are vulnerable too. Their risk for these diseases can begin before birth, during foetal development and may even increase exponentially during childhood with exposure to unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption. Poor children, they have no control over their mother’s eating habits yet they start paying for this even before they can catch a glimpse of what this world looks like.
An undernourished mother and an over nourished one both place their unborn child at risk of cardiovascular disease.
The mother is at risk from this poor eating pattern. It is becoming increasingly clear that the food you prepare in your kitchen or fail to prepare may not only kill you, it may be the cause of the woes of your yet to be born child.
I hate to think that we put such a strain on children; not only do they have to cope with the emotional burden of living with a parent suffering from a cardiovascular disease; they may again lose a parent or even both from this evil.
Then they will have to deal with cardiovascular disease of their own. We compete to feed our children with diets with useless calories (sugar laden) and diets high in bad fats.
In addition to “cooking” cardiovascular diseases in our kitchens we have also created a society where it is fashionable to avoid physical activity; computer games reign supreme and children sit for hours behind a desk supposedly studying. We finally complete the kill by filling our environment with secondhand tobacco smoke.
We all know the risk factors for heart disease and strokes but I will list them once again:
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• High cholesterol
• Smoking & excessive alcohol consumption
• Overweight or obesity
• Inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables
• Inadequate physical activity (lack of exercise)
• Excessive Salt Intake (salt like sugar is something we learn to take. We are not born with appetite for salt. Let us teach the right things to our young ones)
• Genetics??
There is certainly good news, 80 per cent of premature heart attacks and strokes are preventable. Healthy diet, regular exercises not using tobacco products (includes passive smoking) are the keys to prevention.
Let’s protect our children from heart disease; encourage the introduction of daily physical activity sessions in school, let’s discourage the sale or even the presence of coloured water laden with sugar and being paraded as nutritious drinks.
Encourage children to eat less salt and oil but rather more fruits and vegetables. Beware of the danger “hiding” in many snacks. We will face resistance from the little ones but if we are serious about reducing the death toll especially in developing countries then we have no option but to adopt these measures.
Always strive to Make your KITCHEN HEART FRIENDLY
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd/ Mobissel
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “Heart disease does NOT discriminate. It can hit anyone regardless of age, gender, race, social class or economic status BUT you have far more control over your heart health than you may realise.”
Reference:
1. World-heart-federation.org
2. WHO website
3. Mayo Clinic – Essential Heart Guide 2012.
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
A good relationship with your boss is critical for job success and career development. Supervisors have a great influence on your stress level, your team and company culture, and ultimately, whether you succeed or fail in a role.
They are also your best resource for support, problem-solving, and personal development. Building a strong relationship with them can be transformative for your work experience and professional growth, but navigating this connection can be complex.
Here are some key values and characteristics that will help you along the way.
- Be authentic
It is important to be yourself when building any new relationship. Do not be over-the-top trying to impress or kiss up to a manager. Be authentic and try to build a genuine connection with them instead. This will be incredibly helpful when it comes to dealing with personal issues, having difficult conversations, and building trust.
- Be empathetic and respectful
Bosses are human beings with their own professional pressures and personal lives, so it is important to maintain empathy toward them. Strive to get to know them on a personal level; you do not need to be best friends, but knowing the basics, like their family and hobbies, can be meaningful.
Also, help your supervisor look good. Every leader wants a high-performing and successful team. By developing trust, understanding, and excellent communication, you can help your boss achieve their goals.
- Build trust and add value
Showing initiative will win you big points with almost any boss. Whether setting up regular one-on-ones, volunteering for new projects, or offering help, the benefits of this dedication are twofold.
Proactivity makes leaders feel supported-like you are looking out for them. It also provides opportunities for your individual growth.
Whenever possible, add value beyond the limitations of your job description. Whether you have a special interest or extra capacity, find ways to support your team and relieve pressure. – Source:careers.vikingservice.com
..To be continued
This week I bumped into Deborah, one of my avid readers and I promised her I will be writing this weekend. So Deborah, this is for your reading pleasure and to pick some golden nuggets for the future.
The quest to find the best way to make one’s golden years, happy, exciting, healthy and a time most people look forward to continues unabated. One factor that keeps popping up is the need to grow friendships with people more than 20 years younger than yourself.
Do not take this for granted. It is a form of “social security” since these close friends who are much younger than you will step in to support you in more ways than you can ever imagine.
Some conditions may make life challenging for older adults but knowing these Geriatric Giants helps us to take the necessary steps to reduce our risk.
“Geriatric Giants” refers to a group of chronic health conditions that are common in the elderly, typically 65-year-olds and older.
These conditions quite often co-occur and can impact on the independence, dignity and overall wellbeing and quality of life of an elderly person.
These Geriatric Giants include:
- Impaired Intellect/ Memory (e.g. Dementia)
- one of the major battles we need to deal with is challenges with memory
- Exercise, adopt the Mind Diet, build a great social network and enjoy time outdoors
- Keep reading and solving puzzles for as long as possible
- Instability – leading to much feared falls
- A good reason to indulge in Balance Training and Core Strengthening exercises from today
- Ensure your home is safe; avoid clutter such as cables crisscrossing floors, toys etc. These are all trip hazards and should be avoided
- Many healthy, happy and fun-loving older adults have died soon after a fall with its attendant complications.
- Do whatever it takes to avoid falling
- Immobility (opening the doors to pressure sores, joint stiffness)
- Even when you are unable to move about on your own it is important to get support to change positions as often as possible or get an appropriate mattress or bed that prevents prolonged pressure over any single point.
- Make sure you passively or actively move joints daily.
- Incontinence (urine, faeces or both)
- This is one of the reasons older adults prefer to stay at home and avoid going out to meet friends etc.
- Iatrogenic Disorders – adverse effect of medication
- Quite often most older adults are on several medications and some side effects such as drowsiness may seem to cause more unhappiness and may even lead to falls.
- Inappetite – this may result in poor nutrition
- This may also be linked to loss of teeth thus making chewing very difficult or limited.
- The loss of smell and taste may also reduce the amount of food one may willingly eat.
The power to reduce the impact of the Geriatric Giants starts now and should be a lifetime commitment. It is never too early to start making the appropriate lifestyle modifications, nor is it too late to reduce the impact of the giants on one’s life.
Other conditions that significantly impact on the lives especially of the elderly are:
- Sleep Disorders
- Good sleep has the power to give us energy, improve our thought pattern and even helps us to make good choices.
- Good sleep sets the tone for a healthy life
- Constipation
- This is a challenge that confronts quite a number of older adults.
- Movement, fibre and lots of water go a long way to reduce the stress that frequent constipation generates.
- Fraility
- Muscle loss is real and as we age, we lose a significant percentage of our muscle plus our bones also become brittle.
- Make sure strength training is part of your exercise schedule
- Polypharmacy
- Another headache that needs to be confronted head-on
- Everyone especially older adults need a good primary care physician or a general practitioner who can coordinate all medicines from the different Specialists who may be attending to an elderly person. This ensures that unnecessary medicines are dropped
The goal of care at all times is to optimise the quality of life. As family, professional caregivers and friends we should always show respect so that the dignity of the elderly is preserved at all times. For those of us who are not yet in the age group with such challenges, we need to start the conversation about the type of care we will prefer and take steps to stay healthy and independent for as long as possible. The goal should be a long Healthspan and not just a long Lifespan.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “There is no magic formula to being happy but making a conscious effort to be happy goes a long way.” – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Esse
