Health Essentials
Won’t you rather put your money where your mouth is?
Eating in small plates makes you eat less food
I can confidently suggest to you that many of us choose our food based on how quickly it can be made available, the taste and the cost.
Some of us even add a fourth dimension; the quantity! Followers of this principle believe that “more is always good.”
In our dear land we had healthy fast food long before we “imported” fried rice and chicken, beef burgers and the likes. Yes good old kenkey with fish and pepper could set records any day if the serving time is compared to any other meal in a fast food challenge.
Whoever said only hard drugs are addictive? Well your body responds to some of these fast foods “by producing a sort of “high,” if you will, with stimulation of portions of the brain,” says Vance Civille.
“What happens is the body then continues to seek out that hit and continues to crave the types of foods and food sensory impressions that make you happy.” How different is this from a drug addiction?
If you are a fan of fast food then you certainly must have met the unhealthy triad: high fat, sugar and salt.
This unhappy and unhealthy triad can be found in almost all the foods and drinks we enjoy; from your delicious fried chicken to your cereals advertised as “healthy” and even your baked goods and beverages have not been spared.
The undisputable truth is that these foods are extremely addictive and will let you return for more over and over again. So though you may be targeting a relatively cheaper meal you end up being classified as a “return customer” and you continue to torment your pocket till you have no money left at all.
Who wins this battle of “cost saving,” certainly not the one that eats but he who sells remains supreme. That is not the end of the story, these foods in addition to relieving you of your hard earned money will visit you with life-style diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol on you.
This means you will make the doctor’s consulting room and the pharmacy your recreational grounds, and woe betide you if these professionals after playing an extremely important role in society are deprived of their rights including a respectable pension, they may be withholding their services and it can spell doom for you.
We just cannot stop eating, yet cutting back on these mouth-watering death traps will do our bodies a world of good. Change does not take too long to become a habit. We can all re-train out tongues.
Within a month of cutting back on sugar for instance your food will now taste okay. Certainly you will crave for the sweet things in life, especially in your first week of deprivation.
I can promise you two things today; I will go straight to the point and my extremely brief tips on eating well will not require calculation in any form:
1. Organize your kitchen
a. Out of sight in some cases may lead to out of mind. If it is easy to spot a particular food, you will eat it. Organise your kitchen to have healthy foods in sight.
2. Use small plates to eat
a. It will amaze you how easily you can fool your own brain. When you eat out of small plates you tend to eat less food.
3. Always serve your meals
a. Eating out of a package is not a good idea. Dish up the food and see yourself eat less.
4. Mind your glass
a. Short and fat glasses mean drinking more juice or alcohol, while the converse holds for tall thin glasses. When it comes to drinking good old zero-calorie water then and only then, is better for majority of us.
5. No extra visuals or great music at meals
a. Watching television while you eat or listening to great music with meals rewards you with mindless eating. Anything that engages your attention other than the food may cause you to eat more than you bargained for. I guess this time round we can refer to that as “biting more than you should chew.”
6. “Discard” your family and friends
a. Company, especially if it is good may mean eating longer and paying less attention to what you are doing. This certainly sounds like a recipe for overeating.
Fortunately overeating will not land you at the Supreme Court but a disease such as high blood pressure will charge you and without giving you a fair trial pass a life sentence on you – time to spend more money on medication, tests and hospital visits.
7. it’s all in the EVIDENCE
a. You are probably on the right path if you always eat with a side-plate within reach. Keep left-over such as bones within sight. Clearing your plate makes you forget how much you have eaten.
ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER ITS 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 also the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “People with diabetes can vary what they eat as long as their meals are balanced and healthy. – Schutter.
Reference:
1. Diabetes – Your Take Control Guide (2012) by the American Diabetes Association.
By Dr Kojo Cobba Essel
IF you truly love yourself, you had better read this piece while standing!
The other “inactivity” that rivals sitting for long periods when it comes to poor health and untimely death is LONLINESS! Sitting and Loneliness are the new Smoking.
It is often common to hear a parent tell a child, “Sit quietly and watch television and I will make a quick dash to town.” Well, this harmless and well-meaning statement is now being vilified. That parent could have said “smoke a few sticks of cigarettes while I dash off to town.” Yes “sitting is the “new” smoking.”
Scientists: they keep coming up with many weird findings and unfortunately, we realise after much ado that they may be right. People with sitting jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular (heart & blood vessel) diseases as those with standing jobs – the bankers are cringing in their seats I bet.
It appears that compared to sitting,
• Sitting continuously brings similar challenges that smoking poses a gossip team. After an hour of sitting, if you walk for a minute or two.
Standing is hard work. Imagine that you need to engage many muscles to stand upright, and this burns energy. Sitting on the other hand is extremely relaxing.
When we sit, the “physiology of inactivity” kicks in and when we think we are relaxing in a chair made from heaven, our body instead rewards us with many bad things; enzymes that break down fat may drop by about 90 per cent calorie burning drops to frightening low levels and soon good cholesterol that protects us also drops. If you sit long enough even your insulin effectiveness drops and you will be courting diabetes in the long run.
I sincerely believe in getting a workout during the day, but you should not think that it gives you a license to sit at your desk for hours on end. We should ensure that we get up from our desk to walk briefly or even stretch. I am not giving you an excuse for loitering around your office or forming ings. When you have a meeting with a handful of people you could lace your boots and start walking while you talk. Who knows being out of a box (office etc) could help you think “out of the box” or even think like “there is no box”. The best aspect of such a meeting is people are more attentive since they are unable to fidget with their smart phones and other gadgets.
All lectures and classes (children are really suffering in school these days) should have a “Heart Preserving” five-minute break after every hour. Spend that time walking and stretching.
All long movies should have commercial breaks that should be used to at least stand
Whenever in doubt, at least stand for a while.
Well some people are trying innovative ways of even having small treadmills at their desk that keeps them moving, others are adopting a new chair design that essentially makes you stand at your desk, a few others sit on exercise balls that forces them to adjust their positions all the time but for the rest of us simply taking breaks and using every opportunity to move is just what the doctor prescribed.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERY DAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials/Medics Clinic
(www.healthessentialsgh.com)
Dr. Essel is a medical doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He 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 – For good heart health; exercise often, eat healthy, do not smoke, minimise alcohol and sit less
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
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I have on several occasions referred to laughter as the “best medicine” just as many others do and over the years, I have expanded my knowledge on the benefits of laughter. We all need to laugh daily and that’s the prescription given by the best doctors all over the world.
I came across the quote “Laughter is the best medicine. Unless you’re laughing for no reason….then you need medicine.” It sounds great and will get you laughing or at least smiling yet I beg to differ. My advice: find a reason to laugh no matter what and if you find none laugh anyway.
A few years ago, I decided to spend my first three hours of being awake laughing or smiling no matter what. It set the tone for a successful day. I did not bother about the early morning traffic, neither did I scream or honk at careless drivers but I guess as the years dragged on and the reality of fuel price hikes, electricity challenges and an ailing Ghana economy among many others hit home, the smile and laughter faded but I ALWAYS get back once I realise I am “short-changing” myself. No matter the struggles you may be facing, remember laughing or smiling will surely make your day so much better.
My prescription for you and myself is “Laugh at least five minutes in the morning and five minutes at the end of the day” no matter what. Do it even if you have no reason to.
Now what does science say about laughter?
1. It helps make the world a better place
a. Laughter is contagious so set the ball rolling by laughing and many others will join in the fun.
2. You learn better
Well, no need to get all serious and mean while you learn something new. A good dose of laughter while you learn may actually make the process more efficient. Word of caution, DO NOT distract others by laughing in an annoying way.
3. You get a health boost
a. We know this, right? I found out that laughter may actually increase good cholesterol while lowering inflammation. We do need more data on this but really, keep laughing, it can’t possibly harm you.
4. Makes you more robust
a. A nervous laughter when your back is against the wall? Laughter helps regulate your emotions in a difficult situation. Crying or frowning is unlikely to have positive returns.
5. Lowers stress and improves memory
a. Stress hormones, especially in the elderly, is reduced by laughter and one’s ability to remember gets a much-needed spike.
6. Makes you more attractive
a. People are always attracted to a “smiling face” or someone who laughs often. They make the party come alive.
7. Improves your relationship
a. Whether you are negotiating a deal at work, interacting with family or friends; laughter creates stronger bonds leading to better outcomes and building stronger relationships.
8. May help burn off some calories
Now I may be pushing this too much, but truth is laughter does raise your energy expenditure and heart rate. Though the calories you burn may be fewer per bout of laughter, every positive thing adds up for our good.
9. Boosts immune function and enhances sleep
a. Say goodbye to frequent common colds and laying in bed for long hours listening to the dogs in the neighbourhood “chitchatting”, a leaking tap dripping or worse still a snore within earshot that will compete with Louis Armstrong on the trumpet.
b. Combine laughter with your daily dose of exercise, and your winning combination is a reality.
10. May improve blood pressure and relax muscles
a. I will not advise you to drop your medication for all day laughter but I am sure laughter will play a positive role in reducing stress, giving you a feeling of wellbeing, relaxing your muscles in the process and your blood pressure may be sending you a thank you beat sooner than later.
Good health, improved learning ability and an enviable memory packaged with an attractive personality and a penchant to build strong relationships sounds like a team player who is destined for success in all fields. That you may agree will make your trips to the bank exciting and of course cause you to laugh all the way to the bank. The cycle repeats itself.Have you had your daily dose of laughter yet?
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/Medics Clinic
(www.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 – “laughter is contagious – Laugh and the whole world laughs with you.”-
References:
1. Fulfillment Daily -7 science-backed reasons why laughing is good for you (2016)
2. Stanford Business
3. Someecards
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
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