Health tips you can live with!

Over the years, I have built a store of exciting and relevant health tips from many sources. I believe that if we are able to master a few of them it will go a long way to enrich our lives.

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease” –Thomas Edison.

The keys to successful lifestyle changes are staying on track when times get tough and bouncing back after a setback. Keep trying most people succeed after several attempts.

A number of addictions can be linked to stress: overeating, smoking, drinking and drug abuse. By eliminating or minimising stress, you are more inclined to kick a bad habit.

“STIGMATISATION has no place in fighting this pandemic. It will cause people to hide and not disclose their status, seek medical care late and reduce all the benefits of protocols. We should all be comfortable enough to tell our close contacts when we test positive for COVID-19 so that the proper measures are taken. This is extremely important if we have to win this fight.”- Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Cut down your fat intake:
use fats and oils sparingly (watch excess palm oil, groundnut, fried foods)
drink non-fat or low-fat milk and choose low-fat or non-fat versions of yoghurt
Use low-fat salad dressings and limit the amount of cheese in your eating plan. You may avoid the dressings altogether and only indulge occasionally.

Following an eating plan that is high in fibre and low in saturated fat and cholesterol reduces the risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Choose whole-grain pastas, bread and cereals whenever possible. Brown rice is great and available
eat whole fruits most of the time instead of drinking fruit juices
include legumes such as beans, peas several times per week

It’s not snacking that’s bad; it’s the usual snack choices – chips, crackers, biscuits, candy etc that cause the problem. Your body works best when it refuels every four to six hours. The best way to fuel your body is to eat light, well-balanced meals and two or three healthy snacks per day. Snacking may even help you lose weight by taming your appetite, thus preventing the tendency to overeat and make poor choices. Learn to make healthy snacks a part of your daily eating plan and hold the guilt! Fruits, carrots, cucumber, tomatoes are certainly adorable.

Did you know that, about half of all cancer deaths are related to tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and being overweight or obese.

Drink plenty of water, it does wonders to your body including;
it aids in digestion and absorption of foods and nutrients
it is the vehicle your body uses to flush out the waste produced in normal body functions
it is necessary for proper bowel function
it helps you maintain normal temperature

A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease nearly two times. This risk is as high as that caused by abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and cigarette smoking combined. Despite the known risks, more than half of adults don’t get enough physical activity to benefit their health. Regular moderate physical activity cuts your risk of dying from heart disease in half.

Excess body fat increases the risk for both heart attack and stroke. Obesity is also associated with increased blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and diabetes. Losing just 10 per cent of excess weight and keeping it off can significantly lower risk.

Common sense ways to reduce back pain
move the driver’s seat (in car) closer to steering wheel
tighten abdominal muscles whenever you are about to lift anything
do flexibility exercises daily
do back exercises regularly
never twist forcefully
push, don’t pull – it is even better to ask for help
Sleep on a firm surface.

Exercise is important for people with arthritis because it;
increases strength and flexibility around joint
helps maintain or increase bone strength
provides nourishment and lubrication to joints
prevents muscle loss from lack of use
provides feeling of control and self-worth

If we manage to do all or most of the above that crippling pain will become manageable.

Many of the points listed above are not too difficult to follow just remember that “the most efficient way to reach your realistic health goals is to make small healthy choices daily”-Dr Kojo Essel

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/ St Andrews Clinic/Mobissel

Dr. Essel is a medical doctor, holds an MBA and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise.

Thought for the week – “For heart health you need to relax and have fun as well; schedule time for leisure, laugh often, learn to breathe deeply and maybe get a pet.”

References:

Health by Choice Not Chance – Aileen Ludington, MD & Hans Diehl, DrHSc, MPH
Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth – Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel

Do you want to be happy?

• Talking to God has a way of calming nerves

Don’t we all dream of a life that is filled with laughter? That may be a reason for chasing big bucks, which like the Golden Fleece eludes the majority of us.

Financial Wellness is extremely important but there are other factors that make us happy and healthy and eventually wealthy.

I will introduce a few everyday activities that are guaranteed to make you happy if you continue practising them.

You definitely do not need to live in Finland to experience happiness even though many people agree that is the “headquarters” of happiness.

1. Wake-Up Ritual

a. Say to yourself that today will be a beautiful day or a great day!

b. Ask God what He has in store for you. Use me Lord (if not a Christian what you believe in will be useful as well.

c. Remind yourself of your purpose in life and get out of bed.

d. Do Not grab your phone as the first thing for the day.

2. Pray

a. Talking to God has a way of calming our nerves. It brings about unexplained peace and when we add praise and worship then the floodgates open. That is how to win battles against unhappiness.

3. Smile

a. Definitely floods your body with feel good hormones and insulates you from stress.

b. Smiling is infectious so the more you smile the better and you set off a smiling OR happiness domino effect.

4. Meditate

a. Extremely good for your brain and an easy way to start is to do deep-breathing and just focus on your “breath” excluding all others. That is what some will prefer to call mindfulness. Being in the moment has immense benefits. Things you never knew existed suddenly spring up.

5. Exercise

a. That wonder drug that trumps virtually all others. Like smiling it does pour out feel good hormones. Strength training even goes an extra mile causing our muscles to act as “pharmacies” that pour out life-changing signals every time they contract.

6. Be kind to yourself & to others

a. We are often too harsh on ourselves. Give yourself a break. Self-care is the real deal!!

b. Being harsh to others has no benefits.

7. Spend some time doing nothing!

a. We need to re-set from time to time. Spend about 10 minutes a day doing absolutely nothing. There is happiness and innovation in “idling”. Do not abuse idling though.

8. Spend time with loved ones.

a. This is another powerful happiness “hack”. You have to make time and be intentional about this; talk on phone, send messages, arrange to meet for a drink or meal. Social Wellness ranks very high on the happiness index and it’s fairly easy to plug into it.

b. While spending time together remember that your choice of food and drinks also impacts on how happy or sad or anxious you may feel.

9. Indulge in a hobby.

a. Our bodies and brain love variety. Do you have a hobby? Get one

10. Write in your gratitude diary.

a. That is all it takes – keep doing it regularly.

11. Get a pet.

This list is not exhaustive but definitely a good start. Share your happiness hacks with me via email and together we can keep the world smiling and happy.

At the end of each day ask yourself if you did better than the previous day. That is all it takes. Doing better than the previous day for 365 days, for 5 years, 10 years… How amazing that will be!!!

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

(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 Essel

Health Essentials

Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer

May 17 is World Hypertension Day and please do not panic. This is not a stress-filled day that aims at increasing your blood pressure but rather it’s a day set aside to increase awareness of a serial yet silent killer. That is exactly what Hypertension it; its killing the young and old at an alarming rate yet in most instances people with high blood pressure may feel absolutely well.

The theme for this year is “Measure your blood pressure accurately, control it, live longer”

Do these when you take your blood pressure since the accuracy of the reading matters:

• If you have been walking or running rest for at least 5 to 10 minutes

• No caffeinated drinks or alcohol two or three hours before checking blood pressure

• Sit (sometime you may need to stand or lay in bed) comfortably with your back rested/supported and your arm for the cuff resting on a table of firm surface

• Have your feet flat on the floor and not legs crossed

• Ensure the cuff is the right size for your arm

• If using an electronic monitor ensure battery is working well

• If clothing covering arm is thick remove

• Loosen your neck-tie or belt if uncomfortable

• If you are not conversant with checking blood pressure, get the appropriate training

Global statistics show that only 50 per cent of those with hypertension are actually aware and that awareness in some areas may be as low as 10 per cent while awareness may exceed 75 per cent in a few areas.

The bitter truth is some people do not have enough information about the condition, a significant number do not have easy access to measuring their blood pressure and a few stubborn ones think it is better not to know if something is going wrong.

What do we need to understand about our blood pressure numbers? There are ALWAYS two numbers in a blood pressure reading such as 120/80mmHg. The top figure represents the force of the blood against the artery (blood vessel) walls as your heart beats and the lower value represents the force on the walls in between beats or while the heart rests. Both numbers are important.

Essentially when your blood pressure is higher than it should normally be all organs in the body are exposed to elevated pressures since arteries supply blood to every part of the body. These sustained high pressures will be causing harm gradually every minute of the day.

Prevention of high blood pressure is based mainly on adopting the appropriate lifestyle, while having regular medical check-ups to pick up conditions that can may lead to hypertension if not tackled early. Management of hypertension on the other hand requires a three-pronged attack in most situations;

• Lifestyle modifications

• Regular medical checks to pick up other conditions that be worsen our hypertension or general wellbeing

• Use of appropriate physician prescribed medication

Age and our genes may have a way of increasing our blood pressure or predisposing us to hypertension, but since we have no control over the choice of our family and years rolling by, it may be worth focusing on the above three that we can control to a large extent.

Lifestyle Modification

• Exercise adequately

• Do not smoke

• Limit or avoid alcohol

• Aim at fat (weight) loss

• Manage stress appropriately

• If you have sleep apnoea (intermittent snoring during sleep and feeling tired and sleepy on waking up) seek medical intervention

• Adopt the DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet; low sodium (salt), increased potassium from fruits and vegetables, low or no saturated fats and increased fibre.

• Control conditions such as diabetes, cholesterol challenges and kidney disease.

Exercise need not be rushing to the gym to sweat out only, but taking walks, gardening, cleaning your home, using the stairs and many others. Exercise increases heart function and lowers blood pressure but there is a little hitch: the benefits of exercise on blood pressure do not last beyond 72 hours.

In short frequency is the watch word. Do not be a once a week or once a month exercise fan. The effect of exercise on the heart does not rely on past glory so if you were an athlete years ago but you have now become one with your sofa, I am sorry to disappoint you but you need to get moving NOW!

All types of exercises will benefit you and lower your blood pressure but a word of caution here;

• When your blood pressure is not controlled DO NOT lift weights above your head

• Do not overdo exercises of the upper body but lower body exercises such s squatting will enhance lowering of your blood pressure.

• Breathe properly especially while you train with weights; breathe out during the exertion phase as you lift a weight and breathe in while you relax.

• Of course brisk walking, swimming, use of the treadmill and other exercises that target heart function are also a must

When all is said and done, you can never know our blood pressure without measuring or checking it. Take a few minutes to check your blood pressure and ensure at least one other person checks their blood pressure before the end of the month.

Associations, companies and all identifiable groups should ensure they check their blood pressure and go an extra mile and as a corporate social responsibility help to check the blood pressure of hundreds or even thousands of people. You will be saving lives.

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)