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The Principles of New Start
Our human bodies are marvelously designed and very robust, but will fail under constant exposure to abuse. Majority of the diseases we suffer today are brought about by the unhealthy lifestyle choices, which in turn form habits, then, go on to form our characters.
Our characters are, all said and done, what we are. Generally, these choices and habits are brought on by the feeling one has to submit to peers of the day and follow accepted practices of society, often without understanding their hurtful consequences.
This article brings some simple rules that bring better health and happier living when applied in your life and in many cases, because of the willingness of nature, will undo much of the damage already done.
N-E-W-S-T-A-R-T: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine Temperance, Air, Rest, Trust in Divine Power.
Nutrition
When a car is made, the company that manufactured the vehicle prints a service manual to go with it. This prescribes the best fuel and oils for the machinery in that car, to keep it running in the best possible condition.
In the same way, we are like machines that need good fuel to run well. Certain foods will make the best kind of blood, muscle and bone in our bodies.
To keep us running well, we need to choose our foods wisely and keep our diet well balanced with the four main food groups: Fruits, Grains, Nuts and Seeds, Vegetables.
It is healthy to start every day in the morning with a good, healthy breakfast including:
• Oats, rice or porridge
• Milk – coconut or soy
• Fruits – Apples, pears, bananas, pawpaw, oranges, etc.
At midday, a good vegetable meal with:
• Starches – like potatoes, bread and grains
• Protein – which is in beans, nuts and seeds
• Greens – cabbage, silver beet, spinach, parsley, etc.
• Colours – carrots, pumpkin, cauliflower, beetroot, etc.
For the evening meal, a light fruit meal with a little grain, like cracker biscuits. The light evening meal should be eaten at least two to three hours before going to bed.
It is also important to eat meals at regular times and not to eat in-between meals at all, as our stomachs need to rest as well. It is well recommended to have some raw salads with each meal also, as this aids digestion.
It is possible to have too much of a good thing. We need to have an understanding of the word “Nutrition”. It means to eat foods only that are good for building our bodies and eat them in moderation, at the right time. Fatty foods tend to store as fat which increase the risk of disease and make us more sluggish.
Eating a good hearty breakfast, a good-sized midday meal and a light tea, gives us the fuel we need at the right time when we need energy. It also helps to keep our bodies in good shape and helps in weight control.
If a good-sized meal cannot be eaten at midday, it would be wise to have more in the morning, rather than have a large heavy meal late in the day. This can result in disturbed sleep, not waking up refreshed in the morning and an unhealthy cycle can soon develop.
Some foods are not good for our well-being. Alcohol, smoking, coffee and drugs are very harmful. Lollies, canned drinks, ice creams, cakes made with a high sugar content are also dangerous for our health.
Harmful effects may not be noticed straight away, but over a period of time, our immune system will begin to fail. This will increase the risk of diseases and may result in damaged organs and even death.
Eating too many sweets and sugary foods makes unhealthy blood and they are not good for building strong healthy tissues and bones, etc. By not eating between meals, it reduces the temptation of eating sweets.
If there is need to eat something sweet after a meal, a piece of fruit would be so much better. Acid fruit like an orange or similar are best after a vegetable meal.
EXERCISE
If someone has just broken an arm or a leg, it needs to be put into a plaster cast for six – eight weeks, so that the bones can knit back together and heal properly.
When the plaster is removed, it can be easily noticed that the limb that was broken is smaller, paler, weaker and stiffer than the other limb that has had frequent use.
The joints of the broken limb will not move as freely as the good limb and it could be more painful to move for a time. ONLY EXERCISE WILL BRING IT BACK TO GOOD USE AGAIN.
…to be continued
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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