By Adesida Adewumi, MD.
Having good body (physical health) involves taking care of your body in various ways.Here are some tips to help you have and maintain good body (physical health):
1. Exercise regularly: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week.
2. Be physically active:
Don’t sit down in one place throughout the day. Move around. Make sure you lift your legs 10,000 times per day.
3. Eat a healthy diet: A healthy diet should include plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and excessive amounts of saturated and trans fats and salt. Avoid alcohol completely. Avoid smoking completely. Don’t stay where people are smoking or drinking. Drink 3 litres of water daily intentionally either you are thirsty or not.
4. Get enough sleep: Adequate sleep is crucial for good body (physical health). Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
5. Manage stress: Chronic stress can have negative effects on your body and make you age and look old quickly. Find healthy ways to manage stress such as practising mindfulness (live in the present. Worry less about yesterday and tomorrow) and engage in relaxation every day.
6. Regular medical check-ups: When last did you go for medical check up? Regular medical check-ups can help you identify potential health issues in your body before they become serious problems. Talk to your doctor about appropriate screening tests and medical check-ups for your age. Everybody has a medical check up timetable for his or her age. Follow your own from birth till death.
7. Get all the necessary vaccines/preventive drugs/supplements: There are vaccines and drugs to prevent different diseases at different ages. Get the vaccination timetable and drug for your age from your doctor and follow it. Supplements taking is good but see your doctor to help you choose good ones.
8. Safe behaviors practices: such behaviours include wearing of seat belts as habit daily. Wear your helmets when driving bikes. Don’t have habit of skipping your breakfast/launch or supper. Make sure your BMI or weight is normal at all times. Moderate Fasting is good for your body health.
9. Safe sexual practices: avoid pre-marital and extra-marital sexual engagements. Only engage in marital sex. Pre and extra marital sexual engagements are more associated with sexually transmitted diseases like Hepatitis and HIV that can destroy your body health. Avoid anal and oral sex, they are more associated with cancer of the throat and cancer of the anus. Have sex only within marriage and use appropriate family planning methods that suit your body health. Have sex at least 3 times in a week. Alternate day. It makes you look younger by releasing anti-stress hormones into your body. Regular sexual intercourse with your wife or husband only also protect you against cancer of cervix and cancer of prostate. Regular sexual activity with your wife or husband gives you long life.
10. Safe occupational practices: depending on where you work, obey safety rules at work on daily basis. If you need to wear overall cloth at work to prevent radiation please do. If you need to wear boot to prevent injury please do. If you need to wear helmets at work to protect your head please do. Depending on where you work, observe the safety rules daily.
Remember, maintaining a good body (good physical health) is a lifelong process that requires your commitment and effort. By adopting the above 10 healthy daily habits and making them part of your daily routine, you can improve your body health and overall well-being.
▪︎ Dr. Adewumi, a consultant Family Physician can be reached on 08068649694, and on his Twitter and others social media handles on familydoctor_blog