Our health is arguably our most essential asset. It determines our level of relationship with our creator; how much we enjoy life; what work we do, and how successful we become. Unfortunately, we take our health for granted and hardly invest in it. We set up business appointments and honour them religiously, but our health can always wait.
Our health is arguably our most essential asset. It determines our level of relationship with our creator; how much we enjoy life; what work we do, and how successful we become. Unfortunately, we take our health for granted and hardly invest in it. We set up business appointments and honour them religiously, but our health can always wait.
There are several ‘commandments’ for a healthy life, but you are about to encounter the Ultimate Ten Commandments for a healthy and enjoyable life – and this will change your life forever.
Make a copy and stick it onto your refrigerator, office table, bedside, or any place where you can see, read, and ‘digest’ it daily.
Behold… Dr. Essel’s ‘Ten Commandments’ for a healthy and enjoyable life:
- Be focused mentally on achieving good healthGood health is a life-long commitment. It is not only for a short period (“I will exercise and eat right till my wedding day”). We may go off course sometimes, but hey, everybody does… just get back in line. Don’t forget to reward yourself for meeting your realistic goals.
- Get right with God and peopleGood health is not merely the absence of disease, but also the physical, mental and social well being of an individual. Thus sayeth the wise men at the World Health Organization. Ever wondered why people who are God-fearing seem so content?Do not bear grudges. You waste precious time (you could use this time to exercise to relieve stress); you waste precious sleep; and you actually injure your health.There is very interesting data from recent research, for people with similar conditions (such as high blood pressure): it was found that after surgery (assuming all other factors remain the same), the prayerful one gets a better outcome. So, prayer does work!!!
- Exercise appropriately and regularlyExercise your mind and body regularly, and your heart, brain and all other organs will sing a melodious tune for over three-score and ten years. Read wide and often. Solve puzzles when you can – these exercise the brain and ward off forgetfulness, etc. Many are those who say, “My work involves standing all day, or carrying heavy weights, so I do not need exercise”.
To reap the full benefits of exercise, you need to tackle three areas:- Aerobic exercise – such as walking, jogging, using a treadmill or bike etc. This is manna to the heart and lungs
- Strength training – use of weights or resistance. This is feared by many, but when done right, has tremendous gains.
- Flexibility training – also referred to as ‘stretching’. This increases the flexibility of our joints, and reduces our chances of injury.
Unless you have been advised by your doctor to avoid one or all of the above, you are doing yourself a great disservice by restricting your options. Exercise, the ‘Wonder Pill’, has so many proven benefits for us; it is essentially a ‘deadly sin’ to avoid it.
Some of the benefits of exercise include, but are not limited to:
- Preventing or controlling many chronic/lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, depression, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
- Improving our brain power and performance in all spheres of life
- Giving us the energy to do the things we love most
- Prolonging our life
So whatever your exercise excuse is: “too old”, “no time”, “too tired”… Start exercising today (get clearance from your doctor first), and you will never regret it.
- Eat right Who eats once a day and has his or her weight in check? I haven’t seen many. What about all those ‘diet plans’ to help you lose weight in a blink of an eye? They do not work!!! This is what we call ‘yo-yo dieting’; we may lose some weight on these magic potions, but we put more on in a flash, and it becomes even more difficult to take it off the next time round.
Let’s do ourselves a favour – food is the fuel that our bodies need to function well, and for optimum performance, we need to eat well balanced meals at least three times a day. What we need to watch is the quantity, contents and timing of our eating.
Breakfast is a must, to jump-start our metabolism, and, for kids to do well in school, they definitely need to break the long fast by 8.30am. Lunch between 12 noon and 2pm is ideal, and it would have been nice to have supper by 6.30pm, but our schedules make this almost impossible. Let’s strive for good timing, but on occasion, when we have no choice but to eat late, supper should be light – healthy cereals, soft rice and light soup, at the most.
In between our main meals, we may take a snack (a fruit is a wonderful option).Sometimes you may need supplements, especially if you exercise vigorously.
