Our Community Conversation

Regular medical checkups are an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Studies show that people who have regular annual checkups are diagnosed with advanced cancer less often. This is very likely due to the more frequent use of cancer screening. Screening for cancer and chronic diseases can be primary or secondary. People who have regular check-ups are more likely to be referred for these tests by their healthcare provider. They are also more likely to follow their advice and actually undergo testing. Regular medical check-ups are also a major tool for primary and secondary prevention of disease. Through diet, lifestyle, and good habits, healthcare providers aim to reduce chronic disease and cancer. This is primary prevention. Smoking cessation, moderation of alcohol intake, regular exercise, and a balanced diet are key. Secondary prevention means preventing an already diagnosed condition from coming back or getting worse. Health care providers will screen people for risks of cancer and chronic disease. People who are found to be at risk for either will be advised to modify their lifestyle or avoid risky habits. If they are overweight, health care providers advise weight loss. If they smoke or drink too much, they are advised to stop. If their lifestyle is sedentary, they are told to exercise regularly. One can argue that people who undergo regular annual physical exams are more health conscious. They already live healthy lifestyles. This may explain the lower advanced cancer rates they have. But, is living a healthy lifestyle the cause of regular medical check-ups, or are regular medical check ups the cause of a healthy lifestyle? It does not matter which argument is correct. Annual regular medical checkups lead to a lower incidence of advanced cancer. They can also prevent the onset of disease. No healthy lifestyle is complete without regular annual medical checkups.

There are three things you can do to live a healthier lifestyle. Number one is to eliminate all unhealthy habits from your life. If you smoke, stop. If you drink excessively, stop. If you use drugs, stop. If we think about this, we can see the logic. No matter how fit you are, if you smoke, you increase your chances of lung cancer. If you drink excessively, you run the risk of liver disease. You also increase your risk of developing heart disease and memory problems. If you use drugs, you increase your risk for all kinds of health and social problems. You may also not be able to perform your job. This can cause you to lose your job. That creates a new set of problems that are bound to have an impact on your life. The second tip is eating healthy. Avoid fatty foods, fried foods, sugary foods and salty foods. I have provided video summaries on these topics. Foods high in saturated fat can cause heart disease and strokes. Foods with lots of sugar can cause weight gain and cavities. Being overweight is never good. It causes inflammation in the body. It is linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Eating foods with too much salt can cause your blood pressure to rise. High blood pressure can cause strokes and heart disease. It can also cause kidney disease. Pay close attention to your diet. Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and avoid processed foods. Avoid saturated fat. Limit sugar and salt in your diet. Control your portions too. The third tip is regular exercise. You should get 150 mins of moderate intensity exercise every week. Some studies show that aerobic and strengthening exercises are just as good. A combination is best. Simply walking every day will make a big difference. These are my top three health tips for living a long and healthy life. Of course, these three are not the only tips for a healthy lifestyle. There are others, but these are my top three. I will discuss other tips for healthy living in other articles.  

Stress is a normal physiologic response to stimuli perceived by a person to be threatening. When the expected outcome of a situation and reality do not correspond, this can cause inner tension and be perceived as a threat, generating stress. Stress manifests as an increase in the heart rate, the rate of breathing, and sweating. These are accompanied by emotional manifestations of stress. The most common of these are a state of arousal, a feeling of detachment from the surroundings, and lack of focus. The intensity of these symptoms is modulated by several factors. Cultural differences, how mental health is perceived in a particular group, what coping mechanisms are popularly utilized, and genetics. A living organism will respond to stressful situations according to the sensitivity of the nervous system to psychological and physical stimuli. A prime example is how the responses of men and women to stressful stimuli differ, with men seeing a greater activation of the sympathetic nervous system than women do. The stress response is a physiological defense mechanism designed to protect the person. The initial response to stress is the release of noradrenalin in the nerve endings and activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary- adrenal axis (HPA axis). This causes the release of ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) from the pituitary gland, which stimulates the adrenal gland to release cortisol into the circulation. These physiological responses cause the heart rate to increase, the muscles to tense up, the blood pressure to rise, and the rate of breathing to increase. This readies a person to confront perceived danger. If, however, this heightened state of readiness persists indefinitely, it can be harmful to the individual. The persistent flooding of the system with noradrenaline, adrenaline, and cortisol can lead to diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. People who react to stressful stimuli by suppressing their emotions can have their symptoms manifest at a later time with chronic headaches, chronic backache and gastrointestinal symptoms such as irritable bowel syndrome. Stressful situations in childhood can affect how a person responds to stress as adults. Painful memories are vivid and stimuli that cause the recall of painful memories can trigger an intense stress response. Emotional memories, conscious or unconscious, can color the internal state of a person. This can often lead to irrational, unexpected, and unexplained outbursts as responses to seemingly benign stimuli. Stress responses can also be primed by the socioeconomic situation of a person, their state of health, their choice of foods, their sleep hygiene, and their exercise culture. The use of alcohol, cigarette smoking, or drug use can also influence the stress response negatively. As stress and the pervasive arousal persist, health is adversely affected. Married couples in an argumentative and hostile marriage can see their health affected adversely as a result of the stress that exists in the relationship. Stress hormones, increase the coagulability of platelets, can lead to hyperresponsiveness of the vasculature, and hence, predispose the individual to heart attacks and strokes. The constant adrenergic stimulation can cause high blood pressure and heart disease. Persistently elevated levels of cortisol can cause high blood sugar and suppress the immune system. The suppressed immune system is a prescription for all kinds of infectious diseases, non-responsiveness to vaccines, and the development of cancers. One extreme response to stress is sudden death in situations of intense fear. The underlying cause is an arrythmia resulting from hyperstimulation of the heart by sympathetic hormones and catecholamine toxicity. Stress is not an innocuous state that one should ignore. Stress requires effective management through development of stress management techniques, attention to overall health, reconfiguration of misperception and, in some cases, professional guidance.