[Medical Information] How to Get Good Health

[Medical Information] How to Get Good Health

 

  What is the best health care for a man? It will be prevention of diseases before their onset. Of course, human can get a disease despite all prevention strategy. But to lower its chances, a person should have own plan for health. In point of view from medicine, is there a recommendation for good health?

 

  There are several prevention strategies, tertiary, secondary, primary. Tertiary strategy is for not getting complications while a person gets disease like funduscopy during diabetes. Secondary prevention is for not getting a new disease like colonoscopy when getting old. Primary strategy is to reduce risk of incident disease like exercising.

 

  To individual, not a medical staff, it is important to plan primary prevention(or primordial prevention, which is introduced in 1979). It consists of eating patterns, physical activities, and so on. In aging society, people should keep their own health to reduce the burden of chronic diseases.

 

  US National Health and Nutrition Survey indicated that less than 1% of Americans achieve an optimal healthy eating pattern. There are many standards for health but these are, maybe, not practical. However, just checking health behaviors influences on patient's health behaviors.

 

Health Eating Patterns

  There is the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It sounds like cliche. "Consume a healthy eating pattern that accounts for all foods and beverages within an appropriate calorie level."

 

Physical Activity

  A simple rule is "If you are doing nothing, do something. and if you are doing something, do more, every day." For adults, the optimal physical activity is 150 min of moderate-intensity or 75 min vigorous intensity aerobic activity per week.

 

  When planning physical activity, it is important to calculate sedentary time. The time has more negative effect than doing nothing. If you have much sedentary time, it is good for you to stand at the desk or stretch. In case of weights activity, more repetitions (e.g., 4 sets of 15 repetitions) and avoiding breath-holding is recommended.

 

Sleep Hygiene

  Sleeping between 7 and 9 h per night is optimal for health in adults aged > 18 years. <7 h is associated with obesity, diabetes, depression, physiologic disturbances, increased pain sensitivity, impaired immune function and so on.