Womens Health

Information On Womens Health Issues

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity".

Furthermore, in 1986, the WHO in the Ottawa Charter said health is "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities."

As individuals we can all adopt basic good health practices that can help us achieve the ideal state of healthy wellbeing as defined by that statement by the WHO.

Body And Mind
The most significant element in the statement is that it does not focus on physical wellbeing alone – but proposes that health is holistic – i.e. it encompasses the whole person – inner and outer health if you like.

WE can say that physical wellbeing and fitness refers to the absence of illness and bodily good condition due to regular exercise, proper diet and balanced nutritional intake.

But to be holistic we need to include an absence of illness of the mind.

Prevention Vs Cure
In developed countries, we often have become reliant on the wonderful medical and medico-technological advances commonly available to most of us – at least to some degree.

One side effect of this is that we have become “curative” in our approach to health, often to the neglect of good healthy living practices such as exercise and balanced diets – figuring if we get sick we can go to the doctor and get it ‘fixed’.

It would be far better if we instead returned to practices that are often the only resource in developing countries – preventive health care – and that is within the capacity of all individuals. We don’t have to have medical degrees or similar professional qualifications.

Simply put, actions such as:

Balanced nutritional intake
Weight management
Reduction of alcohol intake (as needed)
Avoidance of tobacco products
Dietary supplementation (when diet is insufficient)
Good sleep patterns
Regular cardio-vascular enhancement exercise
Preparedness to utilize counseling when needed
Regular medical check-ups (especially after 40 yo)

would go along way to reduction of reliance on the “curative” and be preventive – or on other words healthcare within our control

The effects on obesity, anorexia, cardio-vascular disease, respiratory problems, allergies, diabetes and emotional problems alone could be profound.

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