Health Awareness By Dr Onuorah Umeh

Funtimes: How expensive is good health?
Dr. Umeh : Well, it’s always good to be healthy and people don’t have to wait until they get older, or have problems before they wake up, and learn how to take care of their health. Once you are aware and take good care of your health and well being, there is nothing expensive in maintaining good health.
I cannot overemphasize the impact of exercise, eating well and getting enough sleep, upon someone’s health. Start early enough in life to watch what you eat, and exercise as regularly as possible. As time goes by, some of us who are burdened by some genetic makeup we inherited from our parents, will stand a better chance to fight it. Not everybody will become a diabetic or hypertensive, but the environment does interact with the genetic makeup to create the disease process.
The fact that diabetes runs in family does not mean that everybody in the family is going to get it and become diabetic. If you are reckless and careless about your diet and lack of activity, the chances are that a disease process of that nature down the road will burden you. So what I am saying is that you don’t take things for granted, saying because I don’t have diabetes in my family or high blood pressure, I can do as I please. Every one has to be aware of that. When I talk about environment, I talk not only about where you live, but also what you eat, what you drink, how you carry yourself and expose yourself to nature in order to avoid any adverse interaction with your genetic makeup which will lead to disease process.
FT: What common diseases especially afflict blacks and those of African descent?
Dr. Umeh: In the African / African American community, hypertension is very rampant. We are beginning to see a big trend in diabetes, This trend has a lot to do with diet and lack of activity. Most people who are afflicted with the disease process have a family history associated with the conditon,  but some just acquired the disease process because of a careless approach to their health care and general well-being.  Obesity, by itself is a disease. It is in the community and adds adversely to the disease processes that I have mentioned.
FT: What do we do to be healthy?
Dr. Umeh: Well, it is very simple, in your diet, you can never go wrong with eating vegetables, and you can never go wrong with eating fruits.  People drink all those soft drinks like soda and punch, which are laden with a lot of sugar.  Even the so-called diet drinks are not very good to drink. You can never go wrong with water. 
This brings me back to talking about eating well. You do better baking or boiling your foods, instead of frying, especially chicken, fish, or turkey. As much as possible avoid the red meats, you can have them occasionally but you should make food choices that are much better for your health. That is a good way to start.

Posted by Funtimes magazine at 2/2/2009 11:09 AM
Categories: Health
 

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