Good health is very important for every
person. They say: “Health is better than wealth.” Our health is an important
subject for all of us. How much we eat,
how much we exercise and how much we sleep are all topics of discussion when
mentioning health. Are there any practical rules for healthy living? The
formula for healthy life cannot be put into words — it can only be practiced.
Some people break the so-called health every day and escape punishment and some
look after their health and don't live any longer in the end.
It is known that healthy people live
longer and their career is more successful. To look well you must follow some simple
rules: don’t smoke and take drugs, don’t drink alcohol, don’t eat too much junk
food as chips and sweets, eat more vegetables and fruits, sleep well, do
exercises.
Everybody knows these simple rules
but we continue to stuff ourselves with fast food — chips and pizzas,
hamburgers and hot dogs. We are always in a hurry. We have no time to enjoy a
home-cooked dinner with family and friends. We want to eat now and we want to
eat fast. What is tasty is not always healthy. Doctors say that chips and
pizzas are fattening, cola spoils our teeth and coffee shortens our lives. We
should understand that food is an important part of our life. We should choose
healthy food which is not harmful for us. I am against of fast food but
sometimes I can allow having a snack when I am terribly hungry and I do not have
enough time to eat properly. If we eat
too much, we'll become obese, and obesity leads to heart disease, diabetes and
other serious illnesses. But the world today is getting fatter and fatter.
America is the world's leader in obesity, but our country is quickly catching
up.
Lack of exercise is another serious
problem. We spend hours in front of our computers and TV-sets. Few of us do
morning exercises. We walk less, because we prefer to use cars or public
transport. Research shows, however, that young people who don't take enough
exercise often suffer from heart attacks. Remember that regular physical
activity (20 to 30 minutes a day, three or four times per week) is an important
part of a healthy lifestyle. It helps prevent diseases and makes the quality of
life better.
It's common knowledge that smoking
and drinking can shorten our lives dramatically. Cigarette-smoking, for
example, kills about 3 million people every year. Many of them die from lung
cancer. Some aren't even smokers. They are people who live or work with heavy
smokers. Yet many young people smoke and drink. Why? One answer is that tobacco
and drinks companies invest enormous sums of money in advertising their
products. For them cigarettes and alcoholic drinks mean money. For us they mean
disease and even death. It is never too late to start anything or stop
anything. Deciding to stop smoking and drinking alcohol is deciding to choose a
healthy way of life.
Some people say that stress causes a
lot of health problems. But we should remember that stress is an essential part
of being alive — but the art of life is to arrange rules that stress does not
become strain. A little of this stress can help keep you on your toes. And the
nervous system quickly returns to its normal state. But long-term stressful situations
can produce a lasting, low-level stress that’s hard on people. If the pressure
is longlasting, the body continues to pump out extra stress hormones. This
seriously weakens the immune system. What can you do to deal with stress
overload or to avoid it? Here are some things that can help keep stress under
control:
·
Take
a stand against overscheduling;
·
Learn
to relax;
·
Treat
your body well;
·
Watch
what you’re thinking.
Always remember that a healthy
organism is extremely tough. It can withstand overwork, fatigue, anxiety,
microbes — up to a certain point, of course.
Perhaps these health principles seem
too theoretical, but they are golden rules which can stretch our powers and
help us in our fight against harmful genes. Scientists say that in the future
people will live longer. With healthier lifestyles and better medical care the
average person will live to 90 or 100 instead of 70 and 75 like today. When the
human genome is decoded, we'll probably live up to 150. Incurable diseases will
be cured and "bad" genes replaced. But that's tomorrow and today we all
know that the healthier we are, the better we feel. The better we feel, the
longer we live. So why not take care of ourselves?
