4. Health
What is health?
Health is a state of complete mental, physical and social well being.
Healthy and disease free
Although most of the people use both these terms in the same context,
there is a clear difference in being healthy and disease free.
While healthy means being mentally, physically and socially fit, disease-
free is a state of absence of any body discomfort.
A healthy person can be disease free but a disease free person cannot be
a healthy person.
5. Factors Influencing Health
A number of other factors are known to influence the health status of
individuals, like-
• Health care interventions
• A person's surroundings
• Their background and lifestyle
• Economic and social conditions
• Education and literacy
• Personal health practices and coping skills.
6. Maintaining health
Achieving and maintaining health is an ongoing process, shaped by both the
evolution of health care knowledge and practices, as well as personal strategies
and organized interventions for staying healthy.
There are a number of little things one can do to maintain their health.
1. Control your habits.
All of the major causes of death (such as cancer, heart
disease, stroke, lung disease and injury) can be prevented
in part by making healthy lifestyle choices.
2. Don't smoke or use tobacco.
Smoking and using tobacco are very dangerous habits.
Smoking causes 440,000 deaths in the United States every
year. More preventable illnesses (such as emphysema, mouth,
throat and lung cancer, and heart disease) are caused by
tobacco use than by anything else.
7. 3. Limit how much alcohol you drink.
Too much alcohol can damage the liver and contribute to
some cancers, such as throat and liver cancer. Alcohol also
contributes to deaths from car wrecks, murders and suicides.
4. Eat healthy.
A healthy diet has many health benefits. Heart disease,
certain cancers, stroke, diabetes and damage to your arteries
can be linked to what one eats. By making healthier food
choices, one can also lower his/her cholesterol and lose
weight.
5. Laugh often.
6. Play sports/ Games.
7. Have enough sleep.
8. 5. Laugh Often
Laughter is all about playfulness.
It is considered a visual expression of a number of
positive emotional states, such as joy,
mirth, happiness, relief, etc.
Laughter causes the dilatation of the inner lining
of blood vessels, and increases blood flow.
Laughter has also been shown to lead to
reductions in stress hormones.
9. Play is an integral part of human nature.
It is also one of the best sources of amusement and entertainment.
Any sporting activity involves physical
exertion and skill, with and individual or
a team engaged in competition with one
another.
It helps us to develop physically, mentally
and socially too.
6. Play Sports/Games.
10. 7. Have enough Sleep
Sleep is important to a healthy lifestyle as eating
properly and exercising.
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the simplest things we
can do to stay healthy.
A good night’s sleep means waking up rested and rejuvenated.
Not getting enough sleep can lead to problems in
concentrating.
Lack of sleep is the reason for many ailments.
11. Sleep is crucial for maintaining one’s health
Without it, we increase our susceptibility to an astonishing
array of health problems like-
Heart disease
Stroke
Diabetes
Obesity
Depression
12. Problems caused by lack of sleep
1. Not sleeping enough can compromise our immune system.
• We eat well and exercise in order to keep our immune system
up.
• But if we are not sleeping, we undo all the good work.
• The immune system works best when we are sleeping.
2. It can cause malfunctioning of natural killer cells.
• These cells are produced in the bone marrow and are found in
the blood and lymph.
• They are part of the body’s defence system.
• They do not work properly in the persons who are sleep-
deprived.
• This leaves our bodies undefended and susceptible to infection.
13. 3. Heart failures.
• There is a higher rate of heart failure
among people with sleep disorders and
disturbances.
• There is an increased evidence of C-
reactive protein, an indicator of heart
disease risk, in people suffering from
sleep loss.
4. It causes problem of regulation of
hormones.
• Chronic sleep loss can reduce the body’s
ability to regulate hormones and process
carbohydrates.
• Sleep disturbances increase the likelihood
of pre-diabetic state of glucose
intolerance and insulin resistance.
14. Sleep is also important for ensuring a balanced brain
activity.
During sleep, brain neurotransmitters are replenished.
When we do not sleep well, our brain chemicals become
depleted which leads to emotional disturbances like-
Depression
Anxiety
General feelings of sadness
Anger and Irritation
15. A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism
It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific
symptoms and signs.
It is any condition that causes pain, distress, social problems, or death.
It sometimes includes injuries, disorders, syndromes, infections or
disabilities.
There are four main types of disease:
pathogenic disease
deficiency disease
hereditary disease and
physiological disease.
° Diseases can also be classified as communicable and non-communicable
disease.
Disease
16. The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of
the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international public
health.
It was established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Development
Group.
The WHO's constitution states that its objective "is the attainment by
all people of the highest possible level of health."
Since its creation, WHO has been responsible for playing a leading role
in the eradication of smallpox.
Its current priorities include communicable diseases, in particular,
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
World Health Organization
17. Medicine is the field of applied science and
the art of healing
It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved
to maintain and restore health by prevention and
treatment of illness in human beings.
The word medicine is derived from the Latin word
medicina, meaning the art of healing.
18. National Center for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine (NCCAM) has helped people understand
the many complementary and alternative treatments
by classifying them into five broad categories:
◦ Alternative Medical Systems
◦ Mind-Body Interventions
◦ Biologically-Based Therapies
◦ Manipulative and Body-Based Methods
◦ Energy Therapies
19. Alternative medical systems are built upon complete systems of theory
and practice.
Often, these systems have evolved apart from and earlier than the
conventional medical approach used in the United States.
Examples of alternative medical systems include:
◦ Acupuncture
◦ Ayurveda
◦ Homeopathy
◦ Native American healing practices
◦ Naturopathic medicine
◦ Tibetan medicine
◦ Traditional Chinese medicine
Ayurveda: A
boon to life.
20. Mind-body medicine uses a variety of techniques designed to enhance the
mind's capacity to affect bodily function and symptoms.
Some techniques that were considered alternative in the past have
become mainstream (for example, patient support groups and cognitive-
behavioral therapy).
Other mind-body techniques are still considered alternative, including:
◦ Art therapy
◦ Biofeedback
◦ Dance therapy
◦ Guided imagery
◦ Humor therapy
◦ Hypnotherapy
◦ Meditation
◦ Music therapy
◦ Prayer therapy
◦ Yoga
21. Biologically based therapies in complementary and
alternative medicine use substances found in nature, such as
herbs, foods, and vitamins.
Some examples include:
◦ Diet
◦ Dietary supplements
◦ Herbal products
◦ Megavitamins
Aloe breeze: Dietary
supplement drink
22. Manipulative and body-based methods in complementary
and alternative medicine are based on manipulation and/or
movement of one or more parts of the body.
Some examples include:
◦ Acupressure
◦ Alexander Technique
◦ Massage therapy
◦ Therapeutic Touch
◦ Osteopathy
◦ Reflexology
◦ Rolfing
Acupressure therapy
23. Energy therapies involve the use of energy fields. They are of
two types:
◦ Bio-field therapies
◦ Bio-electromagnetic-based therapies
1. Bio-field therapies
These are intended to affect energy fields that purportedly surround
and penetrate the human body.
The existence of such fields has not yet been scientifically proven.
Examples include:
Qi gong
Reiki
Therapeutic Touch
24. 2. Bio-electromagnetic-based therapies
These therapies involve the unconventional use of electromagnetic
fields.
Examples include:
Pulsed fields
Magnetic fields
Alternating-current or direct-current fields
Energy therapy
