Health Awareness blog

• Reduce stress, learn how to relax
• Control diet and maintain an ideal body weight
• Eat less salt. For suggestion, try to take pepper, herbs and spices for seasoning.
• Reduce sugar in the diet. Add more sugar in your smile.
• Stay away from alcohol! However, if you are an alcoholic, keep within recommended limits. 
• Regular exercise. Be physically active every day. Try walking, cycling, jogging, swimming or any other aerobic exercise. Build up regularly to about 30 minutes, preferably for most days of the week.
• Quit smoking. If it is too hard, try to reduce smoking.
• Occasionally, do self monitoring of blood pressure, blood sugar level and cholesterol level
• Eat more fruits and vegetables.

  Recommended limits for alcohol: 

Men – 21 units per week

Women – 14 units per week

A glass of beer/wine = 1unit

A measure of spirits = 1 ½ unit

It means that no more that 2-3 nits a day with some alcohol free days. (Try to have food with alcohol)

* For muslims, alcohol is ‘haram’ and totally not allowed. We believe that alcohol will cause more harm than good physically and mentally. Alcohol may lead to multi organ damage and will lead to social problems. So, I personally advice all of us to stay away from alcohol. It is always wise to stay sober.

 Body mass index (BMI) classification: 

BMI = weight / (height) ²

Weight in kg and height in meters

Normal range = BMI 20-25

Grade 1 obesity = BMI 25-30

Grade 2 obesity = BMI 30-40

Grade 3 obesity = BMI >40

 Sample menu: Breakfast

High fiber cereal with low fat milk

Whole meal bread or toast

Fruit juice or fresh fruit

Tea or coffee

 Mid morning

Fruit or whole meal bread or scone

Tea, coffee, water or diet drinks

 Lunch

Small serving of cheese, egg, lean meat, poultry or fish

Large serving of raw or cooked vegetables

Whole meal bread or roll

Low fat yoghurt or glass of low fat milk

Fresh fruit

Tea, coffee, water

 Mid afternoon

Fresh fruit

Tea, coffee or diet drinks

 Main meal

Fish, chicken, lean meat or low fat vegetarian alternatives (moderate serving)

Large serving of raw or cooked vegetables

Potato, rice or pasta

A glass of low fat milk

Fresh fruit, cooked fruit, tinned fruit in own juice

Fruit based dessert or low fat milk pudding

Tea or coffee

 Supper

Tea or diet drinks

Whole meal scone/bread

  Reference:

1.      Irish Heart Foundation fact sheet

2.      Malaysian Ministry of Health fact sheet

3.      Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine

1.   Hygiene – avoid passing on germs by careful hand washing especially before preparing the food and feeding the baby.

2.   For babies up to one year of age, it s highly recommended to sterilize bottles and teats. Bottles and teats can be boiled up to kill the germs.

3.   Breast feed your babies at least up to 6 months old. Breast milk supplies antibodies and maintains milk production. Breast fed babies are known to be more resistant to gastroenteritis and other type of infections (if breast feeding is not contraindicated).

4.   Good water and food

5.   Education

6.   Control the flies and keep the environment clean and healthy.

  References:
1.     Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties. 4^th edition. 2001.
2.     Fact sheet by Health Promotion Unit, Ireland.