Healthy Living: Child care level 3

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Benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle in prevention of diseases

Living a healthy lifestyle can help in prevention of various lifestyle diseases. These diseases include cancer, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also help prevent some chronic lifestyle diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Living a healthy lifestyle includes exercising regularly; recommended at least 15 minutes a day of cardiovascular exercises to ensure that the heart is performing its function. The main aim of exercising is to ensure that blood flows to all parts of the body, since blood transports oxygen and nutrients to all body parts. A healthy lifestyle also involves eating a healthy diet which contains all necessary nutrients; vitamins, proteins, fats and carbohydrates (Health & safety 2006). Food is important in providing health and strength to the body and improving the immune system.

How a healthy lifestyle prevents;

Cancer- most of the new cases reported of cancer in UK could be prevented if the patients lead a healthier lifestyle. In this case less consumption of alcohol and eating a healthy diet are the main ways to prevent cancer. To prevent cancer, a person should not smoke; smoking is one of the unhealthiest habits and is a widely known cause of cancer. Exercising regularly and not staying out in the sun too much are also ways of preventing cancer (Health & safety 2006).

Some types of cancer are closely linked to obesity; these include Breast cancer, Kidney cancer and Uterus cancer. Regular exercise and a healthy diet will help ensure that a person has a reduced risk of cancer. Obesity can also be caused by increased stress levels, to live a healthy lifestyle a person should ensure that they engage in stress relieving activities like jogging, swimming and taking nature walks. A healthy lifestyle revolves mainly around diet and exercising.

Stroke- this is a condition that occurs when there is reduced blood supply in the brain. The brain requires blood so that it can perform its functions in the regular way; if it does not receive adequate supply of blood then a person is at a risk of having a stroke. Performing regular exercise ensures that there is adequate blood flow to all parts of the body. To prevent a stroke a person should avoid smoking; smoking is unhealthy since it causes the blood vessels not to function efficiently (Boag & Warsh 2005). Smoking may also cause blood clots in the blood vessels and this reduces the blood supply to the brain.

A healthy lifestyle in prevention of stroke involves reduced alcohol consumption. The consumption of too much alcohol results into high blood pressure which is a trigger factor for stroke. The flow of blood should be maintained at a constant pressure to prevent the possibility of a stroke occurring.

Diabetes- this is a health condition caused by leading an unhealthy lifestyle, however it may also be inherited and could run in the family (Boag & Warsh 2005). This condition is caused by a high level of glucose in the blood. Prevention of diabetes is possible by eating a healthy diet. A healthy diet entails foods and drinks that do not increase the level of glucose in the blood. Drinking plenty of water and exercising regularly helps in ensuring that the body dilutes and fully utilizes all glucose in the blood.

For a person who has been diagnosed with diabetes, it is important to exercise regularly to maintain a good level of blood sugar. It is also important to eat a balanced diet and avoid processed sugar as much as possible. Use of insulin is also a method used to prevent the current diabetic patient from further advancement. The insulin helps in using the glucose in the blood. Eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly are the best lifestyle practices that can help in prevention of diabetes (Boag & Warsh 2005).

High blood pressure- the occurrence of high blood pressure puts a person at the risk of getting a stroke and treatment should be sought as soon as possible. The conditions that cause high blood pressure include; a person being oversize and not exercising regularly. Excessive alcohol consumption may also lead to high blood pressure as well as smoking. It is advisable to get regular blood pressure checks to ensure that it is maintained at a good figure.

A healthy lifestyle should be maintained in order to avoid a high blood pressure. This includes avoid smoking, smoke affects blood vessels and their functioning they reduce in size and thus blood pressure increases (Boag & Warsh 2005). Less consumption of alcohol and regular exercise ensures that blood flows at a constant pressure thus reducing the chances of high blood pressure.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease- this is a health condition where air passage ways reduce in size, its main cause is smoking. To prevent this health condition a person should avoid smoking or quit smoking to allow the lungs to function in the right manner. Advancement of the condition can reduce a person’s mobility due to breathing difficulty.

Regular exercise should be performed to ensure that a person can breathe well. Also quit or reduce smoking since smoking is the main cause of this health condition (Children’s health, the nation’s wealth assessing and improving child health 2004).

A healthy lifestyle mainly involves less alcohol consumption and no smoking. A person should also eat a healthy diet and performing regular exercise. Another major factor that should be considered is the stress levels; a person should ensure that they relieve stress at a regular basis. High stress levels reduce body metabolism and may lead to most of the above named chronic illnesses.

Benefits of eating healthy

Eating healthy means consuming a balanced diet and eating the right food group at the right time to help the body uses it in effectively. Different food groups have different health benefits on the human body;

Fruits and Vegetables; fruits should be consumed after a meal for them to be effective in the body. They increase blood and the bodies’ immunity. They are also rich in vitamins which help in improving the immune and digestive system. Vegetables may be consumed in the meal itself; cooked or uncooked they also increase the body’s energy and provide it with the right vitamins. They are also important in the digestion process.

Grains and cereals: are consumed in meals. They are rich in vitamin B and Iron. This helps in increasing iron in the blood and increasing body strength. Examples include maize and wheat.

Proteins; this are also referred to as energy giving foods (Egendorf 2006). Consumption of proteins increases the energy level in the body. Energy is important for the body in order to perform regular exercises a person requires high levels of energy to replace that which is lost during the exercises. Foods with high protein levels include beans, meat, eggs and soy products.

Dairy products; this help in increasing the amount of calcium in the body. Calcium is used by the body to strengthen bones. The dairy products include milk, cheese and ghee. Strong bones are necessary for the body to balance and maintain its own weight.

A balanced diet should contain all these food groups since they all contribute to body strength. In addition to this, a person should also consume plenty of water as it helps in the digestion process

Activities that can be carried out with young children to improve their lifestyle

Children should be engaged in activities that help the move around and exercise. This will help ensure that the child is active and healthy thus lead a healthy lifestyle. These activities should however be done under the supervision of parents to ensure that the child does not get injured during the exercises (Children’s health, the nation’s wealth assessing and improving child health 2004).

These activities include;

Gardening- this involves walking around and weeding. This is good exercise as it involves bending and walking around the garden. It also presents a good time for stress relieving (Egendorf 2006).

Morning jogs- children between 7 and 15 can join their parents during the morning jogs. Jogging is a good cardiovascular exercise which ensures blood flow and proper functioning of the heart.

Walking around the room- this should be done in a room with adequate space and no obstacles which may hit a child. This should be done under a parent’s supervision as he/she performs daily chores they may involve the child.

What is well-being and how can it be achieved

This is a state of being in the right physical and mental state and being able to perform the required functions. A child should be able to play around well and learn new things to improve their functioning and understanding. Well-being also involves spiritual fitness being at internal peace and mental wellbeing being able to make good choices (Children’s health, the nation’s wealth assessing and improving child health 2004).

It can be achieved through living a healthy lifestyle and relieving stress in the right ways. Every family should define the best way to relieve daily stress may be through laughing every evening or sharing how the day has been.

There are different forms of exercises that are recommended for healthy living;

Physical exercises- these are exercises that aim at building the physical body. Building muscles and keeping in the right shape.

Cardiovascular exercise- this are exercises performed to ensure that the heart functions well. Such exercises include jogging, swimming and skipping rope. Proper functioning of the heart is a great assurance that a person is healthy.

Bibliography

Boag, V. J., & Warsh, C. L. 2005. Children’s health issues in historical perspective. Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Children’s health, the nation’s wealth assessing and improving child health. 2004. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Egendorf, L. K. 2006. Food. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, Thomson, Gale.

Health & safety. 2006. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books.