Is the fear of ill health making you wish you had been born? Is sickness taking a heavy toll on you and you are awaiting a time when ill health will be no more?

Good health tops the request list of many people – from the president of a country to a pre-teen school pupil – just as staying healthy remains the wishes of people battling with diseases, substance addiction and social problems.

In fact, Arlen Specter’s assertion clearly expresses, in delicious metaphor, the value of good health: ‘There’s nothing more important than our good health – that’s our principal capital asset’. Humans, from birth, have struggled with the burden of illnesses and other challenges which, most often, are of their own error.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as a state of total physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease. So, if you are one of those yearning for perfect health, you are not alone. However, the grim reality is that in today’s fast-paced world shaped by medical advancements, mankind has continuedto groan under the weight of physical and mental maladies. Why so?

First is people’s negligence of good personal hygiene – most especially hard-pressed school pupils, as well as those who do not have access to healthcare facilities – which has exposed them to plagues of contagious diseases. During 2003 for instance, tuberculosis (TB) claimed the lives of over 1.6 million people globally, whilst some 400 million people get illfrom malaria annually.

So deadly is tuberculosis that, currently in Nigeria, it kills 260 people daily.The above-mentioned two diseases, together with HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, measles and pneumonia, remain man’s undefeated enemies that have kept scientists up and running.

Between 2020 and 2023, COVID-19 originating from riparian Wuhan in China ravaged the world, with the United States and United Kingdom bearing the brunt of the epidemic. Deadly virus Marburg has reared its ugly head in sub-Saharan Africa since after its firstoutbreak in Europe in 1967, whilst malaria kills two children about every thirty seconds in Africa.

Second is the negative impact of technology in which the electronic gadgets people live with in their homes have turned out to be their familiar family foes. The superpowers are assembling nuclear weapons capable of wiping out humanity within a split second, whilst the fallout of the wars amongst the superpowers is unpalatable to humans’ health.

Third is a lack of moral restraint and self-control amongst people, especially the youths, whose minds have caved into the weight of hard drugs. Substance abuse, particularly by ignorant students and pupils, as well as in nations where the larger segment faces unemployment problems, has contributed to mental health challenges globally.

The solutions to health challenges are in our hands. For example, a nation that prioritises the health security of its people will invest meaningfully in sustainable health care. A nation that wants to safeguard the wellness and life expectancy of its citizens will enforce national policies and security measures aimed at controlling nuclear weapons. And a nation that wants to promote the mental health and social well-being of its citizens will engage in consultation with the citizens through regular town hall meetings.

Generally, individuals’ collaborative efforts play crucial roles in attaining healthy living. Thus, schools, parents, hospitals, governments, stakeholders, etc. should roll out plans aiming to sensitise people on the needto:

Have balanced diets. Study has demonstrated that diets rich in fibre and complex carbohydrates derived from fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains extend your lifespan and protect you against cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, as well as gastrointestinal disorders. These foods, unlike ultra-processed ones, promote overall healthy living because they are low-glycemic-index (LGI) foods that do not spike blood sugar. In addition to having healthy diets, you should stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water to flush out toxins from your system.

Exercise regularly. Do you know that the three deep breaths that you take on getting out of bed in the morning revivify you? Regular exercise, be it aerobic or strength training, stimulates the production of nitric oxide, enhances muscle mass, burnsexcess fat, reduces inflammation, prevents blood clots and frees your clogged arteries. Fortunately, many schools and some organisations have the facilities that make regular, physical exercise possible.

Sleep at least eight hours, for this habit enables your body to repair its worn-out cells. An hour ofsound sleep, apart from allowing you to get used to new things and enhancingyour cognition, it also packages you psychosocially and regulates your hormones ghrelin and leptin that make you want to eat.

In fact, that is why greatest dramatist William Shakespeare oncedeclared that sleep is ‘… sore labour’s bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course and chief nourisher in life’s feast’. (Macbeth Act 2, Scene2).

Keep your surroundings clean and ensure that your toilet is disease-free. Healthy toilets such as those in West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) in Onne, the banks in the Federal Capital Territory as well as the multinational oil companies in Port Harcourt are too hygienic to dine in.

Manage your stress because stress is one reality that can’t be avoided totally. So, to stay healthy, take a shot at these mechanisms for coping with stress, such as laughing a lot, creating lots of time for yourself, being organised, having good sleep, diets and exercise, and delegating your tasks.And if you are a worker or a student experiencing harassment at work and bullying at school, talk to the relevant authorities.

Guard yourself, especially if you are a teenager or pre-teen, against catfishing and AI manipulations by cyberbullies.

Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol, which are habits that can cause cancer and damage the lung and the liver. In a situation where you develop an irresistible urge to drinkalcohol, you should drink with Queen Elizabeth II moderation.

Practise safe sex (which, though, is forbidden for teenagers and the unmarried) and good oral hygiene.

Lastly, wash your hands regularly. Research has shown that harmful bacteria, such as staphylococcus aureus, streptococcus species and other Gram-negative bacteria capable of causing paronychia, felon and cellulitis, are lurking right there in millions on your fingers. The damage becomes more extensive when these bacteria find their ways into your gut through the oral cavity.

The benefits of a healthy life far outweigh those of a wealthy one even when being wealthy is not a bad choice.Yet there is nothing as perfect and exhilarating as being in fine fettle. If you are given a choice between choosing wealth and staying healthy, do go for the latter; for it is by staying healthy that you stay wealthy. And if you are the type that is always healthy, you should chalk that up to divine favour whilst not ignoring occasional medical check-ups.
Sola wrote from Port Harcourt.