Eat A Healthy Diet
Eat a variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains. Adults should eat at least five servings (400g) of fruit and vegetables daily. You can improve your fruit and vegetable intake by always including vegetating in your meal; eating fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks; eating a variety of fr, and vegetables, and eating them in season. By eating a healthy diet, you reduce your risk of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as Diabetes, art disease, stroke, and cancer.
Eating Less Salt And Sugar
Filipinos consume twice the recommended sodium intake, putting them at risk of high blood pressure, which in turn increases their risk of heart disease and stroke. sodium by salt. Reduce your salt intake to 5g per day, which is about a teaspoon.
The easiest way to do this is to limit the amount of salt, soy sauce, fish sauce, and other high-sodium condiments in meal preparation. Remove salt, spices, and condiments from your dining table; Avoid salty snacks and choose low-sodium products. On the other hand, consuming excessive amounts of sugar increases the risk of tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain. In both adults and children, free sugar intake should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake. This equates to 50g or about 12 teaspoons for an adult.
The WHO recommends consuming less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits. You can reduce your sugar intake by limiting your intake of sugary snacks, sweets, and sugary drinks.
Reduce Your Intake Of Harmful Fats
The fats consumed should account for less than 30% of your total energy intake. This will help prevent unhealthy weight gain and non-communicable diseases. There are different types of fats, but unsaturated fats are preferable to saturated fats and trans fats. WHO recommends reducing saturated fat to less than 10% of total energy intake; Reducing trans fats to less than 1% of total energy intake, and replacing both saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats.
Favorite unsaturated fats are found in fish, avocados, and nuts, as well as in sunflower, soybean, canola, and olive oils; saturated fats are found in fatty meats, butter, palm, and coconut oils, cream, cheese, ghee, and lard; and trans fats are found in baked and fried foods, as well as pre-packaged snack foods and foods such as frozen pizza, crackers, crackers, and cooking oils and spreads.
Avoid Harmful Alcohol Consumption
There is no safe amount for alcohol consumption. Alcohol use can lead to health problems such as mental and behavioral disorders, including alcohol dependence, serious noncommunicable diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver, some cancers and heart disease, and violent injuries. and accidents and collisions on the road.
Don’t Smoke
Smoking tobacco causes NCDs such as lung disease, heart disease, and stroke. Tobacco kills not only direct smokers but even non-smokers through second-hand exposure. Currently, there are around 15.9 million Filipino adults who smoke tobacco but 7 in 10 smokers are interested or plan to quit.
If you are currently a smoker, it’s not too late to quit. Once you do, you will experience immediate and long-term health benefits. If you are not a smoker, that’s great! Do not start smoking and fight for your right to breathe tobacco-smoke-free air.
Be Active
Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that require energy expenditure. This includes exercise and activities undertaken while working, playing, carrying out household chores, traveling, and engaging in recreational pursuits. The amount of physical activity you need depends on your age group but adults aged 18-64 years should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week. Increase moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week for additional health benefits.
Check Your Blood Pressure Regularly
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is called a silent killer. This is because many people who have hypertension may not be aware of the problem as it may not have any symptoms. If left uncontrolled, hypertension can lead to heart, brain, kidney, and other diseases. Have your blood pressure checked regularly by a health worker so you know your numbers. If your blood pressure is high, get the advice of a health worker. This is vital in the prevention and control of hypertension.
Get Tested
Getting yourself tested is an important step in knowing your health status, especially when it comes to HIV, hepatitis B, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB). Left untreated, these diseases can lead to serious complications and even death. Knowing your status means you will know how to either continue preventing these diseases or, if you find out that you’re positive, get the care and treatment that you need. Go to a public or private health facility, wherever you are comfortable, to have yourself tested.
Get Vaccinated
Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent diseases. Vaccines work with your body’s natural defenses to build protection against diseases like cervical cancer, cholera, diphtheria, hepatitis B, influenza, measles, mumps, pneumonia, polio, rabies, rubella, tetanus, typhoid, and yellow fever.
In the Philippines, free vaccines are provided to children 1 year old and below as part of the Department of Health’s routine immunization program. If you are an adolescent or adult, you may ask your physician to check your immunization status or if you want to have yourself vaccinated.
Practice Safer Sex
Taking care of your sexual health is important to your overall health and well-being. Practice safe sex to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea and syphilis. Preventive measures are available, such as. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) protects you from HIV and condoms protect you from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Cover Your Cough Or Sneeze
Diseases like influenza, pneumonia, and tuberculosis are spread through the air. If an infected person coughs or sneezes, airborne droplets can spread infectious agents to others by covering your mouth with a face mask or using a tissue and then disposing of it carefully. or the inside) of your elbow.
