Contents

1. What is health?
2. How to improve health?
3. Factors for good health
4. Body as a system
5. Sample cases
6. Common mistakes and precautions
7. Use or avoid medicines
8. Maintain healthy lifestyle
9. Plan and expect the results

What is health?

Health is a state-based function, age of the person is a major factor to determine his/her
health status. Consider the following graph.

young adult old

Health
percentage

Age

The above figure shows a typical health function of a human being. On an average the
body develops up to the age of 25 years, the exercise, diet and rest routines are crucial in
this period. One can say that the period is the best in the human life as maximum physical
development of the body occurs in the period. A person should target to physically develop
the body in this period, otherwise later there is no possibility for development. As said the
physical characteristics of the parents are gift to the child. Say if a person has taken huge
of efforts to develop the body during his puberty than the offspring of person has added
advantage of good physical development.

One can say, I took all the possible efforts to maintain body still no noticeable result is
observed. This is complex to explain. People say the half truth, they spent most of the time
in their business activities which are mostly social activities, they drink liquor, smoke
cigarettes, consume beverages, and do not take rest, all for the money, once they earn the
money, they spent it to cure their diseases. They mention we go to the gym and do
swimming on daily basis, alright but other factors like your exercise, diet, mental stress,
and rest are neglected. A sales professional spends most of the time to travel; he
consumes water, tea/coffees, and food from different locations. He says “What can we do,
it is my job, and if we do not socialize with clients our career is doomed”. The choice is
your’s, ultimately you must make your future.
Consider an adult of age 27 years, he experiences mild acidity problems, he works is a
software firm, lives with family and aims to live a social life – okay his expectations are
less, so he can be considered healthy person with certain acceptable loss of fitness level.
On the other hand, an athlete of the same age would have preferences for better fitness
level; also, the athlete will experience better healthy life because of the current exercise,
diet, and rest routines.

Say an adult of 40 years is social and lives normal life with almost no exercise and diet, the
person is at higher risk of having diseases as compared to an athlete of same age. It is
true that the condition of the human body deteriorates with increasing age but proper
maintenance and cure of the diseases at the initial stages will result to better life.

How to improve health?

This is a complex question and people can give you many answers which may harm rather
than help. The human body is a complex system, it has many processes that function
together to enable human life, consider the following analogy with a car:

4 wheels – hand and legs of human – useful for movement

Lubrication oil – synovial capsule fluid in joints- reduce friction
Fuel (petrol, diesel) – human food - gives energy for functions of the body
Internal combustion engine – digestive system (hepatic system) - energy conversion
Chassis of the car – back bone – base frame of the body
Radiator coolant – water – to reduce the heat and carry waste products for cleansing
Computer of the car- human brain-control unit
Fuel tank - stomach and fat
Power transmission- artery – supplies nutrients to the human body parts
Tyres - muscles – convert the nutrients in blood to physical motion

If any part fails it affects the other parts, like, in case of musculoskeletal system injury, the
calorific consumption of the human body decreases and this affects the digestive system,
due to lack of exercise the perspiration of the body is less so the heat of the body increases
that increases acidity. All the systems are interconnected and important. One should
consult a registered medical practitioner to solve health problems. Also, to increase the
efficiency of the body consult physiotherapists and health professionals otherwise self
efforts to exercise may lead to injuries which will in turn reduce the efficiency of the body. I
would suggest not to neglect any type of pain in the body at the very early stages as the
disease may become incurable at later stages. There are treatments to diseases but the
result depends on the state of the body. For bad body states the diseases may not show
symptoms of rehabilitation.

Best is to educate yourself about the anatomy of the human body, read first aid books,
some specially designed books for the family audiences are available in the market.
Discipline yourself to exercise, diet, and rest in routines. Prepare log files and update the
files on daily basis, I know this sounds tedious but good health has price.

Tell all your health details to your family doctors, if required consult specialists. If some
disease is not cured in time, it may become very difficult to cure at the later stages or the
even cure is not possible.

Crazy to be healthy is good, but with proper knowledge. One can also end up with serious
heath problems. Diet is complex thing and requires its study. I would say, body is like a
baby, you have to take care, at the same time take correct decisions to maintain. Body
takes time to adapt to changes in diet, exercise, and rest routines, sometimes it cannot
adapt. Every change in the daily routine has some effect on the body, think of the effects.
No person gets a second chance; every damage to the body is not fully curable. All the
medicines have some side effect, also body deteriorates daily, and you cannot predict what
happens after a period of time. For example, the digestive problems of an adolescent will
heal faster than for an adult 40 yrs of age, also an older person in sixties cannot even think
of the cure from the same problem. Aging process applies to every human being, we
cannot defy this fact.
The process to maintain good health is different for every person, based on the history of
exercise, medical treatments, and current state of the body. A doctor thinks from many
aspects before prescribing a treatment to the patient. You may wonder why a doctor gives
different medicines for similar symptoms, only a doctor can give the reason. Consider a
case of stomach pain at the lower abdominal section in of a patient. The pain can be due to
undescended testis for a boy and intestinal obstruction or epididymis for the adult. Careful
physical and laboratory examination is required to arrive at a conclusion. Pain in the finger
can be due to arthritis or minor trauma, careful examination and consultation with the
patient reveals the facts.

What are the involved factors?

The topic is very interesting, following can be the factors:

 Age of the patient
 Current medical conditions
 Medical history
 Allergies
 Daily routine
 Eating routines
 Cause of the disease
 Anatomy
 Laboratory tests

Age of the patient- This is a critical factor, for infants there are special medicines available
in the drug stores, any strong medicine can have serious side effects. Similar things apply
to patients beyond 50 yrs of age, these patients can only adapt to few medicines. The
healing time for elderly people is much long than younger patients.

Current medical conditions – Patients can have several diseases, because of one disease
another disease cannot be cured. For example, a diabetic patient cannot undergo a kidney
stone removal operation. A person with Irritable Bowel Syndrome cannot consume protein
rich diet and therefore an orthopedic injury can take longer time to heal.

Medical history -
Patient's history of diseases is a crucial factor to treat the current disease, a person with
history of duodenal ulcers cannot take NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs) as
this may irritate the existing ulcers, which is painful, in such case intravenous
administration of drug is advisable.
Also, patient with history of musculoskeletal diseases cannot be advised strenuous
exercises.

Allergies – Patients may show allergies to certain antibiotics and NSAIDs, symptoms can
range from skin rashes to vomiting and upset stomach. Doctors are very careful to treat
such cases.

Daily routines – Patients that do regular traveling may have problems of irregular rest, and
food. In such cases doctor should select the mild and most suitable drugs. Side effects of
the drug can cause long term medical problems like piles and fissures. Also, such patients
are professionals who are quite busy in their daily live, they ignore the health risks and
later complain of diseases.

Eating routines – There are few patients who ignore diet routines, which can create health
problems. Sales professions drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, eat oily food, skip meals, and
avoid water consumption due to frequent urination in traveling may suffer from kidney
diseases, stomach infections, lung cancer, and urinary infections. A person should consume
protein rich diet with a lot of salads, in short meals. Regular exercise is also required to
digest protein.

Cause of the diseases – There are several causes of diseases for example, sleep
deprivation leads to acidity, trauma to foot nails leads to infections, and throat infection
leads to fever and cough. The exact cause of the disease should be identified for proper
treatment of disease.

Anatomy - Anatomy is also a crucial factor for the health improvement, for example, a
person with weak abdominal wall can have problems of inguinal, femoral, and umbilical
hernias. Also, weak muscles lead to more musculoskeletal injuries of the lower limbs and
back.

Laboratory tests – The tests serve as important keys to determine the diseases and avoid
diseases at early stages. Blood, urine, stools tests, ultrasound, x-rays, magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI), Color Doppler, and CT scans are important to find the cause of diseases at
the early stages.

The above list covers few of the many factors that affect the health improvement. The
factors in the list are indicative and may show unacceptable effects. Always consult a
medical expert before taking any decisions as body is delicate and you may have to pay
heavy price for your mistake.

Body as a system

The human body is a complex system and cannot be compared to any machine. The body
repairs itself, has a total life of about 100 years. No scientist can develop a robot which is
near to the functioning capacity of the body.
Roughly human body has the following sub systems:
 Musculoskeletal system
 Nervous system
 Lymph and immune system
 Cardiovascular system
 Digestive system
 Reproductive system
 Respiratory system
 Endocrine system
 Urinary system

Musculoskeletal system – Humans can make movements due to the bones and muscles.
The bones act as the base frame that provides rigid support to the body and muscles
connects the bones and act as the power unit of the system. A bone may look like solid
mass but is living tissue. Body automatically repairs any damage to the system. The
biggest and the strongest muscles of the body are the thighs muscles. Any damage to
these muscles creates major problems. Hip injuries are the most problematic injuries and
require relatively more time to heal than other injuries of the body. The cardiovascular
system powers and the nervous system control the musculoskeletal system.

Nervous system -
The nervous system is most important in the body. Humans can sense temperature,
moisture, touch, and feel because of the nervous system. The nervous system is central
control of the human body. The movement of hands, legs, eyes, back, bowel moment of
the intestines all is controlled by the nervous system. The nerves are distributed in the
body. The nervous system starts at brain, the spinal cord connects to all parts of the body.
Acupressure and acupuncture use the nervous system to cure many diseases. The basis of
both is to apply pressure at the nerves near the backbone or the affected part of the body.
Other nervous system is the autonomous nervous system (ANS), We are unable to control
the parts of the body like bowel movement of the intestines, the reflexes of eyes, control
the valves of the stomach, and the heartbeat. The ANS does all this functions.

Lymph and immune system-

The system of the body that protects from the attack of bacteria’s and viruses is the lymph
and immune system. Various lymph nodes are situated in the body and because of these
nodes the lymph fluid that is responsible for the immunity of the body circulates in the
body. This fluid carries antibodies to fight infection. These nodes are situated at legs,
intestines, hands, and other parts of the body. In case we are victim of a disease or injury,
the immune system helps to fight the disease.

Cardiovascular system-
The arteries supply the nutrients necessary for the proper functioning of the body to all the
parts of the body. Also, the temperature of the blood helps to maintain body temperature.
The nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals heal the body which is carried by dense
network of blood vessels in the body. The arteries carry the nutrient rich blood from the
heart to other parts of the body and veins carry the residual blood back to heart.
Digestive system-
The digestive system is an important system of the body; we can harness nutrients
because of the digestive system. We consume fruits, vegetables, protein, minerals, and
vitamins, the digestive system extracts the essential nutrients from the food and remaining
material is excreted from the body in the from of feces. The digestive system starts from
the mouth where the teeth chew the food and saliva is mixed to the food. The food bolus
travels from the esophagus and enters the stomach where the acid dilutes the food. Now
the digestive fluids from the duodenum mix in the food which are antacids from lever. Next
the food travels from the small intestine where due to the hepatic system the nutrients are
extracted and sent to the heart for circulation to all the parts of the body. The residual solid
part of the food is collected in the colon and stored in the rectum, next it is disposed off
from the rectum as stools.

Reproductive system-
The reproductive system is responsible for development of the sexual characteristics in
men and women. The testicles, penis and prostate are the part of the male reproductive
system. Testicles are the basic production units of sperm and testosterone which is
important for muscular development in male body. The Uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes are
the part of female reproductive system. The ovaries produce ovums and estrogen which
are responsible for the female body development.

Respiratory system-
We can consume oxygen from the environment which also has other gases like nitrogen,
carbon dioxide because of respiratory system. Our lungs filter this oxygen from the mixture
of gases i.e., air and supplies to the heart. The oxygen rich blood from heart circulates to
all the parts of the body. The nose, trachea, and lungs are parts of the respiratory system.

Endocrine system-
The endocrine system consists of the pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, parathyroid, and thymus
glands which are hormone messengers of the body and regulate various systems in the
body like muscle growth and body weight management etc.

Urinary system-
Human body is almost 80 percent of fluid; muscles, bones, and skin all are made of water.
Constant circulation of the fluid in the body is important and its cleaning is done by the
kidneys which are attached to the cardiovascular system. The waste fluid from the kidneys
is excreted and stored in the urinary bladder, which is later disposed.

Sample cases

Consider the following cases to understand the various factors involved in the health
improvement.

1. lean body – The metabolism of the person is fast and therefore the food nutrients
are not absorbed by the body. Also, muscle mass and bone density is less. Such a
person has higher alertness level but has problems with strength gain of the body.
The reality is the person has to take huge efforts to maintain good body strength.
 The best solution for such person is weight training in gym and consumption protein
which is easy to digest. Take rest at least eight hours daily. Such people are
susceptible to back problems.
2. Fatty body – The metabolism of these people is slow, and they gain a lot of body fat
if they do not exercise. These people have to take huge efforts to reduce body fat.
These people have the advantage that they can be good body builders and maintain
a diet to reduce the fat. They have natural body strength, and which automatically
increases with proper exercise and diet habits. These people have to take good
cardio sessions of cycling, running, or swimming to maintain the body. At least eight
hours of daily sleep is recommended for such people.
3. Old people (>40 yrs) – These people have health problems that are difficult to
manage. The most common problems are diabetics, high/low blood pressure,
digestive system problems, and non-union of bone fractures. The basic problem with
these people is the reduced immunity level and poor maintenance of the body. The
best thing for these people is to maintain a good lifestyle that includes healthy diet,
exercise, and rest periods. Sometimes the body is not able to sustain the stress and
does not cure. In such cases medicines are required in large amounts, then we also
have the side effects of the medicines which are unavoidable. Special care should be
taken to avoid injuries as the time of healing is must greater than for a younger
person.
4. Babies (< 5yrs)– The body of babies is not yet developed and requires special care.
Also, the musculoskeletal system is at the very initial stages of development. Special
care should be taken to avoid injuries as improper healing can cause permanent
defects.
5. Children athletes (5yrs <age <13 yrs) – The body of such athlete is under rapid
development and with proper guidance they adapt to the training routines. Such
children can become good athletes in twenties of their life. Every injury should be
treated by proper medical practitioner.

Common mistakes and precautions:

People do many mistakes without knowing the possible harmful effects. They eat food for
the taste, have irregular exercise routines, have inadequate rest, maintain poor hygiene of
the body, and avoid consultation with doctors for diseases at the beginning.

Best is to educate yourself for the symptoms of possible diseases and keep frequently used
medicines in the house. Following are few common mistakes:
 Consume oily food
 Eat food at irregular intervals
 Inadequate hand cleaning before meals
 Skip daily baths
 Skip nail trims of hands and legs
 Avoid winter and summer clothing
 Irregular exercises
 Late working in nights
 Inadequate water consumption
 Inadequate teeth cleaning
Following precautions can be taken to reduce the health problems:
  Read medical books for general awareness
 Plan the exercise routines with the physiotherapists
 Plan diet with the dietitians
 Consult doctors for the diseases at the very initial stages of the diseases

Best is to document your treatment of diseases, exercise routines, and diet routines in
computer or on papers. The documentation is helpful for your future treatment of diseases.

Use or avoid medicines

Medicines are important part of the human health, but we need to understand the actual
necessity and side effects of the medicines. Suppose you visit your family doctor for
common cold, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic and pain killer. Do you understand the
side effects of the antibiotics, bio mean related to living things and anti mean against, so
antibiotic is against the living things. Humans are also living things, imagine the effect of
antibiotics on the humans. All the painkillers cause peptic ulcers, so avoid using pain
killers.

The human body heals itself; the medicines only stimulate the body to cure the disease in a
speedy manner. In addition, there are different types of medicines available in the market,
Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Unani medicine, Western medicines etc. All these medicines do
the same thing to stimulate the repair system of the body. Best is to use the medicines at
the very last stages of the disease, most of the diseases heal automatically and do not
require any medicine. For example, the following symptoms of diseases do not require
medicines:
 Cold
 Headache
 Acidity
 Light pain in legs and hand
 Headache
 Musculoskeletal injuries which does not restrict the motion of human body

Only a doctor can give expert opinion about the diseases, in most of the cases the diseases
are not severe and can heal without medicines. I have an idea, ask the doctor whether the
disease is at the initial stage, whether we can wait and take precautions without the
medicines to cure the disease. If possible, avoid medicines as they have side effects.

In some severe cases like heart attack, severe constipation, high blood pressure, and post
operation we cannot avoid medicines. Choose medicines in such a way that the side effects
of the medicines are least. One can use naturopathy which has no side effects, the result of
the treatment takes long time to cure but the cure is complete not symptomatic.

I would suggest you to check the side effects of the medicines before use, purchase a drug
listing book from local book store and go through the information about the medicine. One
should try to live a life without medicines.

Maintain healthy lifestyle

To maintain healthy lifestyle is the basic requirement of health improvement. Lifestyle is a
broad term, it has many factors, and few are as follows:
 Sufficient rest of the human body
 Adequate diet
 Regular sleeping routine
 Regular exercise routines
 Avoid body exertion
 Regular cleaning of body
 Avoid exposure to high temperature and humidity

1. Sufficient rest of the human body – Human body is a system, and it requires
maintenance, and off load periods. Without rest event the best machines fail to
work. Majority of rest is during the sleep time and seated position of the body.
2. Adequate diet - Human body requires food to extract the necessary nutrients and
supply those for proper functioning of the body. Balanced diet includes vegetables,
fat, protein, and carbohydrates. In absence of adequate diet, the body does not
function properly and efficiency decreases. The diet depends on your exercise.
3. Regular sleeping routine - If you disturb your sleeping routines, you may end up with
serious digestive system problems. Also, your concentration ability decreases. Best
is to take at least 8 hours of sleep in the night.
4. Regular exercise routines - Exercise is a complex subject, it requires experience and
study of the physiology of the exercise to get good results. Otherwise, you may
suffer injuries which are nightmare for an individual.
5. Avoid body exertion - Excessive physical and mental stress creates exertion which
leads to restless feeling. Always keep the body within the range of comfort.
6. Regular cleaning of body - In absence of proper cleaning, you may suffer infection
from bacteria on the skin, ears, and near the genitals.
7. Avoid exposure to high temperature and humidity - Humans can comfortably live in
a short range of ambient temperature and humidity. Beyond the range humans
experience uneasy feeling and prolonged exposure can create permanent damage
to the body.

Plan and expect the results

A plan is suitable for the improvement of the body and with reference to the plan results
are expected. Best is to create plan as follows:

Note daily exercise, sleep routines and diet habits in a book. Now take the current data as
reference to increase the intensity of exercise by 2 percent in a month. Accordingly
increase the diet and rest in proportions. Monitor the progress for few months and plan
gaps in between the exercise. For example, take a gap of 15 days within 3 months to avoid
any complications. If possible, do weight training on alternate days and cardio exercises
every day as flow of blood to the body parts is necessary. If you feel exhausted, take rest,
and alter the exercise routines.
Exercise individual body parts in the gym in a weekly cycle. Monday: Chest and quadriceps,
Tuesday: rest Wednesday: Biceps triceps and hamstrings, Thursday: rest,
Friday: Back and calf, Saturday: Abdominal and shoulders, and Sunday: rest.
Do cardio exercises for at least 10-15 min everyday. The intensity of the exercises should
be low to avoid injuries. If you feel persistent pain in any body part, stop the exercise and
consult a doctor.