Portal:Health and fitness
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The most solid aspects of wellness that fit firmly in the realm of medicine are the environmental health, nutrition, disease prevention, and public health matters that can be investigated and assist in measuring well-being.
The notion of physical fitness is used in two close meanings.
General fitness
In its most general meaning, physical fitness is a general state of good physical health. A physically handicapped person's body may be physically fit (healthy), though its ability is likely to be less than optimum.
Physical fitness is usually a result of regular physical activity and proper nutrition.
Physical fitness is often divided into three types:
Task-oriented fitness
A person may be said to be physically fit to perform a particular task with a reasonable efficiency, for example, fit for military service.
Military-style
In recent years, Military-style fitness training programs have become increasingly popular among civilians. Courses are available all over the US and Europe.
They are usually taught by ex-military personnel. Very often the instructors held highly regarded positions within various military organizations. Often the instructors were formerly Drill instructors, Special Forces Operatives or held otherwise distinguished positions.
These courses always have some common elements. They often focus on military style calisthenics and group runs. The courses are often held very early in the morning and will meet in almost any weather. Students can expect push-ups, sit-ups, pullups, and jumping jacks, as well as more obscure drills such as flutter kicks, sun worshippers and flares. Almost invariably a workout will include short runs while longer runs are more scheduled. Special forces are renowned for their level of fitness and intensity of their workouts.
A healthy diet is a diet which contains a balanced amount of nutrients, varied food, and minimal amounts of sugar, fat, and salt. Healthy eating is identical to a healthy diet, in that it relates to the practice of food intake for healthy living. Governments often use this term to refer to the ideal diet which the average person requires to remain healthy.
Healthy diet
Despite popular belief, a reliance on a single food which composes the majority of a diet is indicative of poor eating habits. An individual on such a diet may be prone to deficiency and most certainly will not be fulfilling the Recommended Nutrient Intake.
While plants, vegetables, and fruits are known to help reduce the incidence of chronic disease, the benefits on health posed by plant-based foods, as well as the percentage on which a diet needs to be plant-based in order to have health benefits, is unknown. Nevertheless, plant-based food diets in society and between nutritionist circles are linked to health and longevity, as well as contributing to lowering cholesterol, weight loss, and, in some cases, stress reduction.
Although a number of preconceptions of a healthy diet center around plant-based foods, the majority of assumptions about foods which are usually thought of as "bad" foods are usually correct, apart from the assumption that there are "bad" foods; many people associate dishes such as Full English cooked Breakfast and Bacon Sandwiches as foods which if eaten regularly can contribute to cholesterol, fat, and heart problems.
Definition
A healthy diet is usually defined as a diet in which nutrient intake is maintained, and cholesterol, salt, sugar, and fat are reduced. The idea of a healthy diet is something used by a government to ensure that people are as well "protected" against common illnesses and conditions which stem from poor diet. This could include headaches, lessened sexual drive, heart disease, alcohol poisoning, or obesity.
The definition of a healthy diet is sometimes also thought of as a diet which will combat or prevent illness. Although the majority of people would support this definition, few know why other than because "bad" foods are not consumed. People with healthy diets are less likely to succumb to common minor illnesses, such as lesser forms of Influenza, mainly because consumption of a healthy diet would provide ample nutrients and energy for the body, so as to help stave off such illnesses. Similarly, the healthy diet can also be used this way to aid the body during illness. The myth of "feed a cold, starve a fever" is a common misconception among the public, particularly in the United Kingdom. This is a myth in every sense of the word because providing the body with nutrients during illness is actually beneficial - nutrient and energy stores would be replenished, allowing for more energy to be used by the body to combat illness.
The importance at present of a Healthy diet is something which is actually receiving many promotions throughout several countries due to obesity epidemics. Governments, particularly in the United Kingdom, through the advice of the Department of Health, introduced a public health white paper to parliament, CM 6374, which aimed to deal with the issues presented by particularly imported culture - cigarettes, alcohol and fast food all being produced in their majority in the United States, or by US-based companies.
Cholesterol is a steroid, a lipid, and an alcohol, found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. Most cholesterol is not dietary in origin, it is synthesized internally. Cholesterol is present in higher concentrations in tissues which either produce more or have more densely-packed membranes, for example, the liver, spinal cord, brain and atheroma. Cholesterol plays a central role in many biochemical processes, but is best known for the association of cardiovascular disease with various lipoprotein cholesterol transport patterns in the blood.
The name originates from the Greek chole- (bile) and stereos (solid), as researchers first identified cholesterol (C27H45OH) in solid form in gallstones.
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“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”
- — Mark Twain
“Human life needs superhuman health.”
- - Leonid S. Sukhorukov
"I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes."
- - Jo Brand
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
"No pain, no gain."
"Do not spend health to gain money, and then, do not spend money to regain health"
Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American quantum chemist and biochemist, widely regarded as the premier chemist of the twentieth century. Pauling was a pioneer in the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry, and in 1954 was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work describing the nature of chemical bonds. He also made important contributions to crystal and protein structure determination, and was one of the founders of molecular biology. Pauling received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 for his campaign against above-ground nuclear testing, becoming only one of four people in history to individually receive two Nobel Prizes. Later in life, he became an advocate for regular consumption of massive doses of Vitamin C. Pauling coined the term "orthomolecular" to refer to the practice of varying the concentration of substances normally present in the body to prevent and treat disease, and promote health.
Pauling was first introduced to the concept of high-dose vitamin C by biochemist Irwin Stone in 1966 and began taking several grams every day to prevent colds. Excited by the results, he researched the clinical literature and published "Vitamin C and the Common Cold" in 1970. He began a long clinical collaboration with the British cancer surgeon, Ewan Cameron, MD [5] in 1971 on the use of intravenous and oral vitamin C as cancer therapy for terminal patients. Cameron and Pauling wrote many technical papers and a popular book, "Cancer and Vitamin C", that discussed their observations. He later collaborated with the Canadian physician, Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD,[6] on a micronutrient regimen, including high-dose vitamin C, as adjunctive cancer therapy.
The selective toxicity of vitamin C for cancer cells has been demonstrated repeatedly in cell culture studies. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [7] recently published a paper demonstrating vitamin C killing cancer cells. As of 2005, some physicians have called for a more careful reassessment of vitamin C, especially intravenous vitamin C, in cancer treatment.
With two colleagues, Pauling founded the Institute of Orthomolecular Medicine in Menlo Park, California, in 1973, which was soon renamed the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. Pauling directed research on vitamin C, but also continued his theoretical work in chemistry and physics until his death in 1994. In his last years, he became especially interested in the possible role of vitamin C in preventing atherosclerosis and published three case reports on the use of lysine and vitamin C to relieve angina pectoris. In 1996, the Linus Pauling Institute moved from Palo Alto, California, to Corvallis, Oregon, to become part of Oregon State University, where it continues to conduct research on micronutrients, phytochemicals (chemicals from plants), and other constituents of the diet in preventing and treating disease.
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