Anthony Chinedum: 7 Simple & Effective Ways to Stay Healthy in this Recession

Recession has finally hit Nigeria leaving us the citizens helpless and hopeless. It came amidst high rate of unemployment among youths and even the employed ones are so afraid of getting sacked .The high cost of goods in the market is alarming to an extent that even #5 cannot buy a candy sweet as of before.

Not minding the high cost of goods and products in the market, the numbers in the salaries of workers are not even moving an inche to reciprocate the increment in price of Goods. The rich and the poor are all affected as recession is respecter of no man. The long queue at the ATM stand will keep you wondering if these people are withdrawing their problems or money but truth be told no matter how much you have in your account it won’t fetch you much at the market, we all have recession to thank for that
No matter what happens we all need to stay healthy and stop blaming whoever is responsible for our problems. Money must be made money must be made; it is only when you are healthy. Never you be a victim of this situation, to avoid spending your wealth to buy back your health. Money can’t buy you health sometimes.
Therefore these practical and applicable tips will ensure we all stay healthy throughout this recession.

Eat at home
Eating at home is a step in good direction health wise and economic wise. Homemade meals are very rich in all the vitamins and minerals nature bestows it with. Most especially the fruits and vegetables (fluted pumpkin –ugu, Amaranthus –green) which the body needs for optimal functioning. Homemade meals are well prepared in a clean environment and technique that suite each food material thereby preserving every nutrient it gives. This is unlike what you find in restaurant where most of the foods prepared are made with synthetically manufactured products. Economic wise eating at home saves you some money. Imagine #500 can make you a nice meal at home but visiting a nearby restaurant a plate of rice costs up to #1050 to be exact.
Do the maths yourself when you eat out for a month in this kind economy. Are you Dangote?

Get a simple medical skill
Statistics from center for disease control shows that 3 out of 10 deaths are caused by hypertension and diabetes. Therefore acquiring simple skills on how to check your blood pressure yourself on daily basis will ensure you don’t fall prey to these. Early detection is the key of staying away from these mentioned diseases. Checking blood pressure or blood sugar level costs a whooping sum of #100 per session. So checking it at the pharmacy shop for a month you will realize you have spent almost #3000 out of the 2500 monthly salary. This is laughable right? So why not learn to do it yourself from a nurse in the hospital for a token when you get the instruments (spygmanomanometer for BP and Glucometer for sugar level). By so doing you have saved yourself from spending millions at the hospitals when you fall ill to stroke and heart attack.

Find time to exercise
In Nigeria, the general view is that only the fat or rich needs to exercise. Hell no! This is not right so far as you eat food, there got to be a way you shed off some consumed calories. If you consume a lot and don’t find time to exercise to shed off some fat definitely obesity is knocking at your door. This time not only obesity but diseases such as hearth relates conditions, diabetes atherosclerosis etc. Exercise do not necessary mean you hitting the gym ,in fact one of the best form of exercise is walking .Find time within the week or weekend to leave your car behind and walk down the street. Same applies to workers who sit down 24/7 at offices should take some break during work to walk around. More so at home if you can’t afford a workout session at the gym you can simply buy a skipping rope and skip or even do some sit-up exercise right there in your compound. Have you ever wondered why world richest man Mark Zuckerberg was seen jogging along Lagos Mainland Bridge? He wants to stay healthy.

Enroll in any free discount healthcare services
They say Awoof dey run belle, but in this case it doesn’t. Enrolling in any of the available healthcare services such as NHIS will fetch you free drugs and discounts in hospital bills when you visit government owned hospital. Don’t tell me all Government hospitals are bad, there are good ones my dear. Ask around being a member of NHIS you have to worry less of hospital bills allowing you to visit the hospital for regular checkups.

Get enough sleep
Even after eating right or exercising on daily basis or doing any of the above mentioned without getting enough sleep something is missing. The body needs enough sleep to stay healthy. That is why the world health organization recommends specific hour of sleep for every age. For example adults should have up to 6-7hours of sleep to remain healthy. Are you meeting that target?
The human system is compared to a computer system which has been in use for over a week without putting it off, surely in a nearest future the system is bound to crash. As simple as ABC sleep helps the body recover fully from the days stress and after each hour of sleep you feel revitalized and ready for work again. Don’t let this recession take over the time meant for taking a nap find time to have some rest.

Drink less of alcohol
Most men spend their life savings on a bottle of beer every day. It is fun quite alright but it is just trading your hard earned money for sickness. Alcohol consumption in moderation comes with its benefits so to enjoy these benefits which will help you stay healthy I advise you drink responsively. Drinking less of alcoholic drinks this period will keep you healthy as well as saving some cash for you.

Go all green
The first step to going all green is establishing a nice home garden. I miss those days when home garden is part of a house design at our homes. Now swimming pools and amusement parks have taken that space. With a home garden you are rest assures of fresh food stuffs in your home, one you can’t get in supermarkets. Bear in mind the “The natural it is the healthier it becomes”
Any time any day the key to staying healthy in this recession still remains maintain a good feeding habit and a healthy lifestyle.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Ross | Dreamstime.com