THE MAGIC PILL
Have you noticed that there are so many young people dying from preventable diseases?
In the United States for example, “each year, nearly 900,000 Americans die prematurely from the five leading causes of death, yet 20% to 40% of the deaths from each cause could be prevented,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found out.
I heard five young people died this past year. One who was only 21, died from a heart attack. I see patients bringing in their prescriptions for blood pressure; type II diabetes, heart diseases and I feel like sitting them down to tell them the naked truth!
Physical exercising is a miracle cure. It can reduce your risk of major illnesses, such as heart diseases, strokes, type II diabetes and cancer by up to 50% and lower your risk of early death by up to 30%.
Exercising will control your weight too. This is a guarantee unless you eat more than you exercise.
One would ask; what really counts as exercise?
Try and aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate and then vigorous exercise. Examples of moderate exercise would be; walking, cycling, take stairs instead of lifts or elevators, jogging and running.
Meanwhile, CDC’s study says that many of health risks are avoidable by making changes in personal behaviors. I, indeed, agree with the argument that other health risks “are due to disparities caused by the social, demographic, environmental, economic, and geographic attributes of the neighborhoods in which people live and work.”
They say age is wisdom, right? Late Nelson Mandela once said that: “Exercise is the key not only to physical health but to peace of mind.”
You don’t need redemption, just hit the gym or the streets and burn those calories. Need I say more?
Susan Mbabazi is a registered pharmacist in the UK.
