Optimal Health and Wellness
Aaron-John P McDonald
COM/172
February 21, 2014
Robert Eakins

Optimal Health and Wellness
. A better understanding about how our bodies and minds function has been better observed by scientists and brought to the attention of the general public. Research has introduced three elements of health and wellness and how nutrition and fitness as active parts of our lives. Research has also discovered ways for preventing major diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Preventing awful effects in our environment and protecting the immune system is part of action plans researchers have discovered to play an important role in improved physical health and wellness.
Physical Health
It is important to get enough rest and sleep our body needs to rest to be able to function properly. Exercise is essential because it gives us strength, endurance, and a healthy body. That is why we should maintain a healthy weight so our body can fight other risk factors. Physical Health helps control weight and reduces the risk of Cardio-Vascular Disease (CVD) CVD disease (Donatelle, 2011). With exercise we can also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers. But most of all it increase our chances of living longer and having better emotional health.
Emotional Health
People who are emotionally healthy are able to handle life's challenges, build strong relationships, and recover from setbacks from life. It requires effort stability to build and maintain emotional health. When you improve your emotional health you are rewarding yourself with enjoyment of life. With good emotional health comes a sense of contentment, a purpose for living, and a reason to laugh and have fun. You learn how to deal with stress better and the ability to learn new things, adapting to change. Also you gain self-confidence and an increased vision of your social health.
Social Health Social health is the ability to interact in a social and live in social setting. When you are socially healthy you are able to deal with how to relate and deal with everyday challenges. Being able to socialize with other people and form healthy relationships is your first to a socially health. It has become really important because it can help you overcome sickness and other health concerns that put you a risk if you are not socially healthy. When you are happy on the inside there is a joy that shows on the outside. This also allows you to start improve your nutrition and fitness.
Nutrition and Fitness
These two areas can be the most important decisions of our lives. The decision that you make can cause you to shorten your life span or increase it. Eating right can make big difference in how you feel as well keeping your body in working order. Start by mapping what you know and give yourself a good idea which meals are good or bad for your overall health. Place the good meals on one side of paper and the bad on the other. Then make a list of the good meals you like to have to replace the bad meals on the list.

Problems understanding which items are good and bad for you are common. Completing research on healthy and not so healthy food items can increase knowledge about food groups. The internet is a good source of information as long as you view a reliable source. You can also discover recipes to make your meals taste good and also be a healthy decision. Also try and reward yourself with things that you would like such as trip of your choice or that once a month splurge on the meal of your choice. Making sure not to fall back into the habit or trend of the thing you are trying to change in the first place. Not that this might happen anyway. In fact most people try to change in thing in their life usually find themselves giving up. This is why one should create a plan that they can achieve and give themselves a chance to achieve the plan in steps so that it will not be so hard to make it to the end of the plan
Strategies for preventing each disease: cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular disease
Diabetes
According to the CDC, type 1 diabetes was previously known as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or IDDM for short ("Basics about Diabetes", 2013). Type 2 diabetes was labeled as just the opposite, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or IDDM ("Basics about Diabetes", 2013). Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 – 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Diabetes can result from poor genetics, poor health choices throughout life, malnutrition, infections, or other less than common illnesses. Preventing diabetes requires healthy eating habits, maintaining a range of healthy nutrition intake. Having a regular form of physical activity will also help in preventing the onset of diabetes as well as Cardiovascular Disease.
Cardio-vascular Disease Cardio-vascular disease, also referred to as CVD, refers to several conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels ("Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control", 2013). When speaking about CVD, the CDC states the most common type of heart disease in the United States is coronary artery disease which leads to heart attacks in most cases ("Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control", 2013). The World Health Organization claims the CVD is the leading cause of death globally, responsible for 30% of deaths worldwide ("Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control", 2013). Many factors attribute to the success of CVD. Tobacco use, poor diet, weight problems, and diabetes are attributing factors to CVD. Preventing CVD requires a healthy lifestyle that involves a nutritious diet, non-existent tobacco use, and regular exercise. Participating in those three elements will also diminish other factors that lead to CVD such as weight problems or high blood pressure and sometimes even cancer.
Cancer
National Cancer Institute defines cancer as a disease in which abnormal cells divide without control and have the ability to invade other tissues in the body ("What Is Cancer", 2013). Cancer has been found to be composed of many diseases and is normally named for the organ or cell in which the cancer begins ("What Is Cancer", 2013). Cancer can be developed through several factors including genetics and lifestyle choices. There are four primary habits that everyone should adopt to help prevent the development of cancer cells. Eating healthy, nutritious meals daily will not only help prevent cancer cells from developing, it will also help reduce chances of other potentially fatal diseases. Be active and participate in physical activity as much as possible. Do not consume tobacco or alcohol products which are known to be cancer stimulants. Keep your screenings up to date with your local physician in order to develop a healthy habit of knowledge and possibly have early detection.
Air Quality Humans in today’s society spend a great deal of time either in their home or at their workplace. There are approximately 20 to 100 potentially dangerous chemical compounds found in the air of the average American Home (Donatelle, Chapter 15, Environmental Health, 2011). Research has found that tobacco smoke is the leading cause of poor air quality found in most American homes but is not the only source of poor air quality (Donatelle, Chapter 15, Environmental Health, 2011). Sources of poor air quality also involve home heating through woodstoves and dirty furnace air filters, asbestos, formaldehyde, and radon (Donatelle, Chapter 15, Environmental Health, 2011). All of these produce potential air quality health hazards to the occupants of the home. Preventing air quality issues in your home is simple. According to the American Lung Association, the best ways to prevent air pollution is to make sure no one smokes tobacco inside, keep rain and groundwater outside, protect against radon, and ensure that anything burning gas is kept outdoors ("Preventing Problems", 2013). Small remodeling can also limit exposure to poor air quality in the home. Install and use exhaust fans in kitchens and bathroom that ventilate outdoors and install energy star windows that open in areas that potentially produce poor air quality ("Preventing Problems", 2013).
Mold Sickness Maintaining excellent air quality in today’s homes will have a positive impact on the health of the occupants. Another source of environmental effects of health found in homes is mold sickness. Mold is a substance that can be extremely toxic and is found in walls and floors of homes that has suffered from trapped moisture (Zisko, 2011). Mold sickness begins by appearing like a cold and small sinus infection (Zisko, 2011). This makes the diagnosis for mold sickness early extremely difficult since we experience these symptoms quite often, especially during cold season. These symptoms can get worse as exposure continues. Long term exposure can lead to asthma, vomiting, fatigue, and even sexual dysfunction (Zisko, 2011). Limiting mold exposure requires some minor maintenance. The Centers for Disease Control recommends keeping humidity levels in the home low or no higher than 50% ("Mold", 2013). They also recommend making use of proper ventilation and cleaning with bleach to kill the mold and the spores the mold produces ("Mold", 2013).
Protecting Our Immune System The immune system is a system of organs in our body that all function together to protect us from germs and other foreign bodies entering our system. The activities that take place every day help protect the immune system from getting weak or damaged. Proper dieting will help protect the immune system immensely. Maintaining healthy doses of proteins, vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids, minerals, and antioxidants will assist with protecting the foundation of a healthy immune system ("Protecting Our Immune System", 2010). Eating foods such as yogurt and fresh vegetables are the best source of energy for the immune system ("Protecting Our Immune System", 2010). Participating in regular exercise stimulates the immune systems natural cells to fight off bacteria ("Protecting Our Immune System", 2010). Relax and get enough sleep to charge the immune system, getting the cells ready to take on foreign invaders and destroy germs before they get the chance to enter the body by washing your hands ("Protecting Our Immune System", 2010).
Conclusion
Our understanding of the various health risks has assisted people with making health choices and plans to stay healthy throughout their lives. Preventing diseases such as cancer and diabetes requires a person to be knowledgeable about the elements of health and wellness. Enhancing our immune system requires a healthy diet along with preventing diabetes. Our health habits have a direct reflection on the individual health of every human being globally. Having the knowledge and creating an action plan will help every person live a happier and healthier life.

References

Basics about Diabetes. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/consumer/learn.htm
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Control. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.thecommunityguide.org/cvd/
Donatelle, R. (2011).
Health. The Basics, Green Edition. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/TOC.aspx?assetdataid=89df0d92-556e-4998-a144-5358c2ddf7b9&assetmetaid=24c25bf2-bed2-4e80-a82e-a009961d3604
How to Boost Your Immune System. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/flu-resource-center/how-to-boost-your-immune-system.htm
Mold. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mold/faqs.htm#high
Preventing Problems. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/home/healthy-air-at-home/prevent-problems.html
Protecting Our Immune System. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.fca.com/articles/6F280.html
What is Cancer. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/cancerlibrary/what-is-cancer
White, L. B. (2010). 12 Strategies to Strengthen Your Immune System. Retrieved from http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/strengthen-immune-system-z10m0vau.aspx?PageId=3#ArticleContent
Zisko, D. (2011).
What Are The Signs of Mold Sickness?. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/17223-signs-mold-sickness/