A Toast To Your Health

Written by Neill Abayon

Health is a precious gift from God. To safeguard it as best as we can is part of the stewardship of life. The world Helath Organization (WHO) defines health as a "state of complete physical,mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
Good health from our perspective is more than just quantity of life. It is a quality of life with eternity in view.
Many factors affect our health such as the environment,heredity, our diet and lifestyle. While very little can be done to alter heredity, reforms can be made on those other factors which will decisively enhance our welfare. We should, for example, support RA 8749 on the Philippine Clean Air Act. The Department of Health reports that some 18,000 people die yearly due to respiratory diseases "directly caused by poor air quality and exposure to pollutants."
Tobacco smoke is another hazardous pollutant. We can also help eradicate vectors through the proper disposal of garbage, and the practice of sanitation and hygiene. This is so crucial at a time when a dramatic increase in new microbial threats is being observed. According to the WHO, "a number of bacteria strains have become resistant to medicines, and human has modified our ecological and social environment in ways that facilitate the emergence and re-emergence of microbes. As a result, at least 30 new disease-causing organisms have been identified in the past 20 years."
Make health a priority in your life. Cut down on fats and sugar intake. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Don't smoke or drink alcohol. Avoid stress, take adequate rest. Aim higher than just material bliss. A good quote on a wall at Bacolod Sanitarium and Hospital says it well - We squander health in search for wealth, we toil, we sweat, we save - then we squander wealth in search for health and only we find the grave!