1. 4Learn the law
of liquids
More water, less alcohol. Water is essential
for rehydration and for flushing out the toxins from our
digestive systems. It’s not good to have waste hanging
around the bowels too long. Drinking enough water helps
ward off constipation. Alcohol in moderation is beneficial,
but we all know the problems that overindulgence can
cause. The liver, the brain, the pancreas, the digestive
system – alcohol is a friend to none of these, and the list
goes on. This warning may have come a month too late,
but today’s a new day, a new year. I won’t say it’s never too
late because it may well be, since drinking too much can
cause lasting, irreparable damage to vital organs. It’s all very
well being a ladette, but we don’t have to compete with
men in the booze arena. Scientists have proved that our
bodies can’t take it. As far as gender combat goes, there
are safer ways to go head to head.
Dr Wendy
110
S
o this is 2008. It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating the turn of the Millennium, and now we’re eight years in already. I bet
that when Big Ben chimed all those years ago, you were more determined than ever to honour your promises. That was before you realized
that New Year didn’t automatically mean “new you”. This year, don’t just make New Year’s resolutions; make new-life resolutions.
Top
Health
Tipsfor
Embrace
the fact that
exercise is crap
It makes you sweaty, it makes you knackered,
and you pull funny ugly faces while you’re doing it.
Why would any self-respecting lady indulge in such an
activity? This year you’re strong enough to cope with all
that. Exercise the demon fat. High blood pressure, heart
attacks and strokes are just not nice. The post-workout
buzz you get from exercise is really quite addictive.
The sense of achievement can be rejuvenating.
2008 should be the year you start your
reinvention.
Step outside
your mental
comfort
zone
The mind wants to be stretched, but
we get to a certain age and use it as
an excuse to stop making friends.
Part of leading a successful life is not
only remaining socially active but
remaining socially challenged. Keep
old friends, but also make new ones.
There’s an old saying that goes: small
minds discuss people, average minds
discuss events and great minds
discuss ideas. Take your mental
gymnastics beyond su doku and
crosswords. To discuss ideas keeps
your brain fit and healthy.
o
n
r
of
2008
1
3
2Exercise your free speech
Are you still puffing proudly in the face of the government ban
on smoking? Well, stop it. Don’t be so childish. You don’t have to
keep on ruining your health just to prove that you have the right to choose.
Seriously, though, it’s like every other addiction. I know how difficult it can
be to stop, but you have to admit it does make your breath stink – and you
know that’s not the worst of it. It is a free country, but bear in mind that it
may be quite difficult to shout about free speech when you lose your voice
box to laryngeal cancer or when you’re so breathless from lung cancer,
asthma or emphysema that you can’t even finish a sentence. If you continue
to stamp your foot in protest, saying that you should not be denied life’s
slim little pleasures, then be willing to accept that you could be drawing that
life to an agonizing premature end.
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2. 6Accept that
diet is not a
dirty word
Washing, peeling, coring, cutting
– old-fashioned vegetables are
a bit of a faff, but nowadays
we’ve got smoothies and all sorts
of options. The manufacturers
are forever telling us that it all
counts: dried, frozen, canned,
juiced. This leaves little excuse
for not reaching the five-a-day
target. Ah, but if only fruit and
veggies came in foil packaging
and felt like a snacky treat. Oh,
but wait a minute… they do! It’s
a poor substitute for a good old
bar of chocolate, I know, but the
benefits of a balanced diet with
plenty of fruit and veg number
too many even to list.
Dr Wendy
111
Adopt
a healthy
attitude
Although women consult
doctors more often than men, I think there are some
things they feel they are expected to shut up about and
put up with: period pains and urinary incontinence, to
name but two. Likewise, I think there are cultural differences
in our attitudes to disease. For example, cancer seems
to hold an inexplicable shameful status for some of our
countrymen, and mental illness is shrouded in mystery
with tales of Obeah, West Indian folk magic and
vindictive spells – none of which is helpful when
it comes to securing the help and support
a sick individual needs within our
communities.
Don’t just think… do
A determination to remain in control is linked to a long
life. This all links into positive thinking. I don’t really
think you can have positive thinking without positive
doing. I don’t completely buy into the “laws of attraction” school of
thought, which states that we manifest our problems by the power of
our own negative thought, but I do believe we have a role to play in
our own destinies. When it comes to health, we know that a positive
approach to life benefits the immune system, helping us in the fight
against disease. So much so, that it has been observed that cancer
sufferers with a positive frame of mind fare better than those who
take a defeatist approach. Of course, you can’t think yourself out of
all situations, and the more sh**ty things that happen during your
lifetime, the more negatively you may view things, but I will confess to
being a realist and can further admit that I practise active negativism.
That is, while accepting the very real possibility of a negative outcome
I forever toil towards the positive. In general, I think we’re better at
keeping promises to other people than we are to ourselves. We try our
best not to let our mates down, so why is it that we think we deserve
less? Be a friend to yourself; it’s not easy, and there are no guarantees,
but perhaps your body will thank you for it later.
Dr Wendy MBBS, is Pride’s resident doctor. She is a
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. She trained
at Royal Free and University College Medical School.
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