1. Entry slip: none
Unit 5 - Wellness
Lesson 5.1 Increase Awareness of Personal and
Family Wellness
(*) of Biology-McGraw-Hill Ryerson)
I. Terms:
a.Wellness: The being physically, mentally,
emotionally and socially healthy; free of
disease.
II. Awareness of Wellness:
The old saying goes: “If it ain’t broke,
don’t fix it.” Likewise, if we are not aware if
something is wrong, we may not know that
it should be fixed. Being aware of our
wellness helps us to understand areas of
our physical, mental, emotional and social
health that we can improve on to ensure a
longer and more fulfilling life.

2. Another old saying goes: “Where the mind
goes, the body will follow.” This connotes
that if we have a poorer mental/emotional/
social health, our physical health is doomed
to fail. As part of our overall wellness, we
should closely examine our mental/social
and emotional health. However, for this
lesson, as human anatomy and physiology is
the focus of the course, we shall just
analyze our physical wellness. More
information on mental/emotional/social
health can be found from our physical
education and psychology teachers at
DMCI.
III.Questions to ask ourselves:
a. Physical (Digestion and Nutrition)
i. Do I eat a good balance of the six
nutrients found in the four food
groups, according to the Canada Food
Guide?
ii. Do I eat proper amounts of foods,
according to the Canada Food Guide?

3. iii. Do I brush my teeth daily and go to
the dentist regularly (every 6
months)?
iv. Do I have a family history of diabetes?
v. Do I find ourselves making poor
dietary choices such as eating too
much and/or fad dieting?
b.Physical (Respiration)
i. Do I smoke, or do I work/live in an
area where others smoke?
A.If I smoke, do I have a goal to
quit?
ii. Do I work or live in an area where
there is a lot of dust/fumes in the air?
iii. Do I analyze my mucus that is
spit/sneezed out, knowing that any
yellow or green-coloured phlegm is
that colour due to the presence of
white blood cells? These WBC’s are
likely fighting an infection that should

4. be checked out by a doctor. Clear
mucus is normal.
iv. Do I ever have problems breathing,
such as after exercise or when going
into a cold environment? This could
be due to allergies and/or asthma.
c. Physical (Excretion)
i. Do I drink enough water every day
(urine is a light yellow colour)?
ii. Do I eat too much salt, according to
the Canada Food Guide?
iii. Do I every get muscle cramps in the
summer after exercise?
iv. Do I have a family history of kidney
failure, requiring hemodialysis or
kidney transplant?
d.Physical (Circulation)
i. Is my blood pressure normal (about
120/80 mmHg)?

5. ii. Do I ever get light-headed after
climbing stairs or light physical
activity?
iii. Do I know my blood type?
iv. Is my red blood cell count good or
low?
v. Do I ever feel my heart pounding or
skipping a beat, a.k.a. heart
arrhythmia?
vi. Do I have a family history of heart
and/or blood problems?
vii. Is my resting heart rate good (about
72 b.p.m. and lower) or is it much
above 80 b.p.m.?
e. Physical (Immunity)
i. Do I go to the doctor every time I do
not feel well, or do I let my body fight
off the common cold and flu without
resorting to medication?
ii. How do I decide WHEN I am going to
go the doctor because I am not

6. feeling well? How sick do I have to
be?
iii. Am I allergic to anything?
iv. Do I have a family history of any
allergies?
v. Am I up to date on my vaccinations?
When was the last time I asked my
doctor if I am up to date?
vi. Do I practice safe food handling
guidelines (refrigerate unused items/
do not cross-contaminate food with
knives used to cut raw meat, etc...)?
vii. Do I practice proper personal hygiene,
such as scrubbing the hands after
being in a rest-room/ showering or
bathing at least a few times a week/
etc...?
viii. Do I over-use hand sanitizers and/or
do I wash my hands too much,
knowing the anti-bacterial properties
of sweat and skin oil?

7. f. Physical (General)
i. Physically, do I feel “good”?
ii. Do I go for a yearly physical exam
with my doctor?
iii. Do I have a family doctor?
iv. Do I get regular exercise, aside from
physical education class? This can
include involvement with a
competitive or recreational sports
team, dancing group, running club,
military cadets organization and/or
very physically strenuous work
environment.
v. When I am sick or am injured, do I
seek help or do I just rely on my body
to heal itself?
vi. Am I comfortable presenting
questions to my doctor about any
sexual health concerns that I have, or
am I too shy?
vii. Do I have any physical health goals?

8. IV.Youtube search:
a.none
V. Homework:
a. Answer all of the thirty-five questions to
the best of your ability on a separate
piece of paper. Provide examples and lists
where indicated (i.e. lists of physical
activities I perform include...) I will check
these for a homework-check next class. I
will only look to see if you have all of
these questions completed and will not
look at particular answers, as these are
entirely personal.
b.You will use your answers as part of next
class’ assignment. Make sure you get this
accomplished and bring it with you to
next class.
c. Have a good day!