How Should Communities Be Educated About Nutrition and Diet?

It’s a serious issue that the world is facing right now; however, because it has never been considered much of a threat, people are lackadaisical in their attitude towards the need for health and fitness. Take a look around – we are a nation of excesses; most of our adults and more than half our kids are overweight or obese; we smoke and drink like there’s no tomorrow; we don’t give exercise the respect it should command; we’re happy to fill up on junk food and sugary drinks because that’s the easiest thing to do; and most important of all, we fail to see the damage we’re causing to our bodies and minds by this sedentary and hedonistic lifestyle we lead.

The problem with advancing in terms of quality of life is that we become less active than before; and with more and more conveniences opening up, we tend to eat what’s available and ready rather than make the effort to buy healthy ingredients and cook our meals at home. We don’t understand that by doing this, we’re not just hastening our journey to ill health and disease, we’re also bestowing upon our children an unenviable legacy of obesity, lethargy and sickness. In order to prevent a further slide down the slippery slope of disease and illness, it’s time we did something about educating communities about the importance of following a diet that’s nutritious and healthy.

The first step to community education about nutrition and the right diet must come from healthcare centers like family clinics and hospitals – when people visit their family physicians for general checkups and for treatment for diabetes and other lifestyle related diseases, they must be counseled on the importance of adhering to a diet that is low in calories and fat and rich in nutrition. They must also be warned of the dangers of smoking, alcoholism, stress and other detrimental factors to health – besides wreaking havoc on the human body, they also prevent it from absorbing the nutritive value in food.

Other ways to educate the general community about nutrition and diet are through schools – by teaching the children, it’s easier to gain access into homes and force the parents to change their way of life too. Schools must set a health-first policy where healthy food is served in the cafeteria and students are encouraged to bring nutritious snacks and lunches that include wholesome food and fruits and vegetables instead of spending money on fast food and sodas.

Churches and other places where religious gatherings are held also come in handy when it comes to educating communities. Worship sessions can culminate in discussions that encourage the congregation to eat healthier food and thereby lead healthier lives.

We are what we eat, so unless we bring about a drastic change in our diets, we’re heading on a sure path to disease and destruction.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of online degrees. She welcomes your comments at her email id: anna.miller009@gmail.com

Comments from Cyn Bagley - editor of Sierra Sage: For those of you with chronic disease, you do have another resource for nutrition and health. Ask your doctor about getting a referral to a nutritionist. A nutritionist can help you find out what foods are necessary to keep you healthy. These professionals have a better understanding about food and nutrition than your doctor.

Severe Vasculitis: After 40 Years, Researchers Identify Possible New Treatment

Excerpt from article:

"Although the two therapy regimens were equally effective in reducing patients' disease activity overall, our results indicate that rituximab is superior to cyclophosphamide in inducing remission for patients experiencing a disease flare," comments Dr. Specks.

Read the full article here.

My Analysis: Finally a drug regimen that can help folks who flare on the disease. Even though rituximab does have side-effects, they are less harsh than cyclophosphamide (used to be called cytoxan). I am extremely excited about this research.

From talking to people who have taken this treatment, in most cases the vasculitis subsides quickly with little organ damage. In my case I have a lot of kidney damage caused by the disease. Some of the damage was caused while the doctors were trying to get the disease under control.

I am so happy and hope more researchers work with this drug so that we can use it to keep our disease under control. At this time rituximab is not considered a treatment drug for ANCA type vasculitis i.e. Wegener's, Churg Strauss, and others.