Ok, let's take a look at some of the biggest drains on the NHS and, equally, two of the main reasons that people look to make claims on their private health insurance: heart disease and cancer.
These are scary words and often fill people with dread to hear them. Patients often think they are facing a death sentence but thanks to modern medicine this isn't always so. There is also much we can do to help ourselves, either before or after a diagnosis.
Prevention will always be better than cure but it's not always easy to push ourselves when our lives are so busy generally. However, there are some aspects to looking after our health which should come quite easily.
First of all, the obvious: reducing cholesterol in our diets will prevent it building up around our vital organs and in our brains, reducing the chances of stroke and heart attack. Cholesterol is a fatty substance made by the liver from certain fats in your diet. It is essential for a healthy body - until you get an overload. To help ourselves we can add to our diet some great super foods that will work to reduce our cholesterol and should be seen as 'heart friendly foods'.
Fish contains Omega 3 fatty acids and eaten four times a week will help to thin the blood and regulate the rhythm of the heart. Fruit and vegetables - yes, that old favourite of all health gurus - five portions a day will help to reduce blood pressure and a handful of almonds each day can lower cholesterol due to the monounsaturated fats.
If you, or more to the point your friends, can stand it, two or three cloves of garlic a day assist in the elasticity of the arteries as well as lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. For those who love to treat themselves, a small glass of red wine and 100g of dark chocolate every day could help to strip out cholesterol and reduce blood pressure also.
These are not difficult measures to take in the fight against heart disease - in fact, they can be quite a pleasure. Efforts to reduce your cholesterol will not only improve the health of your heart, they will also have the knock on effect of ensuring you have less overall body fat.
When it comes to cancer, this can also be affected by our habits. According to a team of researchers at the University of California at Massachusetts, smoking is related to up to 70 per cent of ALL cancers, not just lung cancer. They claim this comes from passive smoking as well as direct smoking. Therefore, avoiding smoky atmospheres, a lot easier now with the ban on smoking in public areas, will reduce our risks of cancer of all types.
Tanning is another controversial issue surrounding the incidents of skin cancer. It has been suggested that even one incident of sun burn can lead to skin cancer later in life, yet people, particularly women, continue to put their health at risk for the superficial looks that come with a suntan.
Sunbeds were thought to be a cause of skin cancer yet there are many benefits to the health of getting UVA and UVB rays. This will help us to make vitamin D - essential for our health. The problem comes, as with many things, when we overdo it and don't protect ourselves. Applying an appropriate sunscreen will ensure we get all the goodness the sun has to offer without the drawbacks.
Author Resource:-
Shaun Parker is a leading medical expert with many years of experience in the cardiology department. Find out more about health insurance at http://www.health-on-line.co.uk
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