Students charged to observe healthy living habits

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Mr Richard Avadetsi, Deputy Director of Nursing Services in charge of the Psychiatry unit of the Bawku Presbyterian Hospital on Tuesday urged Senior High School Students to observe healthy living habits to avoid mental illnesses.

Mr Avadetsi asked the students to eschew the habit of smoking Indian hemp, (Wee), abuse of drugs such as Tramadol, “Ataryar” and excessive alcohol consumption among others, and said indulging in such habits was harmful to the human body and could lead to mental illness.

Mr Avadetsi said observing healthy lifestyles such as personal hygiene, good eating habits, physical exercises to promote high body performance, good personal relations with people in society among other things would foster perfect body efficiency to prevent any forms of mental illnesses.

Mr Avadetsi made the call during an outreach programme to some educational institutions in Bawku to create Awareness on mental health diseases and to mark the National Mental Health day on the theme: “Depression and Suicide: Let’s talk about mental health”.

Addressing students of the Bawku Technical Institute, Bawku Senior High School and the Bawku Senior High Technical School and some basic educational institutions in the area, Mr Avadetsi pointed out that good mental health had relevance on academic work because as far as the mind was stable, one could absorb the lessons taught in class and would perform better academically.

He mentioned that the negative effects of substance abuse were enormous on the individual, and said it would inject instability and inconsistencies into the individual which could form part of the mental disorders.

Mr Avadetsi hinted that schizophrenia, anxiety, generalized seizure, dementia, delirium, bipolar Parkinson’s, anorexia, bulimia elevoorsa, autism, nocturnal enuresis, depression, and suicide among others were forms of mental illnesses and that much attention must be given to people who suffer such disorders.

He urged the students to adopt the habit of going in for routine mental checkups and report any form of mental illnesses to the nearest psychiatrist for attention.

Mr Avadetsi urged the students to focus on their studies and said that would be the best way to become good human resource to the development of the country.

First Lady launches supplement programme to improve girls’ nutrition

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As part of efforts to reduce the high prevalence of anaemia among girls, First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo has launched the Girls’ Iron and Folic Acid supplementation (GIFTS) programme, at Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The GIFTS programme, initiated by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) would run in phases with the first targeting about 360,000 in-school adolescent girls and close to 600,000 out of school girls, in four of the regions.

Launching the initiative, Mrs Akufo-Addo noted that was a serious public health problem that affected women, adolescent girls and children.

Mrs Akufo-Addo said since most adolescents did not have access to information on, it was important to reach out to them through school teachers, school principals, youth clubs and health workers in the community in order to achieve better results.

She entreated all stakeholders to support the programme to ensure its success by becoming champions of the initiative to help reduce prevalence in Ghana.

She disclosed that current data indicated that four in 10 women were anaemic in Ghana; with about half of all adolescent girls and pregnant women also being anaemic.

She explained that in adolescents, limited their development, learning ability, reduced their concentration in daily tasks, increased their vulnerability to dropping out of school and reduced their physical fitness and work productivity; generally depriving adolescent girls of the ability to attain their fullest potential.

She said: “If for any unfortunate reason an anaemic adolescent girl becomes pregnant, she has a higher risk of delivering a premature baby, a low birth weight baby or even tragically dying during or after delivery.”

In the light of these risk factors, the First Lady said that the problem of in adolescent girls should be treated with urgency, while the required investment in their nutrition be made.

Expert had noted, she said, that though the best solution to in adolescent girls, was to give them nutrient-rich food with additional meat, liver, chicken, egg or fish, it was also important to supplement that by providing the girls with iron foliate supplements routinely for immediate health and developmental benefits.

These supplements, she indicated, would help improve iron stores, which in turn helped them stay alert in class, and have the energy to perform physical activities both at school and at home.

The First Lady explained that experts had assured that the GIFTS programme was highly cost-effective but the benefits far outweighed the costs.

“When we invest in adolescent nutrition now, they will stay in school longer, perform better in school and ultimately we will create a more productive labour force, which is a crucial precondition for economic development,” she noted.

She said the success of GIFTS also “depends on effective and sustained communication through multiple channels on the benefits and safety of the supplements to ensure greater acceptance and adherence to supplementation schemes as well as allay fears about possible side effects.”

5 foods to deal with heart diseases

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The reason heart disease has become so common is that of poor lifestyle choices, including a poor diet. Junk food can contribute to the onset of heart disease. The good news is that, since a poor diet can cause heart disease, a healthy, balanced diet can help you avoid it. Want to reduce your risk of developing heart disease?

These foods should be shared by Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, help.

Nuts

Nuts contain lots of fibre, which helps to keep your heart healthy. They are rich in vitamin E, which is known to reduce bad cholesterol.

Avocado

Avocado is a versatile food. It is a go-to food if you want to prevent heart diseases. Your heart will certainly thank you when you start eating Avocado. It is beneficial for your heart’s health.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is super important for your heart’s health. It can be eaten with all kinds of nutritious fresh fruit and grains.

Dark chocolate

Dark chocolate can reduce your risk of stroke and heart attacks. It’s because of its cocoa content. Dark chocolate contains what is known as flavonoid, and it’s these compounds which ease blood pressure, reduce inflammation and prevent clotting. However, do not overdo it.

Red wine

Red wine is another self-indulgent treat you can enjoy as you look to protect your heart. It contains resveratrol, which has been found to reduce heart disease risk.

Blueberries

One of the chief causes of heart disease and a heart attack is inflammation. It’s essentially what heart disease is – inflamed artery walls. The more inflamed they are, the more at risk of a heart attack you are. The good news is that inflammation can be tackled by blueberries. It is rich in antioxidants that battle inflammation.

Soy

Soy can also lower blood pressure in individuals who are eating too many refined carbs. It is rich in healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are rich in potassium and contain micro nutrient that’s good for your heart. They’re also loaded with lycopene, a vital antioxidant that keeps your blood vessels open and reduces bad cholesterol levels