Text 9 health: a game of skill or a game of chance?

When your doctor asks about hereditary health conditions that have affected family members, what illnesses come to mind? Do you consider only those diseases that have purely a genetic cause, such as sickle cell anemia, Huntington Disease, muscular dystrophy, or cystic fibrosis?

The truth is you should be considering many health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, forms of arthritis, mental illnesses, abnormal reactions to anesthetic medications, vision and hearing disorders, immune system deficiencies, chemical dependence such as alcoholism, and many others. Experts claim that as many as 1/3 to 1/2 of all health conditions such as these that affect man have a genetic component...a genetic connection if you will. Most of these conditions are classified as multifactorial disorders, meaning that both genetic and environmental factors play a part in their occurrence.

But does it mean that if there are disorders which run in our family we will not be able to escape them? Identifying these conditions a doctor can prescribe preventive measures to help avoid them, states Dr. Joseph Thompson from DePaul Health Center in St. Louis, Mo. “Taking the time to trace your family's health history can offer a lifesaving picture of your future. If people would take a proactive role with their health, many could live 15 years longer.”

So, knowledge of our family’s medical history is vital in helping doctors determine our risk of developing a disease. Once risks are known, prevention can begin. The doctor can then prescribe an individualized diet and lifestyle changes, and/or ordering medication to help prevent or delay the development of a disease to which one is predisposed because of heredity.

All of this is like a thrilling game. Like poker, perhaps. We have no option but to take up the cards issued to us. They cannot be changed, but we can learn to play with great skill – and perhaps win.

The game has been going on for centuries. Your great-great-grandfather took it up when he shuffled his cards containing ancestral genes with your great-great-grandmother’s cards. Innumerable genes are mixed up at each mating: the good ones preserved, the harmful ones – ousted or be revealed in your generation, but the genes go on and on. The vast majority of human beings are given good cards and often indifferent cards can be turned into winners. In this game of health there are many unforeseeable chances.

But what are the practical rules for healthy living? The formula of a healthy lifestyle cannot be put into words – it can only be practiced. Some people break so-called health rules every day and escape punishment and we all have conscientious friends who are literally obsessed with health and don’t live any longer in the end.

Actually, there are some principles which can help to counteract the harmful genes. The first and foremost is love in childhood. Parents’ love is the ideal soil for a human seed to grow. As recent studies show, much ill health originates when this love is, for some reason, denied. Thus, American students who reported a lack of affection in their family were much more prone to serious illness than those who felt being loved by both parents.

Another factor is nutrition – with all elements in proper proportion.

Next comes environment – air we breathe in, water and especially food we consume.

Stress makes an essential part of our life – but the art of living is to prevent stress becoming strain. A healthy organism can withstand overwork, fatigue, anxiety, microbes – up to a certain point, after which it “hits back”. Several studies have linked job strain and general demoralization to a great risk of heart disease, though the relationship is less causal than other lifestyle factors, like smoking. So, we have to learn by experience our own risk threshold and, if stress takes a toll on our life, learn to cope with it.

A personal belief is the most important element in healthy living, it is some faith in life which mobilizes our faculties and makes the most of them. People who are emotionally healthy are in control of their emotions and behavior. They are able to handle life’s inevitable challenges, build strong relationships, and lead productive, fulfilling lives. When bad things happen, they’re able to bounce back and move on. Unfortunately, too many people take their mental and emotional health for granted – focusing on it only when they develop problems. But just as it requires effort to build or maintain physical health, so it is with mental and emotional health. The more time and energy you invest in your emotional health, the stronger it will be. The good news is that there are many things you can do to boost your mood, build resilience, and get more enjoyment out of life.

Perhaps these health principles seem too theoretical, but they are golden rules which can stretch our powers, powers to fight against harmful genes.

Finally, the pursuit of health is a marvelous game, but it’s only a game. Health should never become a wholetime occupation. The person who makes health his god has lost it already, and this “god” will be deaf to his prayers.

(compiled from http://www.health.com/health)