The aspects that influence integral health, mental and physical, can be grouped into four broad categories: biological factors, environmental factors, factors related to lifestyle, and medical health care.
Health is not only the absence of disease, but the existence of physical and psychological well-being that allows people to enjoy life. Therefore, this requires biological-genetic conditions, an environment that is not harmful, a healthy lifestyle that does not destroy health, and medical care to prevent and solve possible problems..
We are going to look at each of these factors:
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Different environmental factors, both physical and social, can significantly influence your life, causing various diseases.
The degree of pollution in the air you breathe and the water you drink or use for cooking influence your health. The presence of radiation, heavy metals, pesticides, viruses and bacteria in the environment in which you live can cause up to 20% of diseases.
Among the most common pollutants are the following:
Ionizing radiation. One of the clearest examples is the ultraviolet rays of the sun. This type of radiation can damage the DNA of your cells and cause premature aging of tissues and skin cancer..
Radiation caused by radioactive minerals or residues from nuclear power plants is also capable of causing a wide range of diseases..
Temperature variations. Since your body is homeothermic, that is, it has a constant temperature, changes in environmental temperature can cause various disorders.
Noises. The noise level in your work environment, in your city or at home can also negatively influence your health, causing stress, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, increased cardio-respiratory rhythm, etc..
Air pollutants. Especially in large cities, it is common for the air to be polluted with carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides or particles. If you breathe polluted air, you can have serious respiratory problems.
Contaminants in the water. The residues present in the water, such as fecal coliforms, nitrates, phosphates and heavy metals can also be very harmful to your health.
Poverty, unemployment, ignorance and poor cultural development are also factors that influence your state of health. Socio-economic status is believed to be an important factor in this regard.
The work activity and the corresponding economic income favor social integration, while poverty and unemployment can cause situations of social marginalization, which negatively influence and can cause stress and mental disorders.
On the other hand, cultural factors condition behavior in various aspects that can affect your emotional health, for example, discrimination based on race, religion or sex..
Family and social life and the feeling of belonging to a group are also important aspects of a person's health.
It is believed that the lifestyle you lead has a 50% influence on the state of your health. And these factors are totally up to you.
It is your choice to lead a healthy lifestyle or do the opposite. Here are the main lifestyle factors that directly influence your health.
A balanced diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables with a controlled intake of refined sugars and saturated fat promotes good health..
If you have adequate nutrition, you will have less risk of suffering type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer, among other chronic diseases.
Surely you have also read in many places that regular physical activity helps prevent diseases.
Well, it is very true. Activities such as a daily 30-minute walk or aerobic gymnastics sessions twice a week help prevent overweight and obesity, and improve the state of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, also improving immunity.
Addiction to tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs can undoubtedly cause you various diseases.
In addition, other addictive behaviors such as gambling - gambling - or compulsive shopping can also have a very negative influence on your life and therefore also on your health.
Risk behaviors in sexual relationships (having multiple partners and maintaining relationships without adequate protection against sexually transmitted diseases), as well as risky behaviors in other aspects, such as when driving a vehicle, are undoubtedly factors that can influence health of any individual.
Biological factors are inherent to each organism in particular and you will hardly be able to change this aspect. Surely you have noticed that some people seem to be more resistant to certain diseases, while others get sick much more often.
This may have to do with how strong your immune system is. Some people get colds frequently, while others hardly ever. It is also known that certain characteristics in cell receptors or in the production of certain substances in the brain can cause disease.
These are biological aspects that you cannot control. On the other hand, there are also genetic predispositions to suffer certain diseases.
While it is true that your lifestyle is often the one that can trigger a condition to which you are genetically predisposed, it is believed that biological factors influence your general health by 20%.
Studies indicate that the medical care you receive has a 10% impact on your overall health. The quality of the service, as well as its availability, accessibility and costs are the main aspects that determine the medical care you receive..
Of all the factors that influence health, 50% correspond to different aspects related to lifestyle. Therefore, at least half of your health is in your own hands..
Follow a healthy lifestyle and in this way you can significantly improve your feeling of general well-being.
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