Corona Virus: "Prevention is Our Preparation"

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The recent spread of the coronavirus which has been declared by the World Health Organization as a global outbreak that has killed more than a hundred people in china is a calling to every person in the world to be of utmost prevention from contracting the epidemic. At this point in time, it is not only about wearing a face mask (surgical or N95) which determines the quality of our health and wellness, but also practicing the proper hygiene and boosting the immune system to fight such kind of virus.

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Disclaimer: The following contents that I'm gonna share with you are consolidated information based on stock knowledge, research, blog posts, web-based knowledge and the like. All relevant information and excerpts that will be used shall be given credit and that the sole purpose of this blog post is to spread the information about the coronavirus.

According to Wikipedia "A virus is a small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses can infect all types of life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea". When a virus enters the body, it would replicate to multiply and invade healthy cells. Well, this kind of virus targets the respiratory system of its victim. It is believed that the virus originated from a person who ate a bat soup.

Unlike bacterias, viruses cannot be killed by antibiotics, which means that our immune system is our main hope. This immune system is an army of immune cells that roam inside us searching for any foreign body that may cause disease. It eats bacterias and viruses that enter our body but sometimes it's difficult to fight the ones that are seen for the first time which is why vaccination is employed. Vaccination is the process of injecting harmless or dead viruses for the purpose of enabling the immune system to know the virus well and creates antibodies so that when the true virus enters the body, the immune system is well prepared for fighting the virus itself.

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The strength of our immune system depends on our mood, proper sleep, fitness through regular exercise and even the foods that we eat. According to the economic times, "Doctors say that something as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables can increase your immunity". 

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Another thing to always do in the prevention phase is proper hygiene. Wearing of face mask is advised on crowded areas especially within a vicinity where a person or people are confirmed to have contracted the virus. Washing the hand with water then alcohol or sanitizer is a great way to kill the virus. As the saying cites, "Prevention is better than cure", we shall prepare, and our preparation would definitely be PREVENTION.

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Let us all pray that this virus is wiped out as soon as possible, and let us also pray for those that were infected. God Bless.

Wellness in Yogurt

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Gut health is definitely one of the most important things that every one of us should be aware of. During my elementary school days and even in high school, trouble with my tummy often comes up with my morning breakfast. Whenever I drink milk, my stomach doesn't fail to express its wrath. This experience in the past is definitely uncomfortable especially when there are times that I've got to go to field trips or travel.

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But as the days have gone by, I've learned to use curiosity about what lies behind this stomach mood swing. Until I found out through research about the word "lactose intolerance", that there are real people who are born with a stomach that makes it hard to break down the lactose in milk which may result in diarrhea. And so I became conscious about how I can sustain the health of my tummy. I started reading for articles and made researches on foods that improve gut health. This is when I came across with Yogurt. 

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By definition, Yogurt is cultured milk, which means it has gone through fermentation. If we can remember our biology subject on our high school study, through fermentation, the bacterias which are the main component of the process produce lactic acid which is exactly what made the fermented milk sour. And this taste makes yogurt the uniqueness that makes those who taste it for the first time to come back over and over again. Don't worry because these bacterias in yogurt are the good ones and they will aid in digestion and in keeping the gut healthy. 

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Thus I hope this information has spread awareness on how we can keep our tummy happy because it is one of the important factors of the quality of our health and wellness.

Staying Fit off the Gym

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The time we graduate from college and finds work, an important facet of our health and wellness which is staying fit seems to be a big challenge. Many people will say that they don't have time to go to the gym to pull the weights and gain that bump in their arms. Well actually, I myself seem to find it hard to convince myself to have a strict schedule of being active in keeping the body fit. This is why I would want to discuss ways to help the body stay fit even at home to spread awareness. This presentation is based on my research from personal experience and observations, different studies, blogs, and web-based knowledge.

So here are some of the work-outs that anyone can do to stay fit even off-gym. 

But first, let me remind you that before any exercise or work-out, stretching is highly recommended.

1. Planking - This posture resembles a push-up assume position and one of my favorites when having my home work-out. The goal of this exercise is to enhance core strengths. You will definitely feel a kick on your stomach. According to azcentral, "increased core strength protects a person's back from injury".

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2. Push-ups - This exercise helps to strengthen the upper body muscles. The exercise itself works as if you are lifting your upper body against the floor. According to some studies, push-ups can prevent health and neck pain

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3. Sit-ups - For those who want to flex that bun-like bump on their tummy, definitely sit-ups should be one of your routines. This exercise enhances abdominal muscle and also increases a person's endurance.

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4. Squat - This exercise tries the strength of the lower body. According to Peak Fitness powered by Mercola, "squatting helps the body to gain mobility and balance".

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5. Jumping Jacks and Burpee - from of all the previous exercise, these ones would need a little bit more of movement which I am sure would definitely sweat your shirt.

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Doing all of these in a regular basis would be a great way to sustain a kind of fitness that is an important part of our health and wellness - well I would like to add it as a P.S that excess salts in the body are also released through sweat.

A Healthy Mind through Meditation

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Nowadays, our health and wellness do not only rely on the foods that we eat, the fluids that we drink, the exercises that we do or the vitamins that we take. 

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True wellness of oneself also includes a healthy mind - a mind that is free from stress, negative thoughts, and depression. Based on a saying about how our thoughts can become our destiny, we can conclude that the thought which comes from the mind is where our habits start. Thus we ought to have a healthy mind. 

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But the question is How can we attain the latter? to this end let me share my number one recommendation in having a healthy mind. This is called "Meditation". I have read many articles on many websites about the benefits of meditation to the health of the mind most of them are proven and backed by science. So here are some of the takeaways which helped me establish a sound mind supported by a profound sense of Fear in God.

1. Relieves Stress - By practicing the act of keeping the mind in complete stillness, the unwanted thoughts that often come over and over again are flushed like waste from the toilet.

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2. Improves Focus - Because of our restlessness from handling our everyday tasks, we come to appear as a computer with overloaded RAM with which is confusion inevitable. But through meditation, as we deeply program our mind in the rhythm of stillness, our focus on doing one thing at a time is significantly harnessed.

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3. Increases Pain Tolerance - Since while meditating, relaxation is attained by the mind by the body as a whole, pain is kept at bay. In fact, according to ScienceDaily, "Meditation could be a cheaper alternative to traditional pain medication, study suggests"

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4. Makes a person happier - After relieving the stress, flushing out the unwanted thoughts, and relaxing the body as a whole, surely a person can be happier.

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So after reading this, you may want to go somewhere quiet even inside your house and start establishing a healthy mind of yours like never before.

The Power of Meditation

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In this world full of stressful things compromising our health and wellness, thinking of ways that will help us break the chain of such annoyance and at times - mind-blowing headaches is for some an elixir of youth to seek. Thus, a desire to free oneself from such stresses which is a natural thing is an item to everyone's bucket list.

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I myself have been in such a place. It was during my college life that I had so many stressful experiences that at some point I would sigh the words, "I need a breather". Well, I know that all of us in this world do have our own burden carrying within ourselves. Perhaps the difference would just be a matter of how we present our mindset before such burdens and stresses and how we discipline our mind to remain calm and unshaken when the tempest comes. So to cut the story short, what I am trying to share with you right now is how to keep the stress away using the power of meditation.

By definition, meditation is a state of mindfulness - it is a kind of calmness that is way beyond sitting in a comfy couch. It's a retreat when an indescribable point of serenity resonates within one's soul. I am trying to describe the feeling emphatically because I myself have experienced it.

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So how do we meditate? First, try to find a place where no one would distract you (especially your Mother-in-law). Then sit with your legs crossed and your right hand resting at the other - exactly what monks do. Then close your eyes, inhale then exhale, do not think of anything..., hear only the sound of the wind..., the chirp of the birds..., the flow of water in the nearby river. Mind your breathing, Inhale then exhale. Focus on the breathing and think that you are in a wide field touched by the softest clouds. At the highest point, you will attain a state of complete and deep stillness - a state that will break the chain of gloom and negativity that held you for so long. And you will have a freeing kind of feeling as if you are a bird who escaped from a cage.

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Meditation is the second most powerful thing next to prayer. It is a mirror where anyone can reflect and understand that the battles within oneself can be defeated through calmness. So if you are thinking to end your life, the first thing I would ask of you is to pray to God, then go somewhere quiet, find yourself through meditation and you will realize that the Almighty gave us the power to overcome things and one of which is a tool called "calmness".

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