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BBC Learning - What Do Humans Need To Stay Healthy

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Staying Healthy During COVID-19: Maintaining Health During a Difficult and Stressful Time

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by Tyler Graf

For the tired and sick, the scared and weary, those affected by conflict and poverty, the new year comes shrouded in mystery-the next 12 months are uncertain. But if we remember that hope overcomes fear, that medicine heals sickness, that knowledge empowers communities, and that faith invigorates the spirit, we know our path forward and can boldly break barriers to health in the new year. Here are the 18 ways that we will work to keep the world healthy in 2018.

1. Vaccinations
Since their introduction into common medicine in the early 20th Century, vaccines have saved millions of lives throughout the world. Because they prevent diseases, vaccines are both effective and cheap, cutting health care costs wherever they're used.

The World Health Organization estimates that the measles vaccine alone has saved more than 20 million lives since 2000. Other serious diseases such as diphtheria and tuberculosis have also seen steep declines because of vaccination coverage. In today's world-where there are more refugees than ever before, millions of whom live in cramped, unhygienic conditions-vaccinations are invaluable in striking down disease outbreaks before they happen.

Visit a refugee settlement in Northern Uganda and you may meet Denis, a Medical Teams International health worker who specializes in immunizing South Sudanese refugees. His little syringes pack a powerful punch. And in 2018, they'll continue doing their job-saving lives.

2. Infant Survival Kits
These little brown boxes may seem nondescript. But look a little closer and you'll see how important they are.

Medical Teams International distributes Infant Survival Kits all over the world, wherever mothers need supplies to deliver their babies safely. The kits are cheap and effective, costing just $25 and ensuring that children have a safe start to life.

3. Health Information Program
Did you know that in southwest Uganda Medical Teams International has partnered with Cambia Health Solutions on a mobile app that tracks the health status of refugee patients? Developed by a joint IT team, the Health Information Program is works on Android devices and allows clinic workers to track diseases in real time, with all the information being stored in the digital cloud. No longer must health workers sift through mountains of paperwork. Using the app's analytics, clinicians can even predict when outbreaks will happen.

4. Syrian Refugee Outreach Volunteers
Refugees are not helpless victims. Many were educated professionals, business owners, or students who fled violence and persecution because they had no other option. They are incredibly capable people who want nothing more than to make a difference in their new communities.

In Lebanon, teams of trained Syrians work as Refugee Outreach Volunteers-roving health workers who make home visits to educate their neighbors, check on vulnerable people and, when necessary, refer patients to a clinic Medical Teams supports.

Refugee Outreach Volunteers include women like Hind, a mother of two who fled Homs more than four years ago. She is dedicated to helping refugees receive health care. One of her sons is partially paralyzed from a kidney problem and needs a transplant. Hind spends her days helping older refugees who suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes.

5. Oral Rehydration Solution
Dehydration caused by diarrheal diseases is a leading cause of death among children in developing countries. But there is a simple solution: Oral Rehydration Solution.

This is a powerful combination of glucose, electrolytes, and sodium chloride. The solution enables a person's intestines to efficiently absorb fluids over a more sustained period. It is the cheapest and most effective way of combating the scourge of dehydration.

6. Emergency Nutrition
Children in developing countries aren't simply hungry-too many suffer from varying degrees of malnutrition, the result of not having the right types of nutritious food to eat. In the countries where Medical Teams International works, malnutrition is endemic, which is why we monitor the growth of children to make sure they're healthy. When kids need a boost, emergency nutritional supplements are necessary.

In Uganda, we work with the World Food Program to distribute emergency supplements to kids like Monyjok, a little boy from South Sudan. Since being on the program, he has gained weight and energy.

7. Emergency Medical Services
In the United States, we take for granted that when we call 911 an ambulance will arrive with paramedics who will provide medical care on the way to the hospital. But in Myanmar and Nepal, where Medical Teams works with Emergency Medical Services responders, this has not been the case.

Working with local agencies in these countries, Medical Teams trains first responders on how to respond to emergencies, assess patients, and provide care on the way to hospitals.

8. Mothers' Groups
In developing countries, health and hygiene education is almost nonexistent, particularly in poor, rural communities. By bringing mothers together to learn about hygiene, the danger signs of certain illnesses, and what to do in the event of an emergency, you help these women gain insight into disease prevention.

9. Psychological Treatment in Turkey
War is traumatic-especially for children, who carry that trauma into adulthood. Psychological trauma is often called a hidden disease because the scars it leaves behind are hidden away from the untrained eye. Left untreated, psychological trauma will inhibit a person's growth and long-term happiness. In Turkey, we provide psychological treatment to the survivors of the Syrian civil war.

They're like Aliaa, a 14-year-old Syrian girl who spent four months trying to reach Turkey with her family nearly two years ago. Once in Turkey, she became withdrawn, saddened by what she'd gone through and her life as a refugee. But after seeing a psychiatrist, he behavior improved. Now she's happy and productive.

10. Rohingya Volunteers
More than 620,000 ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are now living in cramped settlements in neighboring Bangladesh. Your support allows foreign and Bangladeshi doctors and nurses to train refugees to be outreach volunteers, who go door-to-door educating their friends and neighbors on health problems. They also refer sick patients to clinics and hospitals and track illnesses as they arise.

These outreach volunteers are instrumental in preventing disease outbreaks in the settlements.

11. Anti-Malaria Efforts
Malaria doesn't have to be a way of life in Uganda. Through quick detection, clinic workers working in settlements dispense life-saving medicine to sick refugees every day.

Although malaria remains a top disease in Uganda, fast treatment effectively stops it in its tracks.

12. Shipping Medical Supplies
Many hospitals around the world don't have access to basic equipment or medicine. In Guatemala, pregnant women must bring their own supplies for delivering their babies. In Syria, bombs target health facilities, decimating the infrastructure and everything that lies inside.

Without these shipments, children would go without their asthma medicine, amputees without wheel chairs or even crutches; there'd be no gauze, sutures, or birthing beds. Serving Asia, North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and the Middle East, these shipments represent your long arms, capable of stretching all over the globe to hug those in need.

13. Building Resilient Communities in Liberia
By partnering with community leaders in Liberia to identify health problems and solutions, we help entire communities take ownership over their health. This is incredibly important in Liberia, a country that was swept up in the Ebola epidemic just three years ago.

14. Supporting Primary Health Care Facilities
Imagine you had no place to go if your child contracted pneumonia, or if your mother broke her leg. How anxious and alone would you feel, how worried would you be that a treatable ailment could develop into something deadly?

Supporting Primary Health Centers remains incredibly important. In Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and elsewhere, you can help directly serve the sick by supporting health facilities.

15. Diarrhea Management
Diarrhea remains one of the top childhood illnesses around the world. Often caused by tainted water or food, diarrhea can kill children who do not receive treatment.

For Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, diarrheal diseases were such a problem that Medical Teams set up the first facility dedicated to its treatment. It serves thousands of refugees who have just recently found themselves displaced by fighting in neighboring Myanmar.

16. Mobile Dental Clinics
For 30 years, the Mobile Dental program has served Pacific Northwest families who either lack insurance or access to dental care. By 2018, the program has grown to become the largest volunteer-powered mobile dental program in the country.

Without Mobile Dental, children like Mia wouldn't receive adequate and affordable care. Her family struggled to find a dentist who would see the girl before they discovered the Mobile Dental program, which was serving families in her neighborhood.

17. Disaster Kits
When disasters strike, home or abroad, disaster kits filled with blankets and hygiene supplies are waiting. These hygiene kits provide a respite from the cold and dirt. They provide some initial comfort to people blindsided by an unexpected catastrophe.

18. Volunteer Medical Professionals
Health is a team sport, especially when it comes to aiding underserved people. Volunteers embody Medical Teams' can-do spirit, providing essential health services that heal the sick, restore the weak, and empower entire communities to improve their living conditions. Taking time off from their family and jobs, volunteers travel the world, united by a shared vision: to bring health to a hurting world.

As we welcome 2018, we thank you for your support to make the world a healthier place.

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18 Ways to Keep The World Healthy in 2018 - World

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by Tyler Graf For the tired and sick, the scared and weary, those affected by conflict and poverty, the new year comes shrouded in mystery-the next 12 months are uncertain. But if we remember that hope overcomes fear, that medicine heals sickness, that knowledge empowers communities, and that faith invigorates the spirit, we know our path forward and can boldly break barriers to health in the new year.

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4 Strategies for Staying Healthy in a Quarantined World

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Staying healthy during quarantine is everybody's goal, but it can be hard to resist stress eating and unhealthy habits. A Michigan Medicine dietician offers four tips for staying calm during this crisis.

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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

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Eating foods that are good for you and staying physically active may help you reach and maintain a healthy weight and improve how you feel. You also may find that moving more and eating better could help you keep up with the demands of your busy life and be there for the people who depend on you.

This web content is part of materials and a program called Sisters Together: Move More, Eat Better. The program encourages black women to improve their health through regular physical activity and healthy eating. You may use this information to help yourself, friends, and family members get healthier. It's never too early or too late to start making small changes to improve your health.

Why should I move more and eat better?

In addition to helping you reach and maintain a healthy weight, staying active and eating better may lower your chances of developing

But improving your health isn't the only reason to move more and eat better. You may also

have more energy for work, play, and family

feel better about yourself

manage stress better

set a good example for your children, friends, and other family members

tone your body-without losing your curves

Your family, friends, and coworkers can be a great source of support as you work to adopt healthier habits. Ask them to join your efforts. Being healthy is important for them, too. By making healthy choices together, you may find it's easier to move more and eat better.

Should I talk to a health care professional before starting a physical activity program?

Most people don't need to see a health care professional before starting a less intense physical activity, like walking. However, if you have chronic conditions, such as diabetes-or symptoms of chronic conditions-talk with a health professional about the type and amount of physical activity that's best for you.

If you haven't been active, work slowly toward the goal of 150 minutes per week.

How much physical activity do I need?

To maintain or improve your health, aim for 150 minutes per week-or at least 30 minutes on all or most days of the week-of moderate physical activity. Moderate activities are ones that you can talk-but not sing-while doing, such as brisk walking or dancing. These activities speed up your heart rate and breathing.

If you haven't been active, work slowly toward the goal of 150 minutes per week. For example, start out doing light or moderate activities for shorter amounts of time throughout the week. You can gain some health benefits even if you do as little as 60 minutes of moderate physical activity a week.

For best results, spread out your physical activity throughout the week. Even 10 or 15 minutes at a time counts. And any amount of physical activity is better than none at all.

To lose weight and keep it off, you may need to be even more active. Shoot for 300 minutes per week, or an hour a day 5 days a week. On at least 2 days per week, also try activities that strengthen your muscles. Examples of these activities include workouts using hand weights or rubber strength bands.

How can I handle roadblocks to becoming more active?

Becoming more active isn't easy. Different people may have different reasons for finding it hard to get moving. If some of the roadblocks below sound familiar, try the suggested tips to help you overcome them.

"I don't have time."

Try sneaking a few minutes of physical activity at a time into your day. Get started by making these small changes in your daily routine:

Break your physical activity up into two or three 10-minute walks a day, if you can do so safely near work or home.

Take regular breaks from sitting at the computer or watching TV. Get up, move, and stretch by lifting your hands over your head. Twist side to side.

Schedule time to be active as you would a hair or work appointment, and stick to your plan.

"I'm going to ruin my hairstyle."

If you avoid being active because you don't want to ruin your hairstyle, try

a natural hairstyle, short haircut, braids, twists, locs, or wigs

wrapping a scarf around your hair; when you're done with your workout, remove the scarf and let your hair air dry.

Tip: Physical activity may make the hair look dull or lead to salt buildup. To keep your hair healthy as you stay fit:

Cleanse your scalp with a clarifying product when needed.

Avoid harsh products that may strip hair of natural oils.

Limit the use of heat on hair, such as dryers and curling irons. If you use heat, also use low settings to protect hair from damage.

For styling ideas, consider viewing YouTube videos and visiting other relevant online hair groups and communities to be informed and inspired.

"It costs too much."

You can be active without spending a lot of money-or any money at all:

Look for free or low-cost classes and activities in your community.

Walk in a mall, or walk or jog in a park or on a school track.

Gather friends and neighbors from your apartment complex and hold regular group workout sessions.

Find workout videos online and on YouTube if you have internet service-or DVDs at the library-and work out at home.

"Physical activity is a chore."

Some people may be put off by physical activity, especially if they haven't been active for a while or got hurt and are afraid of getting injured again. However, with some planning and effort, physical activity can be enjoyable:

Try being active with your kids-walk, jump rope, play flag football or tag, or toss a softball. Children should get an hour of physical activity each day.

Get a friend or family member to go biking or take a dance class with you. You can cheer each other on, have company, and feel safer when you're outdoors.

Enjoy friendly competition with family and friends by setting a weight-loss challenge or entering a walking, biking, or running event for a worthy cause.

Physical activity can be fun when you do something you enjoy.

How can I eat healthier?

An example of a healthy meal includes vegetables, fruits, and small portions of protein and whole grains. These foods provide fiber and important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. When planning meals for you and your family, think about including

a salad or other different-colored vegetables, such as spinach; sweet potatoes; and red, green, orange, or yellow peppers

fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, or nondairy products such as almond or rice milk

different-colored fruits, including apples, bananas, and grapes

lean beef, pork, or other protein foods, such as chicken, seafood, eggs, tofu, or beans

whole grains such as brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, and whole-grain cornmeal

Treats are okay if you have them once in a while. Just don't eat foods such as candy, ice cream, or cookies every day. Limit sweet treats to special occasions, and keep portions small. Have one cookie or piece of candy, rather than trying every kind.

Remember that alcohol, juices, soda, and other sweet drinks have a lot of sugar and calories.

If you can't have milk or milk products because you have trouble digesting lactose, the sugar found in milk, try lactose-free milk or yogurt. Besides milk and milk products, you can get calcium from calcium-added cereals, juices, and drinks made from soy or nuts. Eating dark green leafy vegetables such as collard greens and kale, and canned fish with soft bones like salmon, can also help you meet your body's calcium needs.

How can reading the Nutrition Facts label help me?

Reading the information on the Nutrition Facts label can help you choose foods high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals; and low in sodium, added sugars, and unhealthy fats, which federal dietary guidelines (PDF, 3.94 MB) recommend Americans limit.

Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nutrition Facts label appears on most packaged foods and tells you how many calories and servings are in a box, can, or package. The label also shows how many nutrients are in one food serving. The FDA made changes in 2016 to update the Nutrition Facts label.

How can I handle roadblocks to healthy eating?

Eating healthy foods may seem hard when you don't have time to cook or are on a tight budget. Try these tips to get past roadblocks that may keep you from eating well:

"I don't have time to cook healthy meals; I don't really know how to cook."

Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time. Nor do you need to be a chef to prepare healthy meals. Here are ways you and your family can eat better without spending a lot of time preparing meals:

Buy frozen or precut veggies and add them to a salad or veggie wrap with pita bread for a quick meal. Or microwave the veggies and add them to whole-grain pasta.

When you cook, make enough for extra meals. Casseroles with veggies and whole grains, and a whole cooked chicken, may last a few days so you don't have to cook another meal every day. Be sure to freeze or refrigerate leftovers right away to keep them safe to eat.

If you don't feel comfortable cooking, try something easy, like combining your favorite fresh, frozen, or canned veggies to make a stir-fry. Check out websites, videos, and online blogs for more recipe ideas as your confidence builds.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to eat well.

"Eating well costs too much."

You don't have to spend a lot of money to eat well:

Avoid buying single portions of snacks, yogurt, and other foods, which costs more. Instead, buy in bulk or larger sizes and divide into smaller portions as needed.

Check newspaper ads for food sales. Clip coupons or print them from websites.

Buy fruits and vegetables in season, when they're cheaper.

Try canned beans such as black, butter, kidney, pinto, and others. They're loaded with protein, cost less than meat and fish, and make quick and easy additions to your meals.

Tip: Store brands may cost less than the most popular or well-known brands. You might have to look on shelves that are higher or lower than eye level to find them. Often, the product's ingredients are the same as, or very similar to, the popular brands.

How can I eat well when away from home?

Here are some ways to make healthy food choices when you're on the go:

Avoid heavy gravies, salad dressings, or sauces. Leave them off or ask for them on the side so you can control how much you eat.

Try to avoid fried foods and fast food. Instead of fried chicken, order baked, broiled, or grilled chicken, or a turkey sandwich with whole-grain bread.

Share a meal with a friend or take half of it home.

Take healthy snacks with you to work, such as apples or fat-free yogurt with fruit.

I can do it!

Set specific goals and move at your own pace to reach them. For example, instead of "I'll be more active," set a goal such as "I'll take a walk after lunch at least 2 days a week." Ask your family, friends, and coworkers to help you. They can join you, cheer you on, help you get back on track after a setback, and be there to celebrate your successes!

No matter what, keep trying. You can do it!

Clinical Trials

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conduct and support research into many diseases and conditions.

What are clinical trials, and are they right for you?

Clinical trials are part of clinical research and at the heart of all medical advances. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. Find out if clinical trials are right for you.

What clinical trials are open?

Clinical trials that are currently open and are recruiting can be viewed at www.ClinicalTrials.gov.

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Keep Active and Eat Healthy to Improve Well-being and Feel Great | NIDDK

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Eating foods that are good for you and staying physically active may help you reach and maintain a healthy weight and improve how you feel. You also may find that moving more and eating better could help you keep up with the demands of your busy life and be there for the people who depend on you.