Health

In 1948, in its constitution, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". The definition was updated in the 1986 WHO "Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion" to say health is a "resource for everyday life, not the objective of living", and "health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities." .

Physical Health
Physical fitness is ability of the body to make the best use of the intake of food / nutrients. A diseased person may start eating the most scientific and nutritious balanced diet without showing any improvement in health. There is a slow growing feeling that physical good bodily health is not the result of regular even. Exercises in moderation and irregularly can also result into good health.

Height, weight and strength are the final results of physical fitness.

Process of Achieving Physical Health
After intake of any food the same must be metabolised. The starting point in that direction is strong stomach acids and other enzymes. Strong stomach acids and other enzymes are the result of previously good physical fitness to a large extent. That is the reason it takes time for a diseased person to regain health. It seems like a catch 22 situation.

Another Catch 22 situation
Strong acids and enzymes may result into more leakage and waste of these resources. The leakages may get temporarily stored in the body to prevent immediate damage to the body. But in due course of time those wastes must be removed from the body or corrected.

The Solution for Good health
Assumptions for the solution

The acid build up in the body is the reason for aging and ultimately death. The acids are required for digestion of food. In diseased situations the stomach acids are lowered. There is always poor digestion. The acid production in the stomach and storage are reversly related. If more acids are stored in the body the stomach acids will be lowered as a defence mechanism. This is usually seen in all cancer cases. The much talked about acidity is the result of higher acid storage in the body and lowered stomach acids. But the treatment is always focused on managing the higher stomach acids. This the main reason for failure to treat acidity GERD.

Solution

The stored acids can be removed from the body by increasing the intake of water when the stomach is empty. Otherwise the increase in water intake will result into leakage of more stomach acids and hence more storage of acids outside stomach or at places which can not channelise those acids back into stomach after eating food. Acid nuetralising foods (milk and milk products)should also be consumed when the stomach is empty. Stomach is emptied in 4.30 to 5.00 hours in an average person. Lying down within 3 hours after food intake also increases leakage of acids from stomach and hence damages the health. Drinking water imediately before, with or after increases the leakage of stomach acids. One should drink water 1 hour before meal and stop 20 to 30 minutes before meal. All other time there should not be any intake of water. At one time one should drink only one glass of water.

The above solution has shown improvements in cancer patients within a matter of few hours. There is relief from all kinds of pain after using the above solution.

But using the solution for cancer patients is a catch 22 situation. They like drinking water with meals, They like resting on bed immediately after a meal.

Height
A strong indicator of the health of populations is height, which is generally increased by improving nutrition and health care, and is also influenced by standard of living and quality of life matters. The study of human growth, its regulators, and its implications is known as sexology. An even greater factor in a persons height is in there genetics.

Mental health
Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individual's emotional and psychological well-being. Merriam-Webster defines mental health as "A state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meet the ordinary demands of everyday life."

According to the World Health Organization, there is no one "official" definition of mental health. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how "mental health" is defined. In general, most experts agree that "mental health" and "mental illness" are not opposites. In other words, the absence of a recognized mental disorder is not necessarily an indicator of mental health.

One way to think about mental health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions. Feeling capable and competent; being able to handle normal levels of stress, maintain satisfying relationships, and lead an independent life; and being able to "bounce back," or recover from difficult situations, are all signs of mental health.

Encompassing your emotional, social, and—most importantly—your mental well-being; All these aspects—emotional, physical, and social—must function together to achieve overall health.

Determinants of health
The LaLonde report suggested that there are four general determinants of health including human biology, environment, lifestyle, and healthcare services. Thus, health is maintained and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also through the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices of the individual. A major environmental factor is water quality, especially for the health of infants and children in developing countries.

Health maintenance
Achieving health and remaining healthy is an active process. Effective strategies for staying healthy and improving one's health to an optimum level include the following elements:

Nutrition
Nutrition is the science that studies how what people eat affects their health and performance, such as foods or food components that cause diseases or deteriorate health (such as eating too many calories, which is a major contributing factor to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease). The field of nutrition also studies foods and dietary supplements that improve performance, promote health, and cure or prevent disease, such as eating fibrous foods to reduce the risk of colon cancer, or supplementing with vitamin C to strengthen teeth and gums and to improve the immune system.

Between extremes of optimal health and death from starvation or malnutrition, there is an array of disease states that can be caused or alleviated by changes in diet. Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to diseases such as scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis, as well as psychological and behavioral problems. Moreover, excessive ingestion of elements that have no apparent role in health, (e.g. lead, mercury, PCBs, dioxins), may incur toxic and potentially lethal effects, depending on the dose. The science of nutrition attempts to understand how and why specific dietary aspects influence health.

Sports nutrition
Sports nutrition focuses on how food and dietary supplements affect athletic performance (during events), improvement (from training), and recovery (after events and training). One goal of sports nutrition is to maintain glycogen levels and prevent glycogen depletion. Another is to optimize energy levels and muscle tone. An athlete's strategy for winning an event may include a schedule for the entire season of what to eat, when to eat it, and in what precise quantities (before, during, after, and between workouts and events). Participants in endurance sports such as the full-distance triathlon actually eat during their races. Sports nutrition works hand-in-hand with sports medicine.

Exercise


Exercise is the performance of movements in order to develop or maintain physical fitness and overall health. It is often directed toward also honing athletic ability or skill. Frequent and regular physical exercise is an important component in the prevention of some of the diseases of affluence such as cancer, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and back pain.

Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body:


 * Flexibility exercises such as stretching improve the range of motion of muscles and joints.
 * Aerobic exercises such as walking and running focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance and muscle density.
 * Anaerobic exercises such as weight training or sprinting increase muscle mass and strength.

Physical exercise is considered important for maintaining physical fitness including healthy weight; building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles, and joints; promoting physiological well-being; reducing surgical risks; and strengthening the immune system.

Proper nutrition is just as, if not more, important to health as exercise. When exercising it becomes even more important to have good diet to ensure the body has the correct ratio of macronutrients whilst providing ample micronutrients; this is to aid the body with the recovery process following strenuous exercise. When the body falls short of proper nutrition, it gets into starvation mode developed through evolution and depends onto fat content for survival. Research suggest that the production of thyroid hormones can be negatively affected by repeated bouts of dieting and calorie restriction. Proper rest and recovery is also as important to health as exercise, otherwise the body exists in a permanently injured state and will not improve or adapt adequately to the exercise.

The above two factors can be compromised by psychological compulsions (eating disorders such as exercise bulimia, anorexia, and other bulimias), misinformation, a lack of organization, or a lack of motivation. These all lead to a decreased state of health.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness can occur after any exercise, particularly if the body is in an unconditioned state relative to that exercise and the exercise involves repetitive eccentric contractions.

Hygiene
Hygiene is the practice of keeping the body clean to prevent infection and illness, and the avoidance of contact with infectious agents. Hygiene practices include bathing, brushing and flossing teeth, washing hands especially before eating, washing food before it is eaten, sterilizing food preparation utensiles and surfaces before and after preparing meals, and many others.

Stress management
Prolonged psychological stress may negatively impact health, such as by weakening the immune system. See negative effects of the fight-or-flight response. Stress management is the application of methods to either reduce stress or increase tolerance to stress. Certain nootropics do both. Exercising to improve physical fitness, especially cardiovascular fitness, boosts the immune system and increases stress tolerance. Relaxation techniques are physical methods used to relieve stress. Examples include sexual intercourse, progressive relaxation, and fractional relaxation. Psychological methods include cognitive therapy, meditation, and positive thinking which work by reducing response to stress. Improving relevant skills and abilities builds confidence, which also reduces the stress reaction to situations where those skills are applicable. Reducing uncertainty, by increasing knowledge and experience related to stress-causing situations, has the same effect. Learning to cope with problems better, such as improving problem solving and time management skills, may also reduce stressful reaction to problems. Repeatedly facing an object of one's fears may also desensitize the fight-or-flight response with respect to that stimulus -- e.g., facing bullies may reduce fear of bullies.

Health care

 * Main article: Health care. See also Public health, below

Health care is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. According to the World Health Organisation, health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote health, including “preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed to individuals or to populations”. The organized provision of such services may constitute a health care system. This can include a specific governmental organization such as the National Health Service in the UK, or a cooperation across the National Health Service and Social Services as in Shared Care.

Natural health
In alternative medicine, natural health is an eclectic self-care system of natural therapies concerned with building and restoring health and wellness via prevention and healthy lifestyles. Natural health includes breathing Buteyko Method,diet, exercise, chiropractic, naturopathy, herbalism, natural hygiene, homeopathy, massage therapy, relaxation techniques (e.g. Yoga, Tai Chi), accupuncture, sauna, aromatherapy, ayurveda medicine, and Kneipp therapy.

Workplace wellness programs
Workplace wellness programs are recognized by an increasingly large number of companies for their value in improving the health and well-being of their employees, and for increasing morale, loyalty, and productivity. Workplace wellness programs can include things like onsite fitness centers, health presentations, wellness newsletters, access to health coaching, tobacco cessation programs and training related to nutrition, weight and stress management. Other programs may include health risk assessments, health screenings and body mass index monitoring. Mostly overseen or not mentioned is a group of determinants of health which could be called coincidence, hazard, luck or bad luck. These factors are quite important determinants of health but difficult to calculate.

Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The population in question can be as small as a handful of people or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic). Public health has many sub-fields, but is typically divided into the categories of epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. Environmental, social and behavioral health, and occupational health, are also important fields in public health.

The focus of public health intervention is to prevent rather than treat a disease through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. In addition to these activities, in many cases treating a disease can be vital to preventing it in others, such as during an outbreak of an infectious disease. Vaccination programs and distribution of condoms are examples of public health measures.

Role of science in health
Health science is the branch of science focused on health, and it includes many subdisciplines. There are two approaches to health science: the study and research of the human body and health-related issues to understand how humans (and animals) function, and the application of that knowledge to improve health and to prevent and cure diseases.

Where health knowledge comes from
Health research builds primarily on the basic sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics as well as a variety of multidisciplinary fields (for example medical sociology). Some of the other primarily research-oriented fields that make exceptionally significant contributions to health science are biochemistry, epidemiology, and genetics.

Putting health knowledge to use
Applied health sciences also endeavor to better understand health, but in addition they try to directly improve it. Some of these are: biomedical engineering, biotechnology, nursing, nutrition, pharmacology, pharmacy, public health (see below), psychology, physical therapy, and medicine. The provision of services to maintain or improve people's health is referred to as health care (see above).