Healthy Frenzy

The fact is that obesity is growing at an alarming rate among the youth of USA. In fact a huge sum of approximately $ 2 billion is spent on revival of those who are obese every year. This all is attributed to the reason that youth of today are indulging themselves in unhealthy eating habits and the routine that they follow has no physical exertion in it at all as they prefer to watch TV and play on their computers instead of going out in the play grounds.

Hoodia gordonii, an herb, was well known to the San Bushmen who inhabits the Kalahari and Namib Deserts. Being traditionally nomadic hunters, they go for hunting that will last for about a week. With scarce food around, they habitually resort to consuming hoodia which will help them manage without food by being not hungry. They would first remove the roots, leaves, spines and flowers from the plant. Then they would peel away the skin of the stem and eat them. Scientists have found that what it does is to mimic the signals that glucose will send to the nerve cells in the brain, but many times powerful than glucose. This will suppress your urge to eat. Naturally this wisdom of the Bushmen can be a boon to those who are for ever doing all they can to shed their unwanted fat.

More and more people are beginning to practice jogging as an alternative to going to the gym, or other sports. It helps both the body and mind, besides being a fun activity. The fitter they become, people start increasing their running distance, until they can jog for miles. One thing joggers have in common is the fact that they’re all listening to music, while jogging.

Hoodia gordonii is a succulent plant found in Namibia, Angola, South Africa and Botswana. The San people of Kalahari Desert were found to possess the knowledge of its many uses. They used the plant as an appetite suppressant when they go for hunting which would last a few days. The extracts of this plant was patented by South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in 1997. CSIR named the extract P57. CSIR then sold the exclusive rights of P57 to Phytopharm, a British drug company. Phytopharm in turn licensed the right to produce to Pfizer. But Hoodia became internationally well known only after BBC reported on the plant in 2003. Later in 2004, 60 Minutes reported its use as a natural appetite suppressant.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Health combines not only the physical but also mental health. The emotional and social well-being is also critical to achieving health. Body health requires physical fitness. A proper nutrition, proper diet and regular exercise followed by proper rest to recover physically are required for health. Physical health is influenced by the standard of living and the quality of life. Good health is also related to genetic make up. Mental health is related to the emotional well-being, nonexistence of mental disorder and the level of cognitive well-being. WHO defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. The status of mental health is subjective. The extent of preciseness of assessment will indicate the state of mental health of a person.