Health Essentials
Won’t you rather put your money where your mouth is?
Eating in small plates makes you eat less food
I can confidently suggest to you that many of us choose our food based on how quickly it can be made available, the taste and the cost.
Some of us even add a fourth dimension; the quantity! Followers of this principle believe that “more is always good.”
In our dear land we had healthy fast food long before we “imported” fried rice and chicken, beef burgers and the likes. Yes good old kenkey with fish and pepper could set records any day if the serving time is compared to any other meal in a fast food challenge.
Whoever said only hard drugs are addictive? Well your body responds to some of these fast foods “by producing a sort of “high,” if you will, with stimulation of portions of the brain,” says Vance Civille.
“What happens is the body then continues to seek out that hit and continues to crave the types of foods and food sensory impressions that make you happy.” How different is this from a drug addiction?
If you are a fan of fast food then you certainly must have met the unhealthy triad: high fat, sugar and salt.
This unhappy and unhealthy triad can be found in almost all the foods and drinks we enjoy; from your delicious fried chicken to your cereals advertised as “healthy” and even your baked goods and beverages have not been spared.
The undisputable truth is that these foods are extremely addictive and will let you return for more over and over again. So though you may be targeting a relatively cheaper meal you end up being classified as a “return customer” and you continue to torment your pocket till you have no money left at all.
Who wins this battle of “cost saving,” certainly not the one that eats but he who sells remains supreme. That is not the end of the story, these foods in addition to relieving you of your hard earned money will visit you with life-style diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol on you.
This means you will make the doctor’s consulting room and the pharmacy your recreational grounds, and woe betide you if these professionals after playing an extremely important role in society are deprived of their rights including a respectable pension, they may be withholding their services and it can spell doom for you.
We just cannot stop eating, yet cutting back on these mouth-watering death traps will do our bodies a world of good. Change does not take too long to become a habit. We can all re-train out tongues.
Within a month of cutting back on sugar for instance your food will now taste okay. Certainly you will crave for the sweet things in life, especially in your first week of deprivation.
I can promise you two things today; I will go straight to the point and my extremely brief tips on eating well will not require calculation in any form:
1. Organize your kitchen
a. Out of sight in some cases may lead to out of mind. If it is easy to spot a particular food, you will eat it. Organise your kitchen to have healthy foods in sight.
2. Use small plates to eat
a. It will amaze you how easily you can fool your own brain. When you eat out of small plates you tend to eat less food.
3. Always serve your meals
a. Eating out of a package is not a good idea. Dish up the food and see yourself eat less.
4. Mind your glass
a. Short and fat glasses mean drinking more juice or alcohol, while the converse holds for tall thin glasses. When it comes to drinking good old zero-calorie water then and only then, is better for majority of us.
5. No extra visuals or great music at meals
a. Watching television while you eat or listening to great music with meals rewards you with mindless eating. Anything that engages your attention other than the food may cause you to eat more than you bargained for. I guess this time round we can refer to that as “biting more than you should chew.”
6. “Discard” your family and friends
a. Company, especially if it is good may mean eating longer and paying less attention to what you are doing. This certainly sounds like a recipe for overeating.
Fortunately overeating will not land you at the Supreme Court but a disease such as high blood pressure will charge you and without giving you a fair trial pass a life sentence on you – time to spend more money on medication, tests and hospital visits.
7. it’s all in the EVIDENCE
a. You are probably on the right path if you always eat with a side-plate within reach. Keep left-over such as bones within sight. Clearing your plate makes you forget how much you have eaten.
ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER ITS A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr Essel is a medical doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, he holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in exercise therapy, fitness nutrition and corrective exercise. He is also the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “People with diabetes can vary what they eat as long as their meals are balanced and healthy. – Schutter.
Reference:
1. Diabetes – Your Take Control Guide (2012) by the American Diabetes Association.
By Dr Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Glaucoma – a call to have your eyes checked
As we raise awareness of Glaucoma this week (it should continue all year), the importance of community education to prevent vision loss, regular eye care and early detection of this silent disease is key. The theme “SEE THE FUTURE CLEARLY” puts the whole process into perspective.
What will you do if after years of enjoying the beauty of the world through your eyes, you wake up one day and realize your eyes are failing or have failed you? It could be a major life-changing event. You may even run the risk of causing accidents. Imagine what one goes through during the DUM phase of DUMSOR.
Now imagine life perpetually in DUM. All this could be prevented if you make time to care for your eyes: check your eye pressure and have your sight checked as well.
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve (nerve of the eye) leading to loss of vision. It is most often but not always associated with an increase in eye pressure.
In Ghana, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness second only to cataract. Ghana appears to have many challenges with “vision” (note the pun) as we have been identified as the country with the second (some data quote third) highest prevalence rate of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is sometimes referred to as the “silent thief of sight” because it can damage your vision so gradually that you may not notice any loss of vision until the disease is at an advanced stage. The most common type of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma has no noticeable signs or symptoms except gradual vision loss. As always, the key is to be diagnosed early and managed since this can prevent or minimize damage to the optic nerve. Early diagnosis is only possible if we have regular check-ups. I checked my eye-pressures six months ago, what about you?
Isolating the risk factors
1. Age – Anyone can get glaucoma, but it most often occurs in those above forty years.
2. Ethnicity – Africans and African Americans are at an increased risk compared to Caucasians. In high-risk groups it may be necessary to have your eyes checked even in your 20s.
3. Family History/ Genetics – You are at an increased risk if a member of your family has glaucoma.
4. Medical Conditions – Diabetics and people with hypothyroidism are also prone
5. Nearsighted/shortsighted – For this group of people, objects in the distance appear fuzzy without corrective lenses.
6. Prolonged Steroid use – especially if used as eye drops, increases our risk for glaucoma.
7. Other Eye conditions – Severe eye injury, some of which may even cause the eye lens to dislocate. Retinal detachment, eye tumours and some eye infections may also predispose us. Some eye surgeries may occasionally trigger glaucoma.
Recognising the warning signs
It is important to drum home the point that just as in high blood pressure, there may be no warning signs. As stated above, the commonest form of glaucoma will hardly warn you. In some forms of glaucoma, however, we may experience the following:
1. Gradual loss of peripheral (side) vision leading to tunnel vision where one is able to see only objects directly in front of him/her
2. Redness of the eye
3. Blurred vision
4. Halos around lights
5. Severe eye pain is sometimes associated with nausea and vomiting
6. Sudden onset of poor vision especially in low light
Overview of tests available
1. Measuring eye pressure. This is a simple painless procedure. It is often the first line for screening for people with glaucoma.
2. Visual Field Test – your doctor will use this test to determine whether glaucoma has affected your peripheral vision
3. Several other tests are available and include testing for optic nerve damage and measuring corneal thickness.
Treatment options
There is NO CURE for glaucoma, but it can be successfully managed. Our options include eye drops, oral medication or surgery, which reduce pressure in the eye to a level that is unlikely to cause further optic nerve damage.
You may not be able to prevent glaucoma, but you can avoid its complications if diagnosed and its management started early. Talk to your healthcare professional and have eye examinations when necessary.
This is the only way to ensure that you can “…see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way” and you will enjoy this great vision for years to come.
Glaucoma is “a silent thief of sight.” This is another reminder that NOT ALL SILENCE IS GOLDEN! Get checked.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh. com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “The next big thing in Healthcare in Ghana is the Medics Clinic. Visit https://medicsgroupgh.com/ for more information.”
References:
1. 37 Military Hospital Eye Department infomercials
2. Mosby’s ACE the BOARDS
3. www.mayoclinic.com
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials
Making the most of your visit to the doctor
Very often we leave the doctor’s office only to remember that we left out a major complaint. Some patients immediately rush back to the consulting room totally oblivious of the privacy that the next patient is entitled to. They expect that as they walk in, the doctor should ignore the seated or positioned patient and attend to them. That is totally outrageous. Others go home and continue to live with the condition hoping to be healed miraculously.
Most of us will be extremely lucky to spend fifteen (15) minutes with our doctor and this time is often much shorter in countries/communities where the doctor-patient ratio is so low that at best it can be described as criminal.
We are still in the first quarter of 2025, and I highly recommend that you see a doctor not only when you are unwell but as a means to assess your state of wellbeing and take the needed precautions.
To make the most out of our time with the doctor we need to PREPARE. If your condition is an emergency, then you do not have the benefit of time to prepare.
A must do!
Kindly ensure your personal hygiene is excellent.
- Take a good bath and brush your teeth
- Wear clean clothes that also make undressing easy, especially if you need to expose some areas for inspection/examination.
This may sound ridiculous, but the opposite does happen in real life.
Remember that doctors are human and when you are unkempt you may not get adequate contact with your doctor.
Research on the symptoms
If you have access to the internet or a book worth its salt you may read about your symptoms or wait to read after your doctor tells you your diagnosis.
Remember that if you need to research on the internet, it is essential that you use a reputable site.
In tune with your complaints
- Write down your complaints/symptoms if you think you may forget
- If you have had a similar problem and have the results of any investigations e.g. Laboratory tests, x-rays, CT scans etc kindly carry them along
- Let your doctor know if you react to any drugs
- Be truthful about any medications you have taken for the condition, if you do not remember the names make sure you go with the containers
- If you have any other medical conditions (and medication) make the doctor aware
- Remember to make a note of the following
- When did the symptoms/complaint begin?
- How long have you had these symptoms?
- Is it getting worse?
- Does anything make the condition worse?
- What makes you feel better?
- Is anything related to their onset?
- How often does it occur?
- How long does it last e.g. in pain conditions as well as rash, allergies etc
- Does anyone else in your family have them?
- How do they affect your daily life?
- Is it related to work or home?
You may need to modify these slightly when you have skin lesions, swellings etc. This list is by no means exhaustive, and you may not need to find answers to all of them before getting help, but they will definitely help you ace the visit to your doctor.
If your doctor books you for surgery, do not leave his presence without finding out the following:
- Will you go home on the same day of the surgery?
- Will you need assistance to go home or can you drive unsupervised for instance
- What form of anaesthesia will you be given?
Then, if your visit is for a medical examination, do remember that also being aware of disease conditions in your family will help your doctor select the appropriate tests and make the whole experience and time useful.
See you in the consulting room soon.
AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, ENSURE HYGIENE, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI)
Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
Health Essentials Ltd (HE&W Group)
(dressel@healthessentialsgh.com)
*Dr. Essel is a Medical Doctor with a keen interest in Lifestyle Medicine, He holds an MBA and is an ISSA Specialist in Exercise Therapy, Fitness Nutrition and Corrective Exercise. He is the author of the award-winning book, ‘Unravelling The Essentials of Health & Wealth.’
Thought for the week – “The next big thing in Healthcare in Ghana is the Medics Clinic. Visit https://medicsgroupgh.com/ for more information.”
References:
By Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel
