According to a recent data by the World Health Organization, every year 10 million people get cancer around the world. Not only cancer, but many other diseases, not to mention the stress of daily lives, threaten our health. Yet, if you stick to the two basic principles of exercising and eating well, you will have a much better chance of avoiding these problems.
◆Exercise
People can be divided into six categories according to their daily habits and physical strength, set by Professor Yi Kyung-ok (Sports and Leisure Science): 1. physically elite, fit, 2. physically independent, 3. physically frail, 4. physically dependent, and 5. physically disabled. Each type of person must pay attention to different aspects of her physical health.
Physically elite people enjoy hard training and ready themselves for outdoor activities. Not only professional athletes, but common people can also be an elite. Physically fit people train regularly just like the physically elite. The only difference is that they don't compete. Usually physically elite or physically fit people concentrate only on one sport. Consequently, the body's muscles and bones adapt to the preferred sport, and this can cause over-use or asymmetry. Therefore, they should diversify the kinds of sports to achieve a cross-training effect.
Physically independent people are the average group who do some exercise on their own. But this group actually does not get enough excercise to be fully healthy. Therefore, the key advice for them is to make a plan to exercise regularly, and to find various sports they are interested in.
Physically frail people are the ones who easily get fatigued. These kinds of frail people have low muscle power which leads to low physical strength. For these people, excessive exercise should be avoided, but beginning an exercise program is vital. Special shock absorbing shoes and low- or no-impact exercise programs can help make them more comfortable until they reach a more physically fit state.
Lastly, physically disabled people are those who can't move by themselves. These people require special prescriptions for exercise.
Whatever class you are in, Professor Yi says, a posture examination and a foot shape examination should be taken before starting a new exercise. Taking a posture examination will show whether a person's body is bilaterally symmetric. If the body is not properly balanced, it is better to do an exercise that can straighten your posture than to do other sports. Foot health is especially important for women, because women tend to wear tight high heeled shoes. This brings deformation of the feet and lowers their balancing ability which leads to reduced physical strength.
◆Food
Many Ewha students are too busy to eat properly - their intake of nutrients is not balanced, and this can cause health problems. Professor Chang Nam-soo (Food and Nutritional Science), recommended how to increase the intake of nutrients that most Ewha students lack: calcium, iron, and folic acid.
There is plenty of calcium in milk, and, recently calcium strengthening soymilk came out in many forms. Next, iron is abundant in red meat. Beef and pork with little fat is recommended, but fatback, or pork and beef ribs should be avoided; though lean beef ribs and saddle are possible low-fat substitutes. Women especially lack iron during menstruation, so if you cannot take in iron from food, iron supplements are recommended for that time. Folic acid can be found in vegetables and fermented food like Kimchi and soybean paste.
Another concern of many Ewha students is losing weight, and the easiest way for weight loss is to reduce intake of fat. For those who want to cut down on fat, drinking low fat milk is a good option. Also, broiled or fried food should be avoided, as the oil soaks into the food while cooking. Boiled or steamed food is healthier. For instance, eating a boiled chicken instead of a pork cutlet can reduce fat intake as much as 130 kcal. In addition, plain coffee with two teaspoons of sugar is 32 kcal, but coffee with whipped cream, caramel, and syrup added all together adds up to 550 kcal. Finally, eating just two-thirds of a bowl of rice can reduce calories by an extra 150 to 190 kcal per meal.