Greetings to all readers and a valued fans of the Bicol Standards Magazine. Hello! How are you there? I hope that each of you and members of your family are always in good health and free from illness. You know what? I am so thankful that at last, I CAN SHARE YOU now my articles about the message that could help you a lot about HEALTH and NUTRITION. For all those who do not know that every month of July, we are simply celebrating nutrition month in the schools, barangays and rural health centers as well as hospitals through the initiative of the one of agencies of Philippine government-the Department of Health. Our government continuously improving the life and health of Filipinos through different, free medical and dental services providing the free medicines from the rural health center. There are so any approved drug stores offering and selling low costs medicines and effective like branded medicines. Taking of medicines prescribed by the doctors must be properly used because it contain chemicals or synthetic materials that can harm anybody’s health who are just taking medicines abusively. Always remember that a good health is a right nutrition, and a good nutrition is not a wealth but it is a life.Having a healthy body can prolong our life and we can have a mental alertness especially in the classroom discussion, we become more productive, we can work properly for whatever tasks given to us in our home, school and even in our community. We become more comfortable and confidence if we are healthy, no one can bully us and being called “lampayatot” or “naiwanan sa kusina”. We have to eat moderately especially during our breakfast to have a right balance of nutrients and prevent overweight and obesity. The persons who are obese or overweight are exposed to serious health risks such as cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, cancer and musculoskeletal disorders like arthritis. Overweight and obese people are also at risk for developing certain conditions like hypertension, sleep apnea, breathing problems, liver diseases and gallbladder diseases. Some people are taking slimming diet pills and steroids in order to have an instant sexy body or macho body but for your information, diet pills are harmful or fatal due to its side effects after using it. According to the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Under nutrition and overweight in Low-income and middle-income countries published online in 2013, optimum growth in the first 1000 days of life is essential for prevention of overweight. Infants who experienced growth failure early in life and had rapid weight gain in childhood might be at a particular risk of adult obesity and non-communicable diseases (lifestyle diseases). Among the causes of obesity include unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, child under nutrition, dietary changes such as increasing urbanization, globalization, increased trade liberalization making available a large variety of processed food, increased frequency of eating outside of home, use of computers and computer games and influence OF MASS MEDIA. In order to control overweight and obesity problems, we need TO TAKE the following actions: support healthy diets, follow dietary guidelines and increased physical activity or exercise like Zumba, boogie and chacha. Have a long healthy life everyone!

GRACE BALDOVIA-VERIDIANOANHS Teacher