In the game of basketball, a good defense is the best offense against unexpected setbacks. In life, as the world fights against the COVID-19 virus, we realize that good health is something we should never take for granted. AXA, one of the country’s leading insurance providers and the official insurance partner of the NBA in the Philippines, shares seven simple but effective defense tactics to help you with your game plan on staying physically and mentally strong, not just during the lockdown but also after the quarantine is over.
Eat healthy. What you eat is closely linked to your health. Avoid getting sick by maintaining a balanced diet composed of protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. By making the right food choices, you are protecting yourself from possible health conditions such as diabetes, heart attack, cancer, or stroke.
Exercise regularly. Even off the court, you can still follow an at-home workout routine. Jump rope, do squats and lunges, push ups, and stretches. Exercising regularly boosts your energy, maintains healthy weight, and defends you against diseases.
Take vitamin supplements. There are occasions when people don’t get the right amount of nutrients from food alone. To fill the nutritional gap, drink the proper dietary supplements tailored to your body’s needs, which includes omega-3, zinc, folic acid, and more.
Check out health and life insurance options. Every now and then, people still get seriously sick despite living a healthy lifestyle. One of the best ways to prepare for this is to get health and life insurance. Take advantage of the lockdown time to research on various health and life insurance products according to your needs. Consider AXA Health Start, which provides coverage for the top three illnesses — cancer, heart attack, and stroke — and their select early stage conditions at an affordable price.
Avoid vices. Smoking and excessive alcohol drinking are harmful habits that may cause your health to quickly deteriorate, which may lead to death. Smoking can lead to emphysema or pulmonary diseases while too much drinking can damage your liver. The sooner you quit, the better.
Stay hydrated. Drinking more than eight glasses of water is essential to one’s health. It can help control calorie intake, energize the muscles, keep skin hydrated and young, and flush toxins out of the body.
Take a breather. Living healthy is more than just diet and exercise; one shouldn’t forget about mental health, too. One of the best exercises to stay mentally fit is meditation or even taking deep breaths. For beginners, sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes and focus your attention on your breathing and how the body moves with every inhale and exhale. If your mind wanders, work on bringing your focus back to your breathing.
Now more than ever, it is important to have a game plan to stay healthy. Be physically and mentally fit by following these simple tips from AXA Philippines. For more information on AXA, visit www.axa.com.ph.
As of April 7, the Department of Health reported 414 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease in the country, raising the total number to 3,660. The Philippines now has 163 fatalities, and 73 recoveries. But while the number of deaths outnumber recoveries, most people who contract the virus go on to get better. That’s because 80% of people who contract the coronavirus will only experience relatively mild symptoms, or even no symptoms at all.While most will recover from contracting COVID-19, the peculiar nature of recovery is it requires isolation. And patients, in addition to being sick, will oftentimes also experience great anxiety and afraid. According to the members of Public Health Communications Advisory Network (PHCAN), COVID-positive patients should be shown kindness and compassion, and not discrimination and fear.As a follow up to their first FB Live session last April 4, PHCAN will be holding another Live session this Saturday, April 11 at 2PM, with Dr. Iris Isip-Tan together with COVID-19 survivors to discuss recovery, coping, and moving forward during this very challenging time. Follow the official PH CAN Facebook page for more updates and tune in to hear the stories of recovered COVID-19 patients.About PHCANPHCAN is an official partner of the Department of Health (DOH) that seeks to drive a social movement to buy more time for the country’s healthcare system by communicating critical and verified public health messages on COVID-19 to families. It is composed of doctors and healthcare professionals, dedicated to empowering families and communities to care for their loved ones during these challenging times.
One of the sacrifices that many people must make amid the COVID-19 pandemic is to stay at home and distance themselves from other people. While this is one way to protect themselves from the virus, isolation—together with anxiety and fear over the crisis—may raise mental health concerns.If you find yourself struggling to cope with the current situation, you can do more than just browse through Facebook or watch movies. AXA Philippines, one of the country’s leading insurance providers, shares some activities to help you be productive and fight the blues during this Enhanced Community Quarantine.Exercise. Staying at home doesn’t mean you have to limit your daily physical activity. You can search for exercise videos online that will help you stay fit! There are so many options to suit your level and preference—from simple but effective walking exercises, high-intensity workouts, zumba, and yoga, among so many other options. This is guaranteed to produce mood-boosting endorphins with the space and equipment you have at home.Clean your space. With a lot of spare time in your hands, why not use it to clean, declutter, and organize your things at home? Not only will this give you something to do, but sanitizing your home is also another important step in protecting yourself and your loved ones from the virus.Strengthen relationships. Social distancing doesn’t mean losing connections with other people. If you live with your family, you can now spend some more bonding moments at home. How about a night of watching movies or playing board games together? You can also stay connected to friends from a distance. Carve out some time to call your friends and check on how they are doing via online applications. This will enable you to share experiences and help each other in these trying times.Learn a new skill. Got an old guitar that you don’t know how to play? You can try learning to play that instrument now. Want to tap into your creative side? Nurture your creativity by trying to draw or write poetry. During the quarantine, many professionals are holding free classes on social media so be sure to stay updated with your favorite ones. There are also countless tutorials and courses that you can find online, so why not try them out? Who knows? Maybe by the time the quarantine has ended, you will have new hobbies for fun or valuable skills that can be helpful in your career.Meditate. Meditation is one of the best activities to boost mental health. It allows you to connect with your inner self and helps reduce stress and depression and anxiety. The best part is you don’t need much to do it – all you need is a quiet space. You just need to sit down comfortably, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing for a few minutes. If you're new to meditation, you may check out free meditation apps for beginners and soothing music online to help get you started.Your mental health is a vital part of your overall wellbeing so make sure not to neglect that part.For more information on AXA Philippines, visit https://axa.com.ph/.
With the imposed enhanced community quarantine, one of the means directed towards controlling the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 in the country, everyone has been forced to stay put and stay home. Yet, just because you are at home and isolated doesn’t mean you have to let your guard down and stay complacent. On the contrary, those at home can do their share by doing small things with significant impact; steps that are quite basic and easy to do.For one, keeping your home clean and disinfected can help prevent the spread of infection at home. Frequently-touched surfaces and objects, once contaminated, play some important role in the transmission of disease, especially as COVD-19 is spread from person to person either when we cough or sneeze or through droplets.Therefore, keeping these surfaces in our home properly disinfected and not just clean is an important step and one of the most essential things we should be doing right now.Cleaning has the ability to physically remove organic matter such as dirt and germs. This is then best followed up by using a potent household disinfectant because while a surface may appear clean, it can still very much be host to illness-causing germs. This becomes ever more apparent as studies from the New England Journal of Medicine have shown that the COVID-19 virus can live for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces.
So, which frequently-touched surfaces should be regularly disinfected with a household disinfectant? Those often shared by members of the household like doorknobs, light switches, countertops, faucets, and the like. Kitchen surfaces for example can harbor foodborne bacteria as well as bacteria transferred from humans and other items. Likewise, phones, remotes, and laptop keyboards are also potential bacteria carriers.Not to be missed out as well is the bathroom, where showers, toilets, and counters together with bathroom mats have to be disinfected too. In the bedroom, a disinfecting spray is well-suited for mattresses and pillows.Above all these, do not forget of course to wash one’s hands with soap for minimum 20 seconds thoroughly.So do keep in mind these tips—simple but very important steps one can and should undertake to keep everyone at home—and outside—healthy and safe.
