Dubai Health Authority's smart clinic discusses healthy practices for the New Year

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 4, 2015: The Dubai Health Authority’s (DHAs) smart clinic discussed today healthy practices for the New Year. Information was disseminated via DHA’s Twitter page, Instagram account and through Periscope.

Set habits to achieve resolutions:  Doctors emphasized that the best way to achieve resolutions is to focus on establishing habits and routines that will help you achieve your resolution. Year after year we make resolutions to exercise regularly, eat well, and give up smoking and othe r bad habits. According to the Harvard Nurses' Health Study, following such basic rules can cut heart disease risk by 80 percent, diabetes risk by 90 percent and cancer risk by 50 percent.  Yet, most of us fail to keep our promises to ourselves.

Dr Bassem Badr, senior specialist physiatrist at Rashid Hospital, said:  “Instead of focusing on what you want to weight by the end of 2016, focus on the habits that will get you there. Have weekly and quarterly progress reports, this will help you achieve your resolutions because simply stating resolutions will not get you there. Break your goals into a series of steps, focusing on creating sub-goals, that are concrete, measurable and time-based. For example, people should decide that they will exercise three times a week for the first three months, then they can make it five times a week. Instead of saying I will eat clean, define what clean eating mean. Does it mean, you will reduce eating fried foods to one meal a week? Does it mean you will limit your sugar intake to two teaspoons per day? Whatever it is, the goals need to define and the habits need to be set.”

Dr Rula Abu Ghazalah, senior clinical dietician at Rashid Hospital seconded this opinion. She said: “Instead of going on crash-diets, focus on  simple healthy eating but jot down the goals you have in order to achieve your target weight.  The simplest option is cutting down sugars, processed and fried foods and this can be done slowly with the help of goals.  It is important to keep a food journal at least for the first 21 days, which is the time it takes to form a new habit.

People should also give themselves a small reward whenever they achieve a sub-goal to maintain motivation and a sense of progress.”

Yearly Screening:

Dr Aisha Al Abd, Senior Specialist family physician at Abu Hail primary healthcare centre said that people must opt for comprehensive health screenings. “This helps understand risk factors, is important for detection and is an overall tool to provide you with a one-shot snapshot of your health so that you can take the right action at the right time.”

Al Abd emphasised that women above the age of 40 years and those with a family history of breast cancer, should opt for mammogram screenings.

Quit tobacco: visit a tobacco-cessation clinic:  Even if you have tried to quit several times before and you have been unsuccessful, it does not mean that this time will be the same. Dr Badr, said:“Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. So don’t let it get you down. Nowadays there are several medical ways to quit tobacco and thus a visit to the tobacco-cessation clinic is a must.”

Exercise- the miracle feel-good medicine.

Dr Khulood Al Sayegh, family physician at Al Safa Health Centre, said that a majority of patients always complain about stress and once they are asked to explain the reasons for it, people can’t always pin-point the exact reasons. “We lead busy lives and one of the best ways to beat stress is to take time off  to exercise because that is the simplest and easiest way to feel good and to be healthy.”

Dr. Badr, said: “The most recent research about happiness and ways to achieve a healthy mental life puts exercise at the top of the list.  Not only does exercise keep the heart healthy and provide oxygen into the system, but it also helps deplete stress hormones and releases mood-enhancing chemicals such as endorphins which help us cope with stress better. Endorphins are often classified to be the happy hormones. Any form of physical activity leads to the release of these feel good neurotransmitters. The increase in endorphins in your body leads to a feeling of euphoria, modulation of appetite and enhances the immune system.”

Cut back on sugar and caffeine.
Dr Shaima Qayed, senior clinical dietician at Nad Al Hammar primary healthcare centre, said: “Decreasing sugar actually increases people's energy, by minimizing the highs and lows that sweet foods triggers.  If you need to eat chocolate, stick to dark chocolate, which is at least 70 per cent dark and you can eat 30gms, approximately the size of a matchbox, every day. Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants and it’s actually good for us. But other than that, all forms of refined sugar is unnecessary and actually causes several health problems like diabetes if taken in excess. About caffeine, most of us are probably overstimulated already so we don’t need to add a stimulant to our system, limit caffeine intake to two times a day.”
 
Be kind to yourself: More often than not we are too hard on ourselves and this is one of the biggest reasons for set-back and negative thoughts. Dr Badr, said: “Give yourself positive thoughts, think of how you will feel when you achieve your goals and expect to revert to your old habits from time-to-time. Treat failure as a temporary setback rather than giving up all together. Reward your progress and just be kind to yourself.”