The month of March is globally celebrated as Women’s Month and it gives us a time to reflect on what matters to women all around the world.
Many women can recite their telephone numbers, account numbers and sometimes even BVN without any help. However, many never find out their health numbers until they are ill and visiting the hospital. Taking control of your health and becoming aware of your health needs involves knowing these numbers. They are especially beneficial for making lifestyle changes if needed. Here are a few health numbers you need to know:
- Blood Sugar: High blood sugar indicates that your body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or isn’t able to properly use insulin produced. Having high blood sugar over time can cause a damage in blood vessels, nerves, and other vital organs such as the kidneys and eyes. Knowing that your blood sugar is high will let you take steps to lower it, and possibly delay or prevent type 2 diabetes. A healthy fasting blood sugar level should be 70-99 mg/dL.
- Blood Pressure: It is important to keep track of your blood pressure figures because having a high blood pressure forces your body to work harder and increases your risks of developing heart diseases, having a stroke, as well as kidney and heart failure. It is possible to have a high blood pressure and not know it, so routinely measuring it and keeping track is very important. You can have your blood pressure measured at home by yourself. A healthy blood pressure should be 90/60mmHg to 120/80 mm Hg.
- Body Mass Index: BMI is a measure of weight compared to height. It indicates how much body fat a person has. Being overweight or obese can put on the heart and increases the risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and other health conditions. Your doctor can measure you weight and height and calculate your BMI during your regular checkup. You can also weigh yourself and keep track of your BMI at home using an online calculator. A healthy BMI should be between 18.5 kg/m2 and 24.9 kg/m2
- Waist circumference: Carrying too much weight around your waist increases your risk of having heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. You can measure your waist circumference at home. Wrap the tape measure around your middle, about at the level of your belly button. 35 inches or less is a healthy waist circumference.
- Cholesterol ratio: There are two cholesterol ratios to consider
- Total Cholesterol:HDL– Of all the cholesterol in your body, how much “good stuff” is there? HDLs are protective because they help clear out excess, dangerous cholesterol and keep the ‘teenage’ TGs at bay so the more you have, the better. Because of this, TC:HDL ratio is a better indicator of cardiovascular disease than just TC alone. A ratio of 3.5 or lower is optimal for cardiovascular protection.
- LDL:HDL- Again, are there enough good guys to keep the bad guys under control, or have the LDLs and TGs begun to take over? Ideally this ratio should be no more than 2.6 so that the HDLs can continue to do their job effectively.
Having numbers that are too high or too low may be a warning sign that serious illnesses are imminent, and you need to make lifestyle changes.
AXA Mansard Health offers a bouquet of flexible plans that give you access to quality health care and superior service delivery for your entire family. With our wide range of carefully selected hospitals nationwide, hospital pre-booking service which saves you the hassle of long queues, out of pocket reimbursement arrangement, 24/7 Customer Contact Centre etc., you can rest assured that you are making a great choice. You can call us on 0700AXAMANSARD or visit www.axamansard.com
