9th Class Science Why do we fall Ill? Significance of Health

Significance of Health

Category : 9th Class

Introduction

Health is one of the important aspects of human life. Health and diseases are interconnected with each other. Our body is made up of cells and tissues. Cells are made up of variety of chemical substance, such as, proteins, carbohydrate, fats and so on. There are various specialized activities in our bodies and all the activities are interconnected with each other. Whenever there is malfunctioning of any organ of the body, it affects the entire system of the body and our body start functioning abnormally. This situation is called the diseases. Thus, diseases can be defined as the abnormal functioning of the body.

Significance of Health

Health is considered as the complete physical, mental, and social fitness of an individual. If we remain healthy we can lead happy life. There are many factors which affects our health. The diseases may be air born, water born or food born. Some of the diseases are infectious and are caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, protozoa, fungi, virus, etc. Thus, to prevent diseases we need to keep our environment and our surroundings clean and hygienic. The personal and community hygiene is equally important to keep ourself healthy. Since we live in a society, individual health is important to keep our society healthy. We must take care of the garbages, which should not be left open on the street and in the open areas. We should have closed drainage system so that germs are not allowed to breed in the contaminated water of the drain. The drainage system should have no blockage in it to keep the dirty water flowing and there should not be stagnation of water. Thus, the condition essential for good health are: better sanitation, clean drinking water, adequate nutritious food and social harmony.

To keep ourself healthy we must take balance diet. The balanced diet promotes healthy growth of our mind and body. It keeps us mentally sharp and alert to fight any sort of problems.

Causes of Diseases

The abnormal functioning of the body is called the diseases. There, may be several reasons for causing diseases. The various factors causing the diseases have been divided into two factors as intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors.

Here in this part we will discuss both of them separately and in details:

Intrinsic Factors

The diseases causing factors that lies inside the human bodies is called intrinsic factors. The diseases like kidney failure, heart diseases, genetic disorder, hormonal imbalance, allergy etc are caused due to intrinsic factors. Such diseases are also called metabolic diseases. The diseases like kidney failure can occur due to acute or chronic problems.

Acute problems may arise due to the injuries to the abdomen parts of the body. The prerenal causes are due to the reduction in blood supply to the kidney, or dehydration in the body due to some reason or the other. The renal cause of kidney failure is because of the direct damage of the kidney. It may be due to the failure of immune system of the body or infection in the urinary tract. It is also called sepsis.

Extrinsic Factors

The factors which enters into our bodies from outside and cause the diseases are called extrinsic factors. The extrinsic factors which causes diseases are microorganisms, environmental factors, alcohol, drugs, and unbalanced diet. Some of the diseases which are caused by extrinsic factors are Beri - Beri, Pellagra, Scurvy, AIDS, Cholera, Leprosy, Dengue, Hepatitis, etc. The diseases causing microorganisms are bacteria, fungi, virus, protozoa, etc.

Some of the diseases caused due to the deficiency of nutrients are:

Sr. No.	Nutrient	Sources	Diseases
1.	Vitamin A	Green vegetable, butter, carrot, egg yolk, oranges.	Night blindness, Dermatosis
2.	Vitamin B1	Wheat, meat, liver yeast,	Beri - Beri
3.	Vitamin B2	Cereals, egg, green vegetable, meat.	Cheilosis
4.	Vitamin B3	Meat, egg, milk, rice, flour.	Nervous Disorder
5.	Vitamin B5	Meat, milk, cereals, pulses.	Pellagra, Diarrhoea
6.	Vitamin B6	Egg, liver oil, kilk, vegetables, etc	Anaemia, Dermatisis, Paralysis
7.	Vitamin B12	Meat, egg, liver oil, fish.	Pernicious Anaemia
8.	Vitamin C	Citrus Fruits, lemon, mango, amia, plumes, guava.	Scurvy
9.	Vitamin D	Cod liver oil, butter, fish, milk, eggs,	Rickets in children, Osteomalacia in adults.
10.	Vitamin E	Green vegetaables, meat, butter, wheat, grams,	Anaemia, sterlity
11.	Vitamin K	Green vegetable, tomatos, soya bean, cheese, eggs	Haemorrhage
12.	Iron	Meat, eggs, cereals, green vegetables	Anaemia, week immunity
13.	Iodine	Iodized salt, milk, cheese, sea food.	Goitre, Cretinism
14.	Calcium	Milk, cheese, pods, cereals	Weak teeth and bones and retarded body growth.
15.	Potassium	Milk, meat, fruits, vegetables	Low blood pressure, weak muscles.
16.	Protein	Milk, eggs, fish, meat,	Kwashiorkor and Marasmus