Sunday 10 February 2013 News..
Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding (Proverbs 4:7)
The speaker Pastor John Nwachukwu, a Pharmacist and Pastor of the HAC Port-Harcourt Centre started by establishing the importance of wisdom. After reading Proverbs 4:7 and Proverbs 3:13-16, Pastor Nwachukwu provided a brief history of the evolution of public health and the history of diseases. Also, he emphasized the move from single causes of diseases to multiple causes, as well as the difference between communicable(infectious/transmissible) diseases to non-communicable(non-infectious/non-transmissible) diseases.
After World War 2, he explained that a lot of attention shifted to Public Health with the focus of developed countries being prevention rather than the cure of diseases, and a move to eliminate all communicable diseases. However, in the developing as well as undeveloped world, there was a wide spread of communicable diseases and later on non-communicable diseases. Obviously, the developed world was not spared from the spread of these non-communicable and preventable diseases. For the purpose of the message, he differentiated between cardiovascular (a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels: arteries, capillaries and veins) and non-cardiovascular diseases.
A lot of these preventable diseases are caused by lifestyle: the kind of food we eat, our attitude to work and chores, lack of exercise amongst others. Pastor Nwachukwu went further by describing how our lifestyle can be a bane to healthy living. He painted a picture of how certain fatty, cholesterol and sugar packed foods block the arteries causing the process of blood pumping to require more force and work, thereby wearing the heart out. Additionally , Pastor Nwachukwu used biblical references to illustrate God’s intricate design of the human body and the need to care for ourselves.
He began his conclusion by emphasizing the importance of wisdom and introduced the concept of the Hallelujah Diet (an attempt to return to a biblically-based diet. It is a low-calorie vegan diet, consisting of 85% raw organic foods and 15% cooked foods). Also, Pastor Nwachukwu encouraged the congregation to exercise and buttressed his point of prevention being better than cure by educating the congregation of the ills and side effects of drugs (every drug has a margin of safety).
Action Points:
- Have a family health philosophy e.g “prevention is better than cure”
- Try to practice the ‘hallelujah diet’ or a modified version
- Ensure you have comprehensive medical checkup at least once a year
- Eat balanced meals
- Variety is the spice of life- Remember to give yourself a treat once in a while
- Acquire Knowledge
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth (3 John 1:2)
The service ended with a session of worship and thanksgiving led by Pastor Austen Ukachi.
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