How much is good Health worth?

Good Health has been described as the most valuable asset any human can possess, as the true idea of it’s worth — like money — can never be fully perceived until it is lost.

It is the greatest wealth bestowed upon man, without which man would not be able to enjoy life to its fullest, pursue personal goals and ambitions, relish the joy of relationships with family and friends, or even have the privilege of attaining to the highest of one’s potential and capabilities.

The World Health Organisation defines health in its broader sense as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

In a country like Nigeria where the average life expectancy at birth is said to be 48.9 years for male, and 55.3 years for female, it is obvious that many Nigerians are not living in an optimal state of health, and it is quite unfortunate that many are not even aware of the general state of their health and overall well being.

The majority don’t even know what diseases they are at risk of and what to do to prevent themselves from being victims of these common, avoidable illnesses. For example, one in four Nigerians is hypertensive, and four out of every five Nigerians don’t even know they are!

According to the International Diabetes Federation, Nigeria has the highest number of people with diabetes (with approximately 1,218,000 people affected) in Africa. Nigeria also has the highest number of people with impaired glucose tolerance, with an estimated 3.85 million people also affected.

When it comes to obesity and overweight, a study done by Olatubosun et al, on the prevalence of obesity and overweight in urban adult Nigerians, revealed a prevalence of 42 per cent for women, and 15 per cent for men; while obesity has been proved to be a risk factor for several other conditions such as heart disease, cancers, gallstone, infertility, etc.

Some Nigerians recognise the situation of their health for what it really is and in so doing, present themselves for annual medical check-ups, especially as they get older. These ones understand the numerous benefits of regular medical examinations, including early detection of diseases which can make the difference between life and death.

Early detection of diseases also helps to initiate therapy early, leading to delayed onset of complications. People who have regular medical check-ups also eventually end up spending less on treatment of illnesses. Prevention is better and cheaper than cure!

However, many spend a lot of money traveling out of the country to have access to facilities to satisfy themselves that they have truly been thoroughly assessed when they present themselves for these routine tests. This worrisome trend is quite common, especially among those of high socio-economic class, some of whom believe they need to travel to India, America or United Kingdom to access basic and common medical tests that are abundantly available right here in our country.

It is said that over 5,000 Nigerians travel abroad for medical treatment monthly, resulting in loss of over N78bn annually to capital flight. Investigations revealed that out of the estimated amount spent on medical attention abroad, India earns over $260m (N40.94bn) from Nigeria alone, accounting for more than half the entire income Nigeria loses to medical tourism every year.

Each medical tourist is said to spend between $20,000 and $40,000 on average, on each trip.

The Nigeria Medical Association, through its national president, Dr. Osahon Enabule, recently urged politicians to emulate the Kogi State governor who sought and received medical attention locally when he had a fractured femur, knowing full well that this condition can be adequately managed right here.

A number of the treatments so eagerly sought overseas by many are available right here. A typical example of such is the Mart Life Detox Clinic, the very first Modern Mayr Medicine Clinic in Africa, and the third of it in the world. This clinic is a world class facility which offers services that rank at par with the other Mayr clinics around the world. It can be describe as preventive general health care and healthy living.

It was set up in 2012 in response to the obvious need in Nigeria and Africa at large for a centre where conventional and natural healing therapies can be combined to solve common health issues in this environment. Emphasis is also placed on prevention of illnesses in unaffected members of the populace through medical screening, education and counseling on lifestyle modifications and diet to enhance optimal health.

Under highly experienced medical supervision, accompanied by healthy nutrition and appropriate physical activity, the individual is cleansed and the natural self-healing process is activated.

It involves intensive diet treatment, which relies heavily on patient commitment and discipline. The emphasis is on cleansing and detoxifying the intestine, which in turn leads to purifying the body.

This is the concept of Mayr therapy as described by Franz-Xaver Mayr, the Austrian scientist and holistic physician who lived more than 100 years ago.

Early in the 20th century, Mayr developed a therapy which was to rewrite the concept of conventional preventive medicine. His theory was based on the recognition that the root of modern civilisation illnesses — such as like hypertension, diabetes, obesity etc. — could increasingly be traced to the digestive system. Consequently, he set up the viva Mayr clinic in Austria to attend to diverse kinds of patients in need of healing. And that is what we are replicating here in Nigeria.