THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DIET

TOPIC :: SCHOOL STUDENTS :: HEALTH :: THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DIET

In addition to regular exercise, a healthy well balanced diet is essential for good health. Life or rather the quality of life you have is dependent on having good health. A well balanced diet would contain the three main groups of food as well as important vitamins and minerals. The first group of carbohydrates are found in foods such as bread, potatoes and rice. They are essentially energy giving foods, which gives power to the muscles and other tissues in our body. The next class of food is the proteins, which form the solid part in all living cells. They are commonly found in milk, met and fish; and are necessary for the body to build new cells and repair old damaged ones. For this very reason growing children require a greater intake of the different kinds of proteins as compared to adults. Lastly, we have fats which are also energy living foods, but do not give it up as quickly as carbohydrates because their molecular structure is designed to render them ideal as storage foods.

As children are much more active than adults they use up more energy for their size and therefore require more energy giving foods such as carbohydrates. To this end fats are unsuitable. Moreover too much of a fatty food intake at an early age may lead to a problem with obesity in later life. In adults, fatty deposits on the walls of the blood vessels in the form of cholesterol may lead to all kinds of heart ailments.

In addition to the foods above the body also needs small quantities of protective substances called vitamins and minerals. They are normally present in a sensible diet. For example, vitamins A and D are found in some fatty foods. Vitamin D is important along with the mineral calcium, found in milk, for the formation of bones. Vitamin B is found in the husks of wheat or rice ad vitamin C in fresh fruits such as oranges and lemons. Important minerals such as potassium, zinc and iron are present in the vegetables. Therefore, it is obvious that a well balanced diet would include all the necessary ingredients necessary for growth and good health.

PRECIOUS WATER

TOPIC :: SCHOOL STUDENTS :: GENERAL :: PRECIOUS WATER

Water is one of the main things we need most besides air. Water is plenty generally speaking, because three fourths or so of earth's surface is covered with water. This is only a general fact and not all places on earth are having enough water and healthy potable water is a rare commodity. Rivers may bring water and lakes may be having it. From the health point, they may not be fit for drinking. Most of these waters are contaminated and may contain mineral as well as organic impurities, and sometimes epidemic spreading bacteria like those causing cholera and typhoid. Nowadays the chances of contamination of water sources are quite common with industries coming up and sending out their effluents indiscriminately. So to make these waters potable they must be treated before being supplied to a population.

Treating water and supplying it to a town or city means cost. The water has to be filtered for suspended impurities and then chlorinated and then pumped to a storage tank from where the water is distributed through pipes. So, one must remember that when one draws water from the tap, one is actually buying or paying for water. This has become inevitable with the growth of cities and towns.

Once we bear in mind we will be careful in using water. There are many ways in which water is wasted. The tap may be leaky, whereby water may be spilled. That means some periodic attention must be paid to the plumbing and leaky taps. The tap may be open and the water running out and nobody would care to stop it. Unless there is need, the tap must be kept closed. This must be particularly remembered, when one leaves home on holiday, otherwise throughout their absence water may be flowing out. Just as we see if the electric mains are off when we are away for some time so too is the water tap.

Major part of the water is used for bathing, washing, and cleaning. In all these needs, water must be prudently used, Take bathing for instance; when one is scrubbing or applying soap to one's body the shower need not be running. Water economy must be remembered in the use of bath tubs. One need not be a Rhino to be in one's bath for hours on end. This prudence in the use of water may be practised in washing and cleaning. Since these consume a lot of water, the municipal corporation, if it is affluent and water is in plenty, can have a separate system supplying water for washing and cleaning alone.

The industrial houses must not be allowed to draw from public water system for their industrial use except perhaps for drinking water.

One must bear in mind when one wastes water one is depriving another of his share of water. Good water may get scarcer in days to come. With the advent of rapid industrialisation contamination of water sources poses a threat. So the industrial people must feel it their duty not to add to water pollution. In areas of acute water scarcity steps may be taken for recycling water. Remember one of the casualties of the so called modernisation is that we have to pay for nature's goods of which water is one.

KEEPING FIT

TOPIC :: HEALTH :: KEEPING FIT

One must keep his/her health fit and healthier. A sick man is a nuisance for himself and a nuisance for others about him. A sick person cannot go about his duties efficiently. He will not be able to work hard and he may not be mentally fit and alert also. If he/she is regularly sick, others will suffer in many ways. Indirectly, it is a strain on the government because it will have to run more hospitals for the sick. Economically, a nation whose people are often sick cannot be strong because the hours of work will suffer. Most of the people are  hard and are capable of longer hours of work, which means more wealth to the nation.

Ofcourse, climate may be one reason why certain people are not keeping fit. It may be due to hot moist climate or mosquitoes and other pests. But, where man cannot improve upon natural causes, he can try to keep himself fit by trying overcome them. For instance, by eradicating malaria, one can be healthy in such areas where malaria was once prevalent.

Let us now look into the ways of keeping fit. First and foremost is the diet. Unless one takes a proper, balanced and nutritious diet one cannot be healthy. It is said that a large part of the population in the third world suffers from malnutrition, which means wrong diet as well as insufficient diet. While this may sound a social problem, it is also an individual problem. One must take care what he eats and how he eats. One must plan to diet in such a way that it is well balanced, meaning it should contain the necessary quantity of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins and so on. He must keep his surroundings clean and neat, which is called environmental sanitation. He must be regular in his personal habits like answering calls of nature, bathing and so on. Even one's clothing contributes to keeping fit.

Keep fit also means how a man lives, his hours of work, his sleep, rest and relaxation. While everyone has to work to deserve his food, it should not be all work. There must be hours of relaxation. It may be some reading, playing with children, taking a stroll or taking up a healthy hobby. Hobbies play a major role in keeping one fit.

The mental attitude also is greatly responsible for keeping fit. One must take to work like a fish to the water. One must be swinging like a wheel in his work. Work can be play and play can be work. So, if one were to take to his work cheerfully then no worry about his keeping fit. Laziness, envy and jealously are some of the reasons which make one hate his work and in the long run he becomes unfit.

To keep fit, some physical exercise is necessary. This may be according to the age of the person. Some outdoor exercises like running, jumping, swimming or climbing are for the hardy youth. Walking and jogging are good for the old. Some fruitful occupation like gardening may give the required physical exercise but also contributes to the mental satisfaction.

Above all, to keep fit depends on one's attitude towards life. If one can accept success and defeat equally then one is said to be a fit person. Even choosing company may contribute to keeping fit.

Finally, it means to avoid bad habits like smoking, drinking, doping and so on. One must be warned against these as they make holes in one's pocket as well ruin one's health.

OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS AND ELDERS

TOPIC :: SCHOOL STUDENTS :: GENERAL :: OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS AND ELDERS

To be obedient, it is to obey the orders/requests of one's elders and superiors. There cannot be order unless there is obedience. One has to obey the laws of the country, otherwise the society cannot exist. The laws may be irksome, but, for the overall good of the law, one must obey them. For instance, the laws to be obeyed on the road ensures road safety. The laws pertaining to property help society continue without hitches and hindrances. Even in our body our limbs obey the commands of the brains unless they are diseased. Obedience is essential for the enforcement of order.

Obedience includes obedience to one's parents and elders. Parents are the best well wishers of their children. From their experience, they know what is good for their children. They would never mean ill for them. For the sake of the well being of the children, parents insist on obedience. Obedient children grow into fine children. They are not only loved by their parents, but also by others connected with the household and by the neighbours. When children obey parents, they become very happy.

Circumstances as they may be, parents may set certain norms. Children may not understand their implications, but if they obey, very often they will steer of dangers. For instance, the parent may warn his son of bad company. If the son obeys, he will grow unscathed. The parents may insist on personal cleanliness, keeping things clean, neat and tidy, being regular in studies and so on and so forth. If the boy/girl obeys the parents in such and other things, he/she will surely grow into a finer one. Of course, sometimes the parents orders may be forceful enough. If the parent shows how he is obedient, the son will naturally be obedient.

Being obedient to parents/elders will have to be followed in life. An obedient servant is always liked and respected. But for the unquestioning obedience of servants big establishments cannot be run. Unless one knows the value of obedience and has been practising it, suddenly he cannot become obedient. Servants who are obedient are preferred to clever ones. One may argue that blind obedience won't do good. Where one can prove the other is wrong, strict obedience can be waived. This happened sometimes; a junior may have a brilliant idea and without infraction of obedience he may put up his idea in the appropriate manner.

Obedience, just like charity must begin at home. Parents have a duty in bringing up children to be obedient and loving.

COMPUTER AND IT'S USES

TOPIC :: SCHOOL STUDENTS :: SCIENCE :: COMPUTER AND IT'S USES

A COMPUTER is "defined as an electronic machine which accepts data as input, processes and finally gives information as output."

A Computer is the single & greatest invention. The computer is essentially a machine that enables humans to complete tasks that may be time consuming or very repetitive in nature. Thus, it achieves by imitating human thought processes. In much, the same way, that humans think using pathways in their brains that conduct minute electrical currents, computers too use tiny electrical circuits, which tell it what to do. The difference being that computers do this at incredible speeds.

In this modern age, man has grown to be heavily dependent on computers to carry out all kinds of jobs that were done manually before. In banking, for example, computers allow for millions of transactions to be carried out involving large sums of money , which would otherwise require thousands of bank tellers. Computers do the job in a much shorter time and practically free of any errors. Computers are responsible for air traffic control and the running of trains to ensure that travel is made as smooth as possible. In factories now-a-days, computers operate mechanical devices that produce goods we require for everyday living, in such quantities that would be otherwise impossible to achieve, if these factories were run by humans alone.

Perhaps the greatest advancements have been made in the field of communications. All of us are by now familiar with the "Internet." The internet is "a collection of computer systems and individual terminals linked up worldwide through telephone lines and other channels." It offers a cheaper alternative to communicating with people within a country and internationally through computers. It has also been described as an immense pool of knowledge just waiting for applications it has given rise to a new means for countries to carry on trade with each other through "E-Commerce".

It must however be kept in mind that as useful as computers are. They are not capable of independent thought and still require human input. In recent times scientists have developed "Artificial Intelligence" (AI in short) in computers that may enable them to function independently of man in the future.