INVESTMENT TALK WITH EMMA: Health is still wealth
(Over 20 years investing experience in Nigeria’s financial markets)
Wealth is not health, but an informed healthy person can create and enjoy wealth. The main reason why we invest in our education, careers, businesses and real assets is to create wealth. But most times we focus on investing in our careers, businesses and real assets at the detriment of our health. A wise investor need to learn how to invest in his or her health.
We need to be knowledgeable about what we eat and drink, and what we should not. We may also have to make adjustments to our lifestyles, to enable us enjoy good health. People are prepared to pay huge amount of money to acquire knowledge on how to be wealthy, but few people invest on how to be healthy.
Having good health is very important for us to get and stay at the peak of our careers; we also need good health to enjoy our wealth. Once health breaks down, all other things are held up. We can no longer look for contracts, businesses or money. Cars, house and property have been sold because of life threatening diseases. These show the importance of investing in our health.
I will outline some health tips which I got from ‘health habits you must develop” by Dr. Iseoluwa Aworinde, and “indulge in healthy living” by Bisi Abiola.
- Set up a health goal, eg losing weight, reduction in sugar consumption, walking 5km per week etc.
- Develop positive thinking patterns. Negative emotions lead to anger, depression, weakness and sickness. Learn to forgive and control your temper.
- Always eat healthy meals. Eat fruits, vegetables and foods that are rich in fibre. Avoid fast foods, red meat, processed and preserved foods. Most of the additives used in preserving the foods are carcinogenous. Reduce your salt and sugar intake. Healthy meal and lifestyle will enable us to have healthy weight.
- Develop good loving relationships with God, your spouse, family, colleagues, workers and subordinates. These will give us peace at home, ability to share thoughts and problems, and also give us less stress.
- Exercise regularly by walking, jogging, running, swimming etc. exercise is very good for the cardio-vascular system.
- Manage stress by resting, having adequate sleep, creating time for recreation, going on annual vacation from work, and avoid setting unrealistic goals or targets for yourself.
- Avoid eating food late in the night and avoid going to sleep immediately after eating. Due to inactivity during sleep, food eating late at night does not provide energy and it is stored as fat in the body or glycogen in the liver. Eating late at night can lead to obesity, high blood cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and heart attack.
- Drink adequate water during the day, and take a glass of water first thing in the morning. Water reduces sodium build-up, maintains muscle tone, aids digestion, removes toxins and makes up about 70% of our body weight.
- Do not take drugs without your doctor’s prescription and always authenticate the source of your drugs. Fake drugs have sent a lot of promising young people to their early graves.
- Have a regular medical check-up, this is necessary to detect early diseases which could later be dangerous. It is also good and cheaper to subscribe to a health insurance scheme.
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Memorable investment quote
Wall Street is the only place people ride in a Rolls Royce to get financial advice from people who take subway. – Warren Buffet
Emma is an experienced investor with
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The level of priority that a number of people place on their health is appalling.
I am very guilty too.
I think everyone is guilty, basically, this 8am-5pm daily stuff is not helping matters.
But we can still find a way to go about it.