How to check early development of hypertension — Expert

A professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Azuka Oparah, says regular exercise and water therapy can help check early development of hypertension early in life.
Oparah, who is the Head, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, University of Benin, stated this in a lecture he delivered on Saturday at the 2016 Orurukwu Enyiogugu Cultural Festival at Enyiogugu, Aboh Mbaise, Imo State.
According to him, every human being is bound to develop hypertension in life, but sticking to regular exercise, water therapy and other positive lifestyles can delay the early manifestation of hypertension.
Oparah said: “The body is made to move.
“That is why we remain in one place when we die and exercise enables the body to take in enough oxygen and stay strong.
“Lack of exercise makes the body weak and organ functions decline rapidly and everybody benefits from aerobic exercise such as walking and doing some work in the garden and house.”
The don said that persons with heart conditions needed medical advice on the type of exercise their body could tolerate.
Oparah said: “In addition to outdoor exercise, those who can afford an exercise bicycle should get it for regular exercise.”
He described water as life, saying that drinking water, especially first thing in the morning, could enhance the body system and ward off negative factors that could trigger health challenges.
He stressed: “About 60 per cent of the body of an adult and 70 per cent of the body of a child is made up of water and water is needed for personal and environmental hygiene and when drinking water is contaminated, we get infected.
“We need to take adequate water to be healthy.
“Learn to drink at least one to two cups of water first thing in the morning because this water therapy is what makes the Japanese to live long.’’
Oparah said that a healthy lifestyle (environment and habits) can make people age gracefully.
The don, who spoke on: “Health and The Value of Medicines’,” called on Nigerians to adopt a standard of living that would enable them to manage the environment in a way that would check the adverse effects of the depletion of the ozone layer.
Oparah identified tree-planting and proper waste disposal as very important aspects of the management of the environment.
According to him, planting trees in residential areas helps provide adequate oxygen for humans.