Everyday my father would do some running and do simple exercises before leaving for work. He was conscious about what he ate and ensured that fruits and vegetables were a part of his routine diet.
My grandfather went to the farmers market everyday to buy the most fresh fruits and vegetables . Meals were cooked by my grandmom with a big dollop of love added to them.
We were vegetarians and dairy was a huge part of our diet. Occasionally we did indulge in non vegetarian food that was ordered from outside in complete secrecy , as we were brahmins and my grandfather was strictly against it. The over the top excitement of our pet dog upon arrival of non veg food, would generally let the cat out of bag and then the displeasure of my grandfather would be obvious. The emphasis was largely on fresh home cooked food. Junk/fast food was almost an unknown entity and our occasional indulgences were chocolates and desserts like halwa ,kheer etc cooked at home.
After class 10 , I spent the next 11 years in hostels .I did my 11th and 12th from Chandigarh, MBBS from KEM Hospital Mumbai and MD from Nair Hospital Mumbai. Even when I was doing Medicine I realized that my focus was on prevention and treatment of diseases by addressing the root cause i.e. unhealthy lifestyles. I often wondered , if one focussed on the lifestyle modification part written at the top of the treatment flow chart of chronic diseases, ,one would not need so much medication . Thus students would not need to learn and cram the names of so many medicines for their exams.
Once married , I settled in Delhi, and hostel life came to an end. I felt incharge of my food and exercise routines. A lot of things improved. My energy levels, stamina, skin clarity, immunity was much better. However health for me back then meant only being thin. So on one hand I was trying to eat well, and on the other hand I was in the zone of deprivation and guilt. I never became overweight except after my pregnancies(20 to 25 kgs gained) but I lost most of it. Life was busy and quite stressful. With my husband in a corporate job that required a lot of traveling and me working full time including attending emergency calls in the hospital at night ,stress started taking a toll on my physical and mental health .There was constant juggling between the household and the hospital.
I got diagnosed with slipped discs at L3,4 and L4,5 levels with degenerative changes in the whole spine.I was confined to bed and was in a lot of pain. Both at a subconscious and conscious levels , I refused to accept this new way of life. I was also advised surgery but I refused it. I started searching for someone with a good knowledge of yoga as I thought that it was the only way out. I found a great yoga teacher who made me first unlearn a lot of stuff I believed in, as a doctor and the actual, learning started post that. Under his guidance I regained my strength,flexibility and stamina. From not being able to walk without pain, over a period of 6 months I started jogging and exercising in the gym.
I have always believed that good health is a by-product of a healthy lifestyle and that as humans we all have the power to be in charge of our health. I will share a few more instances here that reinforced my belief in the power of the healthy lifestyle.
An episode that comes to my mind that majorly reinforced my faith in the power of lifestyles, when my mother got diagnosed with asthma at around 50 years of age.I knew she was under a lot of stress and somehow even then I believed (when very few people believed)that stress has got lots to do with this. After being on inhalers for a year or so, she started following a pranayama routine diligently in the morning. After a few months she could go off inhalers and used them very rarely only on a SOS basis only ,like during a respiratory tract infection.
Another incidence that brought a big revelation was when my daughter had a major fracture that required surgery. I have always encouraged my kids to be active and play everyday for at least an hour.When my daughter had a fracture of her thigh bone,I was not just shocked but very heartbroken as how her bones could be so weak! After all she ate well and was an active kid.
Also she got repeated stomach aches that left us all confused because all the tests showed that there was nothing wrong with her. One of my Paediatrician friends suggested that we stop milk altogether for her. She anyways never liked milk, so it was easy to do that. Lo behold,all her stomach aches vanished. I realized that she was lactose intolerant and this is what had led to the calcium being leeched out of her bones too and that explained the fracture.
My husband got diagnosed with hypertension in his late 30s and it was quietly accepted and blamed on the genes. A few years later after nudges from myside, he started taking his lifestyle seriously.The food,walks in the nearby forest,work outs,sleep,all became important.He lost about 10 kgs of weight. The lipid profile and energy levels became much better. He was able to go off his medicines including statins.
In 2018,I attended my first Lifestyle Medicine conference in Bangalore. It was infact India’s first Lifestyle Medicine conference conducted by the newly formed Indian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. To be on the same platform as other doctors who believed in the power of lifestyles was a life changing experience. It was like finding your tribe.
I decided to get Board Certified and passed the exam conducted by International Board of Lifestyle Medicine in 2022 and became one of the first few board certified lifestyle medicine doctors in the country. I have been actively involved with ISLM(Indian Society of Lifestyle Medicine).It has been an enriching experience touching lives, treating the root cause of diseases and enabling people to take charge of their health.
And ….The journey continues…
