How we have lost the right path of health care

It is really unfortunate that the ‘Health Care’ has become a medical terminology. When animals are really good at health care, we human beings struggle to maintain our health.  The domesticated animals or animals that feed on food discarded by human, suffer from diseases because they have started eating foods that are not suitable for them.

In India there should have been a strong culture aimed towards heath care. Health care is each individual’s own responsibility. So the way of life, the daily activities and the food we take were aimed towards maintaining health. To ensure that everyone follows, the daily program was packed into culture. Hinduism is not a religion at all. There is no one God. One can worship the God in the form of man or woman or animals like monkey, elephant, snack, dog, lion, pig, eagle etc. The image of the man or the women can have innumerable variants. There can be any name and to give evidence to each name there are endless stories. Gods can be saluted, worshiped, meditated and can be surrendered according to one’s own momentary requirement to become peaceful. God need not be worshiped also. So how Hinduism can be called a religion? It is just the path to understand ourselves as a part of nature and get synchronized with nature.

Our ancestors had perfect understanding of human physiology and anatomy. They had also known that everything we do, we consume, we think, we speak and feel has an effect on the body and mind. So they developed the Yogic principle to lead a life in which health care is inbuilt. Yoga is grossly mistaken to be mystic procedures not for common men. Schools teach some postures of yogasana as a part of physical training.  Physical training is always optional and there is no examination. A mind set has been created over years that only when there is an examination something should be learnt. Also while recruiting no company checks the knowledge of an individual with respect to physical exercises. So, physical exercises are not learnt properly.

The food culture has been under severe attack over years. There was no place in our Indian culture to sell any cooked food. In Indian literature, there is reference only to inns where food was served free. Otherwise food was used to be carried in parcel from home. Then there came some vegetarian restaurants when people started travelling more because of automobiles and locomotives.

Later on, the British rule brought in a food culture that might have introduced bread and jam in the food. These were the products made in industry. This was an impact of industrial revolution.  Biscuits and health drinks got added to the food. The bottled cola also entered our life. Confectionery items became the much preferred little sweets for the children. The obvious reasons were that they were very sweet, not oily or sticky and were wrapped in attractive papers. For a very long time these were the only few industry made items. The milk chocolate bars were slow to become popular because of storage problems in a tropical country like India. However when shops were equipped with refrigerators bar chocolates also found a place in the list of luxury food stuff.

Now there are sophisticated restaurants in length and breadth of India. They serve an extremely long list of cuisine. There is an abundance of non-vegetarian food preparations. Those who are fortunate to have money and access to these restaurants, greatly relish the taste in the posh ambience of warm light and courteous waiters. The less fortunate fact that remains concealed beneath all these beauty and taste is the ingredients that go into making of these.

Many of us have become crazy when it comes to ice creams. We like to eat as much as possible sometimes even after a heavy lunch or dinner till we feel full and heavy. Sometimes the flavor is so tempting that we like to try a little more but could not.

So what we eat has gone out our control. Applying the established Indian wisdom our heath will also go out of control. So we invite all diseases by our poor eating habits and depend on an interventional health care practice of eating medicines and accepting surgical procedures.

As on today most of the organisms causing diseases and infections can be controlled by antibiotics. However this luxury is going to vanish in about 30 years from today. The organisms would have developed resistance to all antibiotics and the less fortunate who get infected will die. So the present health care practices are not going to work. A project chartered by the British government known as the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, estimates that the worldwide toll right now is 700,000 deaths a year and if we cannot get this under control by 2050, not long, the worldwide toll will be 10 million deaths a year.

The only option left to us is to become cautious of the food we eat. We cannot be sure of the different chemicals that are added in processed foods and foods in restaurant. Also mostly the farm bread meat is full of antibiotics and toxins. Though we cannot practically stop taking, we can reduce the consumption of farm bread meat namely chicken, prawns and some fishes.

We have to rediscover our ancient food culture. In India we have a great food culture that fits into the Indian climatic conditions. The food culture is different to every state. So if we are in southern states we will have to follow a rice rich food culture. If we are in northern states we have to follow wheat rich food culture. There is no place for grains like oats, corn and palm oil, refined oil and hydrogenated oils.

We have to totally avoid taking packed food and in particular reduce the intake of milk. Our culture is to take butter milk, butter and ghee in small amounts. Babies should necessarily be breast fed and milk powder may be used to supplement in case of inadequate mother’s milk.

These days we get mill polished rice . Rice with only husk removed is preferable. Now we can very easily build machines to effectively do this job. Maida is a concentrated carbohydrate with gross imbalance. Consumption in any form like parotta and naan could be avoided as much as possible. White sugar is also a concentrated sugar and gets into the blood stream very fast. It is better to avoid eating white sugar in any form.  Biscuits are also to be taken only if required and very occasionally. The preservatives added will definitely harm health. 

We should stop taking all health drinks. We need not believe the claims that they act as planned food and are essential food supplement. Vitamins and food supplements are required only for diseased body and that too as long as the disease exists.

There are good books in Tamil written by Dr.Sivaraman explaining the dietary values of our traditional South Indian foods. We should make conscious efforts to include these food items in our daily food.

We may have to identify the fruits of our soil and include them in our regular diet. Why should we pay through the nose for Kabul pomegranates, apples and kiwi fruits that are imported? They are expensive but are not appropriate for our climate.

  

Now days, both husband and wife are employed. Most of them are employed in corporate sector. There is hardly any time for them to think about food and exercise. So unless they make conscious efforts, health care is going to be expensive and yet physically and mentally painful. One will have to spend tremendous amount of time in waiting in the hospitals.

Please understand the fact that you cannot eat money. All your luxury flats are of least value to you if you do not have good health. Times have changed. Do not be total slave to corporate and MNC companies.    

Physical exercise should become a part of our daily life. We have to reinvent the techniques of fasting and get practiced to plain water enema procedures. The physical exercises using any equipment like tread mill is not recommended. The whole body exercise Suryanamaskar is the only fully balanced exercise that will help to keep your digestive system, immune system and physical energy in perfect form.

This article is a wake-up call to everyone who reads this. Recommend this to your friends.

Hope you will focus on the right path to healthy living.