Health is Wealth

The caption has never been more true, than in our present day world, where cost of medical services are sky high.

The more time you invest in keep yourself healthy, the more money & time you are saving, this adds to your work efficiency & productivity & ultimately your earnings.

Considering the hectic work schedules and family concerns that we live with in the modern day world, it is a tough job to find some time, howsoever little for ourselves, our body and our health. It is easy for us as doctors to advise a Patient about eating healthy food, sleeping, exercising & lifestyle management, But to actually put these advices into actions, is a challenge that is faced not just by common man but even us doctors.

Solution : We have to customize taking care of our health according to our needs, work schedules and the needs of our body, but we really need to spend some time to give our body what it needs.

Why? : Because like every other machine in the world, Human body is also a machine, Albeit the most complicated machine yet, so complicated that we are still to completely understand its working. And thus like every machine Our body also undergoes wear & tear. We all get our cars serviced regularly so that it functions well & remains in shape. For the very same reason we need to get our body serviced regularly so that it remains fit & in shape even after 70 or so years of our having abused it like anything for the purpose of living.

How? : By incorporating these simple steps in our lifestyle as per our convenience -

• Healthy Eating habits - Eating regular meals, which contain fruits, vegetables, fibers, pulses, milk & curd. Avoid eating fried & oily food & sweets. Packaged snacks like chips & Soft drinks. Too much salt or spices.Instead of consuming soft drinks trying drinking natural drinks like fruit juices, Nimbu pani, coconut water. Drink plenty of water.

• Exercise - Take out little time, 20 mins/ 30 mins every day or atleast 5 days a week for brisk exercise like brisk walking, jogging, cycling, dancing or playing sports like badminton, swimming. Begin slowly & then progressively increase the duration & amount of exercise. Kindly take advice from your medical consultant before beginning any exercise schedule in case you have ny known medical illness or are elderly, so that you exercise as per the needs of your body.

         (Often People have a misconception that if they are exercising, they can go easy on the oils, fats & sweets in their diet. This is a wrong notion. Exercise has to be supplemented with healthy eating habits for a good health)

• Sleep - A sound and adequate sleep is must for our body. This is the toughest to achieve. Try as much as you can to get atleast 6-7 hrs of sleep if not more daily or as often as you can. Because a good sleep is essential for our body & mind to get rest & recover it's strength. Increasing accumulation of sleep lag decreases not just work productivity but make people more cranky, irritated & prone to other mistakes.

• Avoid (Infact say absolute no) - Alcohol, smoking, eating tobacco & drugs. Donot take unnecessary nutritional supplements on your own (some of these supplements can be harmful, so always consult a doctor before starting with them) to compensate for inability to maintain a healthy diet.

• Inculcate good habits like sitting & reading in the correct posture, washing teeth before going to sleep, washing hands with soap before eating, bathing daily, keeping small nails, using tissues to clean nose & cleaning ears regularly. (Some of you might laugh these off as primary school lessons, but trust me most of us donot follow these basic & simple precautions which can save us from many disease.)

PS :- This is just a minimal outline of what we should do to Keep ourselves healthy. The basic ABC's that can help you keep your body in shape. This does not mean that you can avoid medical opinion for illness or when your body is not fit.