We just returned from a 3 week trip to India. I have lived in the US for almost 18 years now, and was a medical doctor when I arrived here. I have made many trips back home over these years, yet somehow this time it really hit me. The concepts of what is healthy, especially with regard to diet and lifestyle, are so messed up that it is impossible to have a lucid or logical conversation with even the most educated people on these subjects!

Why did this happen? How did it happen? Possibly because of the meeting and clashing of the concepts from the East and West? Maybe in the old days when our grandparents were young, everything was homogenous and based on the age-old Indian customs. Eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. Take long walks, keep your body fit. Do everything in moderation. Get enough rest. Meditate. Do yoga. Keep your conscience clear.

Then when we were growing up all the Western concepts came in. Get your children immunized. Use antibiotics when you get sick. We acquired televisions, computers, junk food, cars, and gadgets to do everything. Pollution. The coveting of material goods and the one-upmanship with the neighbours. Pizza from Pizza Hut for birthday parties. Yet we mixed this up with the concepts of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ foods, ghee for pregnant mothers, and sweet high-calorie foods for children who were no longer playing kabaddi, gulli-danda or even street cricket.

We ended up with dirty air, dirty water, unhealthy eating and sleeping habits, weight problems, diabetes, asthma, and many other diseases that we have acquired by mixing up the worst of the two worlds! Now add to this the incessant need for everyone to give and take advice from everyone, and you have complete chaos!

Doctors are prescribing antibiotics for everything from a bee-sting to a car-accident. There is so much overcrowding that there is nowhere to take a walk or for kids to play. The Mumbai seafront promenade smells awful and trash and stray dogs are all around. The old city of Lucknow is littered with plastic bags and the old buildings are in disrepair. The sky everywhere is grey and dismal. Dust is everywhere, nothing stays clean for more than 2 hours. Kids have Western diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn’s disease. Adults have high blood pressure starting in their 30’s (yes, this is considered normal by doctors there) and people have diabetes and thyroid problems in increasing numbers.

In the midst of this people are taking the advice of doctors, and doctors of all sorts are available. There is no standard of medical care! The gynaecologist will prescribe blood pressure medicines, the endocrinologist will give you advice on your back, and the homeopath will be angry with you if you get bypass surgery instead of coming to him for medicine. So you can shop around and get the opinion of several different medical people, take what you like of each, then the neighbours and relatives will have very forceful comments and advice of their own, so by the end of the day you are on medications and a diet that make no logical sense at all. Moreover, medications are still available upon request (and further guidance from the pharmacist), so you can combine what the doctor advised with what helped the neighbour and then have the pharmacist improve upon it!

And heaven forbid you actually have cancer or some other chronic disabling condition! The lucky few get the proper care, the rest get a raw deal. It’s not that the know-how is not there or the doctors are not good. It is just the callous approach to human life, causing delay in treatment and finally a ‘go home and live the rest of your days in peace’ attitude, with doctors still trying to play God. This, however, is material for another article!

‘Health-consciousness’ is increasing, mostly based on word-of mouth, popular articles and TV advertisements. People are still eating heaping plates of rice, ghee and sweets without control. Love is still shown through food and now we have new ways of showing love such as imported chocolates and Coca-Cola. There is always another festival, another party, and people who claim they are trying hard to eat well never seem to get around to it! Gyms and health-clubs are coming up, but the concept of balancing calories (intake versus output) is not there at all.

Hygiene, sanitation, clean water, clean air, a balanced diet, regular exercise – things we who live in the US seem to be so aware of – how and when will these concepts arrive on the Indian shores? McDonalds and Pizza Hut, Western culture (or lack of it), movies and clothing – all these have taken root! When and how is the good stuff going to come?

I came back from India very depressed this time. Things are so messed up, deep within society, deep in peoples’ minds. How can anyone ever bring any real health-consciousness to our friends and family? All these young people with back problems, blood pressure problems, joint problems, weight problems, blood sugar problems, breathing difficulties – where will it all end?

You as a reader are wondering what solution I am about to present. Sadly I have no solution. I would love to hear about other people’s thoughts and experiences. And any ideas on how to implement change are welcome as well.

|