Health Adda

Dr Gourdas Choudhuri

In their pursuit to understand why some people live healthier and longer lives, and after chasing several measurable parameters such as blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, uric acid and smoking for over half a century, medical scientists are now tumbling upon an esoteric factor that has been conspicuously missing from medical books, called ‘happiness’ that could hold the key to our wellness. Happiness is quite like the hippo in the zoo. When you see it you can easily recognize it, but when someone asks you to describe it, it is not easy. It does not have the distinctive features like an elephant’s trunk or a leopards spots. And yet when you try counting people in office who are happy, or occasions when you have been happy, you know exactly who or what they are! Funny as it might sound, the arrival of “happiness” as a medical factor affecting our lives probably started when a group of German pragmatists tried to beat the Americans at their habit of measuring every aspect

Let us recapitulate a few essential points about the role, aims, targets and methods of exercise that should keep you fit and well. In case you have missed the previous columns, here are the key points: Exercise comes next only to food as an essential component for ensuring good health and longevity. It tones up the heart, lungs, muscles and joints. People who exercise regularly have healthier hearts and tend to live longer. People with diabetes, obesity and fatty liver can do very well with exercise. Aerobic exercise improves insulin sensitivity, brings down blood sugar levels, help burn extra fat and prevents clogging of arteries of the heart with cholesterol The type of exercise that is good for the heart is called cardio-vascular or aerobic exercise. It involves movement such as brisk walks, jogging, cycling, swimming, treadmill or playing outdoor games. A good point is to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). It should be between 20 -23 for Indians. If it is more than

Our series on exercise and wellness would be incomplete without a column on Yoga. At the outset I must confess that I am not an expert on yoga and will offer my sceptic observations as a medical scientist. Of the numerous reports in the literature on the effects of Yoga on various aspects of health such as insulin resistance, heart and fatty liver, very few stand up to scientific scrutiny as the trials have not been designed in line with modern medical requirements.  When asked to review this topic for an international conference a few years back, I could find only 25 eligible studies of which just 4 were randomized controlled ones (considered to be scientifically well designed), 6 were non-randomized controlled trials (these studies are subject to bias in evaluating outcome), and 15 were uncontrolled studies (likely to be biased by the person conducting it as there are no controls). Having explained the limitations and lacunae let me turn to the positive side: what did

Having been convinced that exercise is necessary for well-being and that an appropriate amount of daily dose of aerobics is the requirement, we need to move to the very important issue of choosing the right one that suits your requirements and constraints. Here are a few tips: Brisk walks: This is the form most frequently prescribed by doctors. What you need to assess is where can you take your walk, and how safe is it for you? If you are in a gated campus or near a park or the botanical garden, you are lucky. If you wander on the streets especially in the early pre-dawn hours. You could be in for trouble. Enthusiastic walkers being knocked down by rogue drivers or attacked by criminals is increasingly becoming common. Hence safety should be a pre-condition. Also, the vagaries of weather, during monsoons, foggy winters and desiccating summers should not cause long interruptions. Going to the Gym. I think it is a good method for 3 reasons: the weather cannot play spoil- sport;

The human body requires at least 1 hour each day being devoted to its care to keep it fit and strong. Of these 60 minutes, a good 40 should be spent on exercise of the body and 20 on exercise of the mind. Remember, a weak restless mind in a strong body does not make for happy living! There are broadly 2 types of exercise: aerobic or isotonic, and isometric Aerobic exercise:   This form is characterized by movement and includes walking, running, cycling, swimming or working out on the treadmill or games that involve movement. The heart rate and breathing goes up but no single group of muscles is put to too much strain (compare with isometric). It is also known as cardio-vascular exercise as it keeps the heart charged and fit. Aerobic exercise is a must for people across all ages, and should be the only form for people above 50. Apart from keeping the heart toned by improving the blood circulation in the coronary arteries, it helps burn fat and increases the basal metabol

Exercise and diet are the two most important pillars of good health, and both have as many options and controversies as there are people to give advice on them.  Choosing an exercise regime that fits your specific requirement could be a good starting point for a long term investment in well-being. You first need to take stock of your current status and then your requirements. How do you assess your present physical state? Start with the following: How old are you? Do you have any medical problems (heart, knees, anaemia etc)? Are you a strong willed person who can go it alone or do you need company and entertainment? What are your constraints (no playground, unsafe roads, no gym nearby etc)   The role of Age: In general, the younger the age, more vigorous should be the exercise. A 16 year old, for instance, should play a vigorous out-door game, sprint and run, undertake long distance cycling and so on, but a 60 year old would have to choose from other milder opti

Wheat, the staple diet of over half the world’s population, could paradoxically be the cause of several of our vexing health problems. A recent study in the journal ‘Nutrients’ points out that proteins in this cereal could be triggering a wide a range of disorders from autistic behaviour in children to liver cirrhosis in adults. Wheat does not seem to go down well in 5% of its consumers. In its most well recognized form called Celiac Disease, one of its proteins called gluten evokes an immune reaction from the small intestines, typically causing diarrhoea, malabsorption and growth failure in children. Funnily, despite having literally grown up on chappatis all through childhood, Celiac Disease often appears suddenly in adulthood with loose motions, weight loss, weakness, anaemia and fatigue. Celiac Disease can also masquerade and present in atypical forms such as delayed puberty, weak bones, deficient dental enamel, neuritis, diabetes, itchy skin rash or an abnormal body move

Winter is a season when many find themselves not quite at their best: low on energy and gloomy in mood, resonating with the chill and fog outside the window. Seasonal depression, or seasonal affective disorder (SAD) as it is now called by mind-scientists, is indeed rather common affecting one of ten people. It often gets passed off as laziness or excess sensitivity to cold, but can also manifest as social withdrawal, oversleeping, appetite changes and weight gain. Many get unduly sluggish during these times. It affects women more often, plunging many into depression. The insidious entry of winter, with temperatures dropping, days getting shorter and the feeble sun peeping occasionally between fog and cloud, makes it difficult for many of us to notice the link between the weather and our mood. If however we think back on what we did at these times over the last few years, a recognizable pattern often begins to emerge. Patients are often able to link their feelings to this pa

Alcohol, once tabooed in Indian society, has gained wide social acceptance today. Parties are no longer always as ‘dry’ as to keep the conversation hovering for hours around the weather, the boss, children’s school or politics. A couple of drinks make guests mingle better, voice their honest opinions about Katrina’s lips or Shakira’s hips, crack jokes and even sing a soulful gazal! Ladies have also started preferring spirits to Sprite as they join their men in the ‘wet’ soiree with equal gusto. Exposure to alcohol is not really recent; humans and their forefathers (apes) have tasted alcohol through the ages while munching or sucking over-ripe fruits, most of which have fermented cores.  The difference is in the concentration; it is a meager 1-3% in naturally fermented foods as the yeasts die when the alcohol levels rise. And these low levels can’t make one tipsy!  It is through the process of “distillation”, discovered by man a few centuries ago,  that alcohol can be concentrated