Lifestyle diseases

The modern life along with comforts, has brought with it a new set of health problems. For most people, especially those in cities, life has become fast paced. Dietary habits, inadequate sleep, work stress, monetary issues, road rage, air pollution, smoking, alcohol abuse are leading to a variety of health problems. Most common is increased acid production in the stomach leading to abdominal discomfort, bloating, burning or even pain. Some other problems are high blood pressure, diabetes, overweight, chest problems, vitamin deficiency, sleeplessness and a host of psychological problems.

Some people do not even know that the food that they are eating, their lifestyle and habits are the cause of their health problems. Some people, even though they know, are not changing their lifestyle for a variety of reasons. Either way, our body is in constant interaction with our environment through breathing, drinking and eating at physical level. The sensory inputs affect at psychological level. What we consume, has effect on our body systems. Body has enormous capacity to adjust the variations in these inputs. But the body has its limitations.

It is again a balance between the person’s constitution and the amount of proper maintenance or abuse that decides the onset of imbalance or disease. Many people have the awareness and correct the instigating factors. While some feel that they can continue to abuse the body and get it corrected by medication or treatment. It is a common misconception that health can be bought.

Health can never be bought. Most of us are born healthy to start with. If we do a little bit of maintenance in the form of exercise and healthy lifestyle, body is unlikely to contract disease. Medicines cannot reverse the aging process and bring back the lost health. All we can do is to try to restore it as much as possible and may be replace the worn-out joints.

These days people are relying too much on doctors and medicines for their health. The threshold for seeking medical advice has come down due to lowered pain tolerance and fear. The biggest doctor in the world is our own body. It has enormous amount of repair and regenerative capacity. Without realizing that fact or maintaining their body and mind, many people are going round the hospitals for trivial issues. It is important for people to realize that they are responsible for their own health and take appropriate precautions.

Doctors can only guide the people to some extent. Even doctors can sometimes be wrong. The entire medical community and population is misled for close to half a century about the bad effects of dietary cholesterol. Now we took a U turn and say that it is not as bad as it was thought to be, and white sugar is a big culprit. People think that doctors know everything and have answers to all health problems. Doctors know many things and can control many things, but not everything.

There are people who take this too far. They neglect the initial symptoms of the disease and do not seek advice until the late stages of the disease. This is also not good. Any ailment that does not clear away in 1 or 2 weeks needs checking by a doctor and tests if necessary.

Doctors and medication should be used judiciously for short periods as and when necessary. In other times, it is one’s own responsibility to take care of their health. Even the chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure can be better controlled if the patients take responsibility of their health and make lifestyle changes.