How to get wellness within your reach?

Many years ago, an ambitious young businessman with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol rushed into my clinic with restless energy. I told him to exercise, eat sensibly and keep regular hours, emphasizing that we need to take care of the body as it’s the only place we have to live in. 

He said he had no time for that; he was busy ‘building an empire’. 

I suggested, “Exercise is the king, nutrition is the queen, and peace is the throne. Put them together, and you’ve got your kingdom.” 

The young man merely scoffed at this ‘old-fashioned suggestion’ and trotted out.

Time flew by. A decade later, his secretary requested me to see him in his house. I was stunned. He was in a terrible condition, bent and grey with a terrible complexion. He had suffered paralysis and was breathless because of a heart ailment. Sighing with deep sorrow, he conceded he had made a mistake. 

He said, “Doctor, I was obsessed with my career and making it big. Materialistic things were my obsession. Now I realize that I can’t eat or drink money. I can neither travel because of my health problem nor wear good clothes because of my gross obesity. The worst thing is that since I had no time for my family, they have abandoned me. I live all alone in this huge bungalow with my servants.” With a bitter smile, he declared, “I wasted my health in earning money, and now I’m wasting money in earning health. I was a failure then and am failing now.”

Unfortunately, this is a very common situation nowadays. As human beings, we are on this planet for a limited few years – are we making the most of it? Do we focus on being happy? Do we care about improving ourselves and our surroundings? Are we creating beautiful moments today so that we may invest them in the universe’s bank for superb returns in the future? After all, what is life all about?

And finally, the million-dollar questions: Are we in a state of wellness? Are we healthy?

WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. According to Laurette Gagnon Beaulieu, “Wellness encompasses a healthy body, a sound mind, and a tranquil spirit.” J. Stanford says, “Health is a state of body, wellness is a state of being.” Unfortunately, in 2021, most people are neither concerned about health nor wellness.

Our body is the garden, and our willpower the gardener. Sowing the seeds of happiness and peace, and spraying it with a proactive spirit, eliminates the germs of anger, regret, resentment, guilt, blame, and worry. Only then can there be a bumper crop of prosperity.

Here are some important steps for wellness:

•  Strictly follow a regular schedule for waking up, having breakfast, lunch, exercise, dinner and sleeping. A minimum of seven hours of sleep per day is necessary for an average adult.

•  Personal life is as important as a professional career. Never take your family and friends for granted. Human relationships remain the best investment that one can make.

•  Professional excellence is non-negotiable.

•  Spend as little time as possible in front of the TV, mobile phone and laptop. Why should we waste our lives in seeing how others lead theirs?

•  Make exercise a mandatory part of your daily routine. Aerobic, resistance and flexibility workouts – are all equally important. A minimum of 30-35 minutes of exercise per day, for six days a week, will provide a rich bounty of health.

•  Spend time with yourself. Meditate. Introspect. We are, after all, our best companions.

•  Food should be as natural as possible with minimum cooking, boiling and frying. Home food is far superior. Usage of salt and sugar must be minimum. It’s a sad fact that our body does not need almost 40% of the food that we shove into our mouths.

•  An excellent sense of humour is the best vaccine against most ailments.

•  Everything in moderation. Balance indeed gives golden returns.

•  Care for the environment. Giving back to Mother Nature is our sacrosanct duty.

And above it all, at the end of the day, ask yourself a question: “Have I made even a small positive change to the world around me?” If the honest answer is yes, then wellness which is elusive to many is within your grasp.

Dr Sanjay Khare, Chief Consultant – Internal Medicine
Director – Bariatric Medicine
Coordinator – Academics and Clinical Training
Apollo Hospitals, Navi Mumbai