While doctors provide vital medical guidance, certain crucial aspects might not always be emphasized. These include the significance of maintaining a balanced lifestyle, managing stress, and prioritizing mental health. Patients should actively engage in discussions about preventive care, dietary habits, and emotional well-being to ensure holistic health management beyond medical treatment.
Dr Dimple Jangda, Ayurvedic coach and a gut specialist shares some common things your doctors may not tell you, but it is important.
1. “If diet is right, there is no need for medicine. But if your diet is wrong, then medicine is of no use.”
For lifestyle diseases and chronic ailments like thyroid, diabetes, PCOS, gynecological, gastrointestinal disorders; medicines are not enough to cure and reverse the disease. You must also address the root cause of your diseases, which is your diet and lifestyle habits. Medicines can help address your symptoms as long as you consume the medicine, but it cannot guarantee that your symptoms or disease will not return. You must address the triggers of your disease and eliminate foods that are feeding your diseases. You can meet a nutritionist or an ayurvedic or naturopathy health coach who specialize in food science and nutrition, and follow a strict diet plan along with your medications and treatments prescribed.
2. One man’s nutrition is another man’s poison
No two human beings are the same, and thus no diet can be the same. There are three unique body types – ectomorph (vata prakriti), endomorph (kapha prakriti), and mesomorph (pitta prakriti). An endomorph must consume more vegetables, less carbs and protein; more bitter, astringent, pungent foods; and less sweet, sour, salty, deep fried foods. Whereas an ectomorph (vata prakriti) must consume more carbs, lesser amount of protein and vegetables; more sweet, sour, salty, good fats and slightly greasy foods, less bitter, astringent and pungent foods. Your nutrition must be personalized to your unique biological blue print and body type, taking into consideration your genetic factors, local topographic conditions, symptoms, age and health goals.
3. Medicines may have side effects
Every medicine is potent, and can have side effects based on the duration of time the medicines are consumed for, the combinations of medicines, and the dietary patterns along with medicines. Most medicines come with a warning at the back, such as “long term consumption is injurious to liver”. For example, parasitamol itself has the following possible side effects: tiredness, breathlessness, your fingers and lips to go blue, anaemia (low red blood cell count), liver and kidney damage, heart disease and stroke if you have high blood pressure. (source: healthdirect.gov.au) Birth control pills can cause possible side effects like: Bleeding while taking the active pills, called breakthrough bleeding or spotting that is more common with continuous-dosing or extended-cycle pills, Breast tenderness, Headaches, Nausea, Bloating, Increased blood pressure. (Source: Mayo Clinic). Speak with your doctor to make sure you are fully aware of the side effects that you must look out for during the period of prescription.
4. Do NOT consume alcohol or smoke during medication
No there is no such thing as moderate drinking, social drinking, limited drinking. Alcohol remains alcohol in your system, immaterial of the quantity consumed. Mixing alcohol with medicines can have severe side effects like internal bleeding, heart problems, difficulty in breathing, vomiting, headache, drowsiness, fainting, lack of coordination, acid reflux, burning sensation and other symptoms. Whenever you are on medication, remember you are doing so to recover from a sickness or an ailment. Alcohol weakens your body’s ability to repair, heal and rejuvenate and interferes with medications and the recovery process. Remember you cannot consume poison (alcohol) in small doses and expect the doctor to heal you. You are in the driver’s seat, and you will remain the author of your health and disease.
5. Packaged and processed foods feed your diseases, not your health
As mentioned in my book, FMCG companies profit from your addiction to their food products. Hence, they have an incentive to add preservatives to increase shelf life for logistic purpose, coloring agents, delicious additives that cause addiction but also side effects. If these preservatives can survive on the shelf for six to twelve months, they can survive in your gut also for that long and cause serious harm to your gut flora and your overall well-being. Consume foods that are cooked with fresh ingredients, consume local and seasonal foods, so you can live a good quality life.
Comments
0 comment