I've been in Goa for a few days now. It's been home for years, although work, adventure, life and festivals have taken me across the Middle East, North and South America, Europe and South East Asia, with my work base being Mumbai city.
Over the last few years life or destiny pushed me out of hard core operations into the world of nutrition, lifestyle health and disease.
I have to be grateful for the exposure i got and the opportunity gained, to learn, share and conduct research with some of the finest institutions across the world.
I've though much about sending this mail out to a few of my extremely close friends, relatives and family. I wondered whether it would actually help, or if i would be perceived as someone who was just trying to change life and push opinions on others.
I finally decided that what i wanted to share was far more important than what people think of me. Along the years i lost friends who i thought were friends, no regrets, some came, some went, some stayed and some died and moved onto a better world, so i realized, what do i have to lose,and then i read that knowledge and experience shared from the heart, can only be a blessing to yourself and others.
Over the last few years i have been involved in the research and procurement of foods that cure and prevent cancer and other deadly diseases. I got exposed to people suffering and dying of diseases, especially cancer and cardiovascular complications. I worked with the families of the patient dying, i counselled successful people who had everything in the world, but were now ridden with cancer, and learnt of their misery and suffering along the way. I got exposed to how entire family lives, careers, businesses were turned upside down when cancer or a deadly disease got inflicted on someone. What followed pain and suffering was financial loss, high stress which further gave birth to sickness and depression and a change in outlook towards life.
With all the research, exposure to medical and holistic science,experience and survivors as well as stories of the dying, the one and only sure shot, rock solid cure or possible solution, came out to be 'lifestyle'.
The other aspect of course is our destiny, but there is not much to be said about that, as it is not in our hands.
I am not here to preach about smoking, drugs, alcohol, good food, exercise, deep breathing etc.Everyone knows what they should do to stay healthy.
I wanted to share and remind you of what may get lost in the whirlwind of today's busy and hectic lifestyle. The whirlwind of relationships, family, work and career, social and peer pressure and financials.
The reasons why we should attempt to eat healthy food, exercise moderately, sleep well and manage stress effectively is so much more than just having a good body or looking good. It's more about the health of your cells. Trillions of cells that power your body's day to day functions. Cells that affect your brain, vital organs, emotional health and feelings, sex drive and the number of years that you may live for.
Most of the repercussions of our habits will be seen in out later years, disguised as sickness or a deadly disease and we may mistake it for old age or just ' bad luck '.
Younger body's will be able to handle the onslaught of continuous drinking or smoking, but every cell in your body has a life and it diminishes in some way or the other along the way.
The questions i get asked worldwide at forums, schools, offices and private counselling s are -
1) We know people who smoke and drink all their lives and never get sick or get cancer, can you explain that?
2) Young people who never drink or smoke die of heart attacks in their 20's, can you explain that?
I cannot provide a solid answer based on science, but an answer to question one was provided to me by a liver surgeon in Brazil.
He explained it as a ratio. You fall into a ' lucky' or ' unlucky' ratio. But, why chance it? Are our lives and those around us who love us worth the chance to see which ratio you fall in?
He explained how he performs thousands of liver transplant operations every year and how the liver of a person who drank consistently and smoked often, looked like bullet riddled, blackened, and torn pieces of toxic flesh. He also spoke about the wonders of the liver, and how when someone who drank and smoked a lot, cut down even a little bit, the liver started regenerating fresh and new healthy cells.
The answer to question number two is quite simple, one that came through a learning experience. A non smoker and a non drinker may be the perfect idol of health to everyone else and people would be shocked to hear that such a person died of a heart attack. There could be several reasons, and one of the most overlooked one is STRESS. We have no clue what kind of mental or emotional stress that person was going through and stress is enough to cause death and deadly diseases. It is powerful enough to make a human kill or do wrong things, imagine the damage stress can do to the cells in your body.
Like i said earlier, it is not my intention to preach abstinence or compel you to give up smoking/drinking etc.
When i sit back and look, i see so many people doing the very same things that can get them into the very same situation millions and millions of people across the globe are desperately trying to get out of, that is disease and suffering.
I would love to be completely positive and i hope and pray that no one should ever have to experience disease, but then the law of the universe and several religious literature speak about ' what we reap , we sow' hence as humans we must be aware and conscious of what we do and how we do it. They speak about how we must respect the gift of life, that is our very own body.
Rather than telling someone what to do, i learnt the best way to bring about change was through reflection.
If we know that smoking and excessive drinking is a proven cause of cancer and other diseases do we respect our body and life enough to consciously reduce consumption?
If we love someone or are loved by someone, our family's friends, etc, why would we want them to go through the pain of your suffering ?
Why would we want to become a liability to someone or our loved ones if we contract some horrible disease?
Would we want our careers,relationships, family life etc affected because of our ill - health?
If we have large dreams, is excessive smoking or drinking going to get us there? Or will it become the deterrent.
Do you really really need friends around you who won't ridicule you should you decide to reduce consumption ? OR do you need friends who will continue to respect and love you should you decide to reduce your consumption?
Is your image in your social circle built around how much you can drink or smoke or how you behave when you are drunk, high or stoned?
Does the theme of all your meetings/outings/get together s revolve around alcohol and tobacco or is there place for intellectual talk as well?
Do you really need that last cigarette you just reached out? Really? I mean how bad is really, would it make you sad or depressed if you didn't smoke that last one, or drink that last drink?
Would it really make us lose our friends if we chose to use on weekend a month to give our body a break from alcohol or tobacco? Or would it make us go into withdrawal mode?
Even if we can cut down by one cigarette to start with or stop ourselves from having that extra drink, we can still be happy, have a good time and do some good to our body.
And in case we can't do that, i strongly suggest that if our body has to go through the onslaught of tobacco and excessive alcohol, we at least make an attempt to eat healthy and nutritious food, exercise at least 5 out of 7 days and get sufficient sleep for the body to rejuvenate.
More than moderation, just reduce by one of whatever it is your poison is. Just one less !!
You mean a lot more than you may think to the people around who love you. Im not saying that alcohol and smoking will kill you ( ok, smoking maybe) but habit will.
It's never to late to make a change,,,just one less, is enough to begin the journey towards healthier cells and a wholesome life.
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