Tag: Health

In The News, My Take

Towards A Healthy Life

It was a little difficult to digest at first but I had to accept my friend was right. She pointed out that we were now in the eighth decade of our lives!! When you get to my age, you tend to be more philosophical about things around you. One thing is certain- your health is key to your overall success in life. I know of many cases of very wealthy people not being able to enjoy what they have earned. Not because they don’t want to spend, but because their health just does not allow them to live the life they would like to. Indeed, health is wealth!

Paying attention to health is not just for older people as was the popular opinion in my youth! If anything, it applies more to younger people than ever before. I was astonished to read that in Bengaluru doctors have found a 30 % increase in people in their 30s having bypass surgery!

Stress levels too are growing alarmingly as seen by that startling statistic in the previous paragraph! In my experience, reading has been a good habit to cultivate and pursue across all ages. Read from your device or from a physical book – but do read! I know that many young people don’t read as much as we used to at their age. “Where’s the time, uncle?” is a plaintive cry! The answer is simple. You have to make time for what you consider important. Check out this article by Jim Kwik. Investing just 30 minutes a day to reading- whatever you like- can do your health a world of good.

And for us older folk? Critical is the need to keep our brain engaged and active! Most of the points mentioned in this article from the Harvard Medical School on keeping your brain young appear to be just common sense! But as the old gag goes, common sense is sadly often uncommon!

Abraham Lincoln put it so well when he said, ” “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Authors, Book Reviews

“50 Desi Super Drinks” by Lovneet Batra

Compared to the days when I was much younger, ,there is no doubt at all that people at large, even in India, have become much more conscious about health and healthy living. Everyone and his aunt spews “wisdom” about nutrition, recommended diets, healthy eating, healthy being and what have you.

In the midst of all this cacophony , Rupa have recently released a book, ” 50 Desi Super Drinks” by Lovneet Batra which is available in Kindle and Paperback versions. This easy to read book is full of information with high practical value. On reading this, you will realize that many drinks described are based on our age old traditions. You might recall some who scorned the old folk in every home when they advocated these very remedies!

Ms Batra is a qualified Nutritionist with a BS and MS in Dietetics. She was the official nutritionist to the Indian women’s teams for boxing, cycling, gymnastics and hockey in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. She has hosted and participated in many a talk show on television on nutrition and allied subjects. She founded and manages the very successful practice, ” Nutrition By Lovneet” which made her a celebrity nutritionist.

She maintains that what we drink can be more powerful in making or breaking our health than what we eat! The reason being things add up so quickly and unknowingly when we drink . She gives this example : one glass of packed fruit juice daily for a year can make you gain seven kilos, while one glass of coconut water instead can keep your high blood pressure in check.

The book has a simple yet effective design. For each of the 50 drinks covered, the author explains what that drink contains and how they can help us. This is followed by the recipe for this drink. Turmeric Milk, Jal Jeera, and Masala Chai are fairly commonly used and well-known. However there are many others which came as a surprise to me, as they well might to you!

Highly recommended, especially for those who want to maintain good health and ” sip your stress and those extra pounds away! “. This is the time of year when people make resolutions for the New Year! If yours is to look after yourself better in the next year and beyond, this book can help you do just that!