“Investing money in our health is one of means of obtaining quality of life but also we can achieve it through social harmony, life-style modification & creating healthy environment.”
The World Health Organization defines health as a state of complete physical, mental & social well being not merely absence of infirmity. This justifies, mental & social health is given more priority. Many of the developed countries have faced the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) namely heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease etc. Now the burden of NCDs is also an emerging problem in low-and middle-income countries. The major risk factors of NCDs are tobacco use, physical inactivity, and reckless use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and anxiety.
Do the developed countries really have the citizens of sound mental and social health?
In my opinion, sophisticated life-style, workload, intense web-based relationship, business oriented activities, lack of emotional & spiritual relationship, technology dependency & lack of humanity are the hindering factors for achieving mental & social dimension of health.
What should we do to reduce burden of NCDs?
· Building social harmony
Lack of humanity, diversion from social norms, lack of moral value, loneliness is the hindering factors for building social harmony. Without social harmony it is impossible to obtain complete social well-being & peace. If there is no peace, there is no existence of mental well-being .Again loneliness is the one of the risk factors of coronary heart disease.
How to build social harmony?
-Incorporate moral education in the curriculum of school.
-Engage in social activities & social services in the community
-Manage time for family and community people
-Respect seniors, love juniors & help the helpless people
· Lifestyle modification:
Sedentary lifestyle, physical inactivity, unhealthy food habits, disturb in sleep pattern, harmful use of alcohol, tobacco use, workload are the examples of poor life-style that create the risk of developing NCDs.
How to maintain healthy lifestyle?
Fasting:-In the Eastern culture, sometimes people fast as a devotion to their god in special ritual ceremony. Now it is verified that, fasting once a week is better for restoring the health of digestive system. Fasting also helps to lower weight however the patient with gastritis should avoid it.
Yoga day: - Yoga is an ancient approach to health, originated from the eastern culture that helps in maintaining fitness as well as maintains sound mental state. Knowing this fact, the United Nations finally agrees to declare “Yoga day” on June 21. Performing daily yoga and meditation promote our physical health; maintain mental rest & peace and reduces the chance of being obese. "Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and well-being,"
Sound sleep pattern: “Early to bed early to rise, makes people healthy, wealthy & wise” this saying has originated from eastern culture. Disturbed sleep pattern is associated with risk of developing NCDs including type-2 diabetes as well as several mental disorders.
Hygienic food habits: We have sufficient nutritious food but we are not able to manage for balance diet. People are lured to junk foods which contain excess salt, fats & various chemicals. Consuming junk food is a risk factor for NCDs as well as malnutrition. Eastern culture favors fresh food items that include green vegetables & fruits. Higher consumption of meat is also a risk factor for NCDs. Alcohol & tobacco consumption is restricted by eastern culture. Over eating, stale-food consumption, spicy foods are not allowed by eastern culture. Vegetarian lifestyle is highly praised & recommended by eastern culture.
Enjoy with Nature: - People enjoying with natural environment are mentally sound. Nature provides us mental relaxation thus prevents from anxiety & stress. Keeping mind calm is the way to gather mental energy & intelligence.
Use of Ayurveda Medicine: - Ayurveda medicine is an alternative medicine system .It is an ancient medicine system originated from eastern society. Ayurveda means prolonging healthy life by using herbal medicines & adopting healthy lifestyles which avoids side effects of drugs. Ayurveda is cost effective but slower in healing action.
Creating healthy environment: Healthy environment is protective factor for reducing the risk of developing NCDs. It is multidisciplinary phenomenon which is achieved through following ways-
- Provision of clean environment including pollution control
- Planned urbanization & industrialization
- Developing environment-friendly technologies
- Protecting green belt areas
- Ensuring occupational safety
