Shillong: “In India people usually don’t go for routine health check- ups due to lack of awareness and because of the cost factor. Most people come to the hospital only after they suffer from some serious ailment. We have time for everything but ourselves and often neglect the silent signs that our bodies are in trouble,” said Dr Udayan Barua, Medical Superintendent, Down Town Hospital while speaking at a preventive health awareness meeting at the Shillong Club here on Saturday.
Dr Barua gave an overall picture of the health scenario in the Northeastern states and said that today more people suffer from non-communicable diseases and many die premature deaths.
He pointed to lifestyle which includes consumption of tobacco and alcohol, a sedentary existence and lack of exercise whereby the body secretes more insulin in the body than needed. This excess insulin in the body is a potent cause of cancer. Stressing on moderation in food habits, Dr Barua said excessive salt and sugar are not good for the body. He warned against the consumption of processed meat (sausages, bacon, salami etc) where nitrates are used as preservatives and are known to cause cholorectal cancer.
He said raw vegetables have plenty of magnesium which is an antioxidant. “Prunes are packed with anti-oxidants but equally important is the consumption of fibre and of regular exercise to prevent disease. Preventive health care is an investment and if we take health insurance to cover the cost of hospitalisation then why don’t we invest in health care?” Dr Barua questioned.
“Healthy habits are an automatic defence against disease and one of those healthy habits is getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to serious health complications,” Dr Barua said. He added that Down Town Hospital offers health check up that is efficient affordable and smooth.
Down Town Hospital dietician, Tinababy Barua said good food equals good health equals good life. She said good food is a source of energy and said that people should stay away from food with trans-fats such as potato chips, deep fried foods etc and said people should instead munch some nuts like almonds and walnuts for a healthy heart and healthy life.
Earlier, the Managing Director, The Shillong Times, Manas Chaudhuri, while addressing the audience, stressed on the importance of preventive health care. “We die because we don’t know how to live,” Chaudhuri said adding that there are two aspects to preventive health which is the right attitude and a zest for life.
He pointed to a book by John Robbins called, “Healthy at 100,” and said that in India we tend to treat the aged with tenterhooks and don’t give them responsibility whereas in the west people are active even at 90 years. He said keeping busy is one way of keeping mentally and physically fit.
Chaudhuri reiterated that regular health check-ups are a must. He pointed to statistics which said that in 2011, 55 million people dies because they did not know that they carried a disease.
It may be mentioned that Down Town Hospital Guwahati has a consultancy outlet in Shillong and doctors regularly visit the city for consultation.
