According to the WHO non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung disease, are collectively responsible for 74% of all deaths in the world. More than three-quarters of all NCD deaths, and 86% of the 17 million people who died prematurely, or before reaching 70 years of age, occur in low and middle-income countries.
The natural tendency of human body is to maintain
normal health. Homeostasis is the body's ability to maintain a stable
internal environment, despite changes in the external environment. Homeostasis is a self-regulating process that keeps
the body's internal processes in balance so that it can survive and function normally.
The body maintains homeostasis by regulating variables such as body
temperature, blood pressure, blood sugar levels, fluid balance, sodium,
potassium, and Calcium ion concentrations. The body uses a variety of communication
systems and mechanisms to monitor and adjust these variables, including the
autonomic nervous system; hormonal, neuromuscular, and cardiovascular
systems.
Homeostasis is crucial for body’s survival. If homeostasis is disrupted, it can lead to disaster or death. When it is too hot, the body sweats to lower the temperature. When it is too cold, body shivers to bring it up. When the blood pressure rises, the pulse rate slows and the blood vessels open up more, which returns the blood pressure to normal level. The pancreas releases insulin when blood sugar levels are high and glucagon when blood sugar levels are low.
It is now generally agreed that
diseases and ailments other than those caused by bacteria, viruses, accidents
etc are caused by imbalanced nutrition, unhealthy lifestyle factors, sedentary
life, lack of physical activity or exercise, mental stress and disharmonious
social and physical environment.
What is
Health Care?
Since ancient times health care consisted of the use of particular herbs or other substances for particular ailments or health issues by people themselves or folk healers or traditional systems of medicine. Even now about 80 per cent of the world population depends on this kind of health care. It now includes health care professionals and allied health fields of Medicine: Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Midwifery, Nursing, Optometry, Audiology, Psychology, Occupational therapy etc.
It is the process of improving health through the
prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of physical and mental health
issues. It includes a variety of services, such as: Primary care,
Secondary care, Tertiary care, Public health, Physical examinations,
Prescribing antibiotics, symptom alleviating medicines, Radiation, Surgery, Chemotherapy
etc.
Now, public health departments are said to work to keep people healthy and improve quality of life, prevent diseases by vaccinating communities, develop school nutrition programs, promote health care equity, limit health disparities between different sections of people, provide emergency care services.
History tells us that even mass killer contagious
diseases like bubonic plagues could not wipe out societies even when western
medicine and traditional systems of medicine as we know them to day did not
exist. Even now pandemic contagious diseases rarely wipe out whole families.
Individuals in all societies whose immunity to diseases is high survive and
prosper. Those who maintain robust health have very high degree of immunity to
disease. Wholesome nutritious diet, healthy lifestyle factors, physically active
life, peace of mind and harmonious physical and social environment result have
robust health.
Wholesome
Balanced Nutrition
Carbohydrates, proteins and fat are the macronutrients
that provide heat and energy in the body. Body needs these macronutrients in
large amounts to function properly. The number of calories, per gram of
carbohydrates is 4, per gram of protein also it is 4 calories, per gram of fat
it is 9 calories.
Carbohydrates are metabolized quickly and cleanly without leaving any by products, proteins are metabolized more slowly and leave by products that lead to uric acid and fat is metabolized much more slowly than proteins.
As to which fat and in which sequence the body converts into heat and energy depends on the kind of strength and stamina needed by the type of physical activity of the body. As whole grain unrefined foods (complex carbohydrates) also contain some proteins, fats and vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes they are better than simple refined carbohydrates.
Cells cannot metabolize macronutrients without micro-nutrients: vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes. Cells also need water, oxygen, hormones etc for perfectly metabolizing the macronutrients. All micronutrients are extremely important for the proper functioning of human body. Consuming an adequate amount of food that contains different vitamins and minerals is the key to optimal health and to fight disease. Micronutrients are part of nearly every process in the body and certain vitamins and minerals can act as antioxidants. Vitamins cannot be metabolized without minerals.
Overweight, obesity and the associated chronic diseases including cardiovascular issues are the results of imbalanced nutrition, unhealthy life styles, sedentary life and mental stress. Disharmonious physical, social, political and environmental factors make things worse. Tonics or medicines are not substitutes for wholesome balanced nutritious food, healthy lifestyle factors, exercise, peace of mind and harmonious physical and social environment.
This fundamental information is ignored and relegated to lip service by the education system as well as our modern commercialized health care industry. The proliferation of American type of hospitals, diagnostic centers, physicians who limit their imagination to prescribing licensed medicines are the best indicators of how unhealthy our society is. Even now robust health is within our reach of health conscious people. Consider what tyrannical and rigorous Western Medicine has done to the USA.
Western medicine is far more expensive in the United States than in other comparable countries. The USA spends about 18 per cent of the GDP on its official health care system. The actual amount that the people of United States spend on their health care is estimated as 25 per cent of the GDP. USA has a lower life expectancy than many other wealthy countries, including those in the OECD. In 2022, the life expectancy at birth in the USA is 77.5 years, while the average for comparable countries was 82.2 years.
Who
will deliver this basic information to the people at large about essential diet
components, life style factors, exercise, peace of mind etc for
maintaining robust health and high
productivity throughout life? .At present neither the education system
including the medical education systems nor the governments are performing this
task. The average adult does not know much about it. Our primary, middle or
higher education systems are not doing it. Folk medicine, traditional medicine
systems or Western Mmedicine system are not doing it. In fact, until recently
the Journal of American Medical Association argued that diet and life style
factors are neither a cause nor cure for diseases.
Ideally
speaking this topic, in some detail, should be included as a chapter in General
Science at middle and high school levels. This should also be a part of the
syllabus of western medical education. Of course those who are in charge of
cooking at family, restaurant or hotel level also should be familiar with the
basic nutritional needs of people. When this happens health care costs of
people as well as governments would be significantly lower and the life span
and productivity of people would be significantly higher.