[blackwasp]

Even as the number of recorded Covid-19 deaths crossed the 1 million-mark on Monday, medical professionals called for balance in the treatment of Covid and non-Covid cases. According to the Lancet report Global Burden of Diseases, there are at least 15 different diseases that kill more than a million people every year (see above graphic).

Covid has also stretched the capacity of health systems as no other pandemic in recent history. Even just 5-8% of total cases becoming critically ill has meant a huge burden on the health system.

A Lancet editorial also warned that “healthcare workers, unlike ventilators or wards, cannot be urgently manufactured or run at 100% occupancy for long periods”. Amnesty International revealed in early September that more than 7,000 health workers across the world had died from Covid.

Monday's Count:
Cases: 66,251, lowest since Aug 31 (65,968)
Deaths: 783, lowest since Aug 2 (758)
Active cases: 95,000+
Tests done (Sunday): Less than 710,000, lowest since Aug 23

Also: The growth rate of cases in India fell to between 1.4%-1.6% during the last week (September 20-26), compared with 1.8%-2.2% during September 4-10, indicating a clear slowdown in transmission.

However, with a high number of new infections still being detected, active cases per lakh population, at 69, continues to rise.

Source

[GTO]

An excellent topic, Kanad. Thanks for sharing .

I know too many young & middle-aged dudes who died prematurely due to cardiac arrest (including a BHPian or two, unfortunately). I myself led a life of excesses in the 30s = lots of grub, junk food, stress, cigarettes, late nights etc.

Turning 40 however was the tipping point. I quit smoking, lost 22 kilos, added a weight's machine + cycle to accompany the treadmill in my home gym, work out almost every day, meditate everyday, sleep really well and have reduced stress. I think 0% stress is impossible for anybody who works, but I have reduced stresses & pressures to negligible levels. And with good reason = my Dad, all his brothers & my grandfather got heart attacks at some point in their life. No one escaped it - I hope I break the chain.

Take care of yourself, dudes! No point in having the best job or the best car if you don't have good health. As this amazing song states, your body is the most important instrument you'll ever have in life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlJ3vOp6nI

[Kosfactor]

The reasons have remained pretty much the same throughout many years - Obesity being number 1.

BCG Vaccine - the most widely used vaccine world wide was to combat Tuberculosis. It is quite successful, an estimated one quarter of the world`s population is said to have been infected even then.

The biggest pandemic the world has ever seen is perhaps Tuberculosis itself, its casualties would have crossed into the billion number mark long ago. The airline traffic has made it rather easy for infections to spread at a faster rate than before.

So what should we do?

Healthy diet & Exercise.
Avoid Smoking \ Alcohol.
Drive Safely.
Safe relationships.

These should take care of majority of risk factors. Its good to remember that Obesity kills about 2.8 Million people worldwide every year as per WHO.

And then I thought something is wrong with my response to this, the whole world cant eat their way into disesase - because ~ 9 Million of them will die of hunger alone.

[DigitalOne]

Thanks for this relevant topic. Just a week back I had written this in the coronavirus (The Coronavirus Thread) thread.

I am 45. Back in early January (before the world had heard of Covid) a colleague of mine, 7 years younger than me, didn't wake up in the morning. Died of cardiac arrest in his sleep. That shook me up. When hospitals opened up for health checks in June, I got myself a full health checkup. (All fine, thank you!). For my almost sedentary lifestyle, I consider Heart disease a bigger threat than Covid.

And I would say that this would be true for all < 50 year olds here - You are more likely to die of heart disease than Covid. Get your health checks done.

Bangalore is already seeing more heart disease than before.

Source

Doctors have reported a 30% surge in heart attack cases in Bengaluru in the last two months, possibly related to factors like mental stress, economic difficulties, sedentary lifestyle, bad diet and other challenges imposed by the lockdown.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by GTO

life of excesses in the 30s = lots of grub, junk food, stress, cigarettes, late nights etc.

I have reduced stresses & pressures to negligible levels.

No point in having the best job or the best car if you don't have good health.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

So what should we do?

Healthy diet & Exercise.
Avoid Smoking \ Alcohol.

It is important to

* remain energised even in grim situations
* stay fit and happy
* make others feel happy

I have always been careful about my health but drifted off-course between 2012 and 2018. That was in my 40s.

I used to work 18hrs a day, ate more as I was awake for longer, and ended up putting on 13 kilos in a matter of a few months.

Now, this is what I practise :

* a 45 minute workout at home that is a combination of 30 sets of suryanamaskaars, sit ups, and a workout using dumbells

* walk short distances instead of taking the bike or the car out

* little to no carbs in diet

* no sugar and very little milk in tea/coffee

* reduced use of the air-conditioner, both at home and while driving ( have managed without the car AC even when the outside temperature was 46 degrees.C)

* one multivitamin tab every alternate day

* no medicines for my elevated BSL

I'm now 74 kilos, back to what I used to weigh in 1998.

I'd like to thank bhpian @sridhar-v for his great guidance on diet control.

[Raghu M]

My mantra has been rather simple. If you can run a distance of 5 km (no matter your speed) without stopping, you are fit. Jog everyday and you will keep fit. Eat healthy, I have moved to a full millet diet since 2 years and the results have been satisfactory.

Eat well, avoid carbs and refined sugars as much as you can

Keep stress out, sleep good

Try to stay physically active for at least 4 days a week (30 mins should do just fine)

[R2D2]

I am in my early 50s now and take health pretty seriously as I should be doing. I regular test my sugar, blood lipids, liver function, kidney function fasting and post prandial tests done at the lab every 6-12 months (last one in Feb '20) and then a full body exam including ECG, stress test every 18-24 months. Diet is restricted: low carbs, high on vegetables and pulses, low salt and almost no sugar. The COVID outbreak meant I had to "exercise" at home, walking up/down the stairs in the house etc, instead of going for walks. Now that the country is opening up I intend to resume my walks again.

[anjan_c2007]

In the 1990's we had seen a campaign by the Central government entitled "run for your heart". I was into regular, morning jogging doing 1600 metres (4 X 400 metres in a playground near my house) every day, since 1988. Even at a younger age I was into regular jogging and cardio vascular exercises. A word of caution for joggers during the pandemic: do not wear a mask while jogging. Deep breathing is inhibited by the mask and it's very unsafe. We need to avoid crowds during jogging without a mask or else go for alternatives like using the treadmill at home and so on.

Later on, about a decade and a half ago I gave up jogging in the open ground, due to some compelling family reasons. I took up aerobic exercises and weight training at home and am regularly into it devoting 45 minutes every morning. It's like a religion for me now and if I miss this regimen for even a day, I feel a bit guilty.

Also, taking a total control of our own diet with deletion of all LDL cholesterol adding dishes is a necessity. We tend to eat lots of such stuff during our evening snacks. It's only fruits and some green veggies like a tomato and cucumber (both are available for all the 12 months) as evening snacks. Carrots are also beneficial.

Lastly, we need to be at peace with ourselves as there are lots of tension generating events during the course of the day for almost everyone these days. It's always preferable to send all this to the recycle bin and not to carry any baggage of tense memories as a compulsory prerequisite to good health.

[deathwalkr]

Walking up and down stairs is recommended? Thought it did more harm than good.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Walking up and down stairs is recommended? Thought it did more harm than good.

Walking is good, but running up and down the stairs or jogging on hard surfaces is not good for the knee joints. Prefer a beach or even a grassy track if one has access to it. The caveats apply more to men/women >40 than to young folks.

[sridhar-v]

At the very onset let me make my "outlandish claims" as follows"-

1. Insulin is the root cause of most of the modern maladies (called lifestyle diseases).
2. Majority of hear problem cases relate to plaque build-up which calcifies and starts blocking critical arteries all over the body.
3. Diabetes is a disease that builds up, undetected, over decades.
4. Non-Alcoholic fatty Liver(NAFLD) is related to the above conditions.
5. Arterial plaquing and calcification can be reversed.
6. NAFLD can be reversed if detected early on.
7. Diabetes type 2(DM2) can be controlled and brought into REMISSION with simple steps.

Now for the background:
I have been diabetic for the past 20 years. I am a bit of an outlier as I react in the opposite manner to all standard medicine protocols. (the exception proving the rule!!). For around 14 years I could manage to control the DM2 with a combination of diet and weights training. But eventually ageing caught up and things slipped out of control.
Starting 2014 I was forced to take Allopathy medicines. Things improved for 6 months but went south immediately. My Blood sugar levels with the medicines were worse than what I used to maintain without medicines. And I started suffering severe side effects leading to a left side Neuropathy attack.

So in 2016 I started seeing an Ayurveda doctor who slowly managed to get my system on an even plane. I was also diagnosed with NAFLD and he started treating that as a priority. By early/mid 2019 the NAFLD reversed and blood sugar levels were under reasonable control. But one Allopathy medicine could not be stopped as the body had been become dependant on it. And it was a medicine with nasty long-term side effects (cancer, brittle bones, heart).
In 2018 I had to undergo an Angiography for suspected blocks. Turned out that things were normal with some hints of plaque build up starting. The Cardiologist and the technician commented that I had a lot of collateral arteries in my heart as a result of years of strenuous exercise.
In the intervening years my father, who was diabetic from 1984, was diagnosed with 70-80% calcified blockages of both cartroid arteries.
The Ayurvedic physician had started treating him for the same. In 2 years the blockages were reduced to 25-30% levels. The doctor has been successfully treating and reversing blockages upto 90% with medicines only.
So I knew that he would be able to handle my issues.

I have been studying and reading up extensively on various alternate treatments. And I started, from mid 2019, on slowly implementing some alternate ideas.
Basically I follow a regime that, by trial and error, is suited to my body. It is the basic 2 meals idea of Dr. Dixit combined with a diet that is low carb and as ketogenic as a vegetarian can get. And I have thrown in intermittent fasting in the mix. And over the past 1 year I have been able to stop the dangerous allopathy medicine and reduce all the other medicines. And here is proof of the journey:-


The body of research I have gone through is quite large. But the key findings are as follows:-
Insulin is the elephant in the room, and the most critical hormone. But excess of it is the worst long term poison.
The body adjusts excess calorie inputs by storing as fat. But after some time(years) the cells start developing insulin resistance and then the side effects start. Some people get DM2, some get some of the the following issues :- Artery plaquing problems, NAFLD, Alzhiemers, Parkinsons, Cataract, Retinal issues etc etc.

https://youtu.be/eUiSCEBGxXk

https://youtu.be/Jd8QFD5Ht18

And cholestrol is the wrong tree that doctors are barking up. Insulin is the primary cause of heart issues.

https://youtu.be/ofq-8ToY2fc

https://youtu.be/uc1XsO3mxX8

https://youtu.be/y8pybQjVeiQ

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

Also, taking a total control of our own diet with deletion of all LDL cholesterol adding dishes is a necessity. We tend to eat lots of such stuff during our evening snacks. It's only fruits and some green veggies like a tomato and cucumber (both are available for all the 12 months) as evening snacks. Carrots are also beneficial.

In 2019 when I started on my alternate diet journey my doctor was shocked that I planned to go on a low carb modified keto diet. It has been drummed into everybody's heads that saturated fat is bad and LDL is the worst.
And here I was proposing to start consuming dollops of butter. But he had some respect for my ideas and was only preaching a slow systematic trial. He suggested I use ghee.
Nowadays I start my morning with 3 teaspoons of ghee and black tea. On fasting days I take 3-4 tablespoons of ghee and black tea/coffee in the morning. I don't feel hungry till it it time to break the fast.
I am trying to convince the ladies at home to switch to coconut oil for cooking. And I am happy to note that all commercially available savouries are now using palmolein (which contrary to general wisdom is actually better than the seed oils).
My LDL levels and HDL levels have improved markedly, excess body fat has disappeared while muscle mass is constant. All other markers like ECG, 2D echo, Abdominal Sonography are normal and much improved from before.
And I have stopped medications for BP.

https://youtu.be/jZu52duIqno

[Cessna182]

Just a suggestion- if you or anyone you know has blood pressure issues, do not ever skip the medicine. Stroke can happen due to BP fluctuations and your daily medicine is absolutely essential.
Also, as far as possible, monitor your BP daily through your smartwatch or a digital meter.

[comfortablynumb]

Although cardiovascular disease is perceived to be more prevalent in men, I've read that it affects a large percentage of women too. So, at the risk of being called a nit-picker, can I request the mods to edit the thread title suitably, so that cardiovascular disease isn't portrayed as a "Gents" specific health issue?

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by GTO

As this amazing song states, your body is the most important instrument you'll ever have in life.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=MQlJ3vOp6nI

One of my favourite songs - one I use as a template for guidance through life. Mentioned many years ago on this very forum:

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

A very emotive and inspirational song by Baz Luhrman. The lyrics given below really tell about how life has changed and will change:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,
Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term
benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or
reliable then my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice....now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and
beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of
yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous
you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra
equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides
you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is
long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this, tell me how).
Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people
I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of Calcium. Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll
divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half
chance, so are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body: use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the
greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance...even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions (even if you don't follow them).
Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in
the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps
and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you
were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you
do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children
respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse,
but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia;
dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and
recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me, I'm the sunscreen.

Lyrics to "Everybody is free to wear sunscreen".

[prasathlr]

I am 29 years old, weigh around 75kgs, 6ft tall and last year when I went for a health check-up, I was shocked to find my cholesterol off the charts, nearing almost 300mg/dL (recommended to be below 100mg/dL). The doctor even joked how was I even walking alive. I was tensed given that one of my relatives passed away when he was 32 years old. He was pretty slim just like me yet he died due to heart attack. In the night, I used to feel some kind of pain in my thighs, a quick Google search led me to believe that it might be the first signs of Cardiovascular disease. This combined with my cholesterol report spooked me enough to join the gym. I went for 3 months and then got busy with work and had to travel on-site and that ended my short 3 months of exercise.

Around July, I got the pain in my thighs again thanks to covid for keeping us all locked in the house for many months. At the same time, I was suffering from chronic gastritis for more than 2 years, and in August it reached unbearable levels. I went to doctor and he suggested that I eat bland food for 2 months and exercise as it might help. So I decided to run. I have been running (C25k) since August mid-week and within 1.5 months I can see some decent results. I lost around 4 kgs and my lovehandles and tummy fat has drastically reduced. My stomach isn't bloated anymore and mainly the pain in my leg has vanished for now.

I used to be a national level athlete in school level. I was pretty active until I was 19 years old. It took just 8 years of unhealthy lifestyle to change my body from National Level fit body to disease prone body. I work in IT where there is no concept of work-life balance and things like sedentary work space, 12-14 hours of work, untimely sleep and food cycle has definitely led me to this abysmal state.

My dad on the other hand is about to touch 60 years of age next month and he doesn't even have a single ailment, touchwood, while I am 29 years old with at least 4 body ailments. The point I am trying to make is that in this era of corporate lifestyle most of us have neglected health. And I have decided to make sure that I will reverse all these medical condition and try to live a healthy life.