Heart diseases, mental illnesses, diabetes: Metabolic disorders are silent killers in India

Some of India’s worst health fears were realised last year when data from the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence came out on India’s rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCD) diseases. “Decline in morbidity and mortality from communicable diseases have been accompanied by a gradual shift to, and accelerated rise in the prevalence of, chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancers, mental health disorders and injuries,” the report said. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies alcohol, tobacco, poor diet intake and lack of physical activity as major risk factors for most of the metabolic disorders. Big numbers · Obesity doubled between 2005 and 2015. Cause- lifestyle factors, presence of chemicals like DDT, MSG and arsenic in food and air consumed · Over 10% Indians above the age of 18, that is 150 million Indians have mental illnesses. Causes-lifestyle issues, intake of sugar, social isolation and attached stigma. · About 20% of cancer cases are linked to exposure to toxins in the environment. Causes- tobacco, alcohol, air pollution, excessive meat intake and dietary imbalance. · 26% of all deaths are related to cardio vascular diseases. Worth noting is that men and young people are said to be at a higher risk. · In 2016, India recorded 22.2 million chronic COPD patients. (Source; CSE’s Body Burden) The good news is, there is help available. With the rising health care costs and the long term health benefits, alternative medicine that relies on natural healing systems like Ayurveda and Yoga, is gaining popularity as a preventive recourse. Many insurance companies have even begun to provide cover for Ayurvedic treatments as well. The most useful aspect of a system like Ayurveda is its ability to check an individual’s predisposition to certain type of ailments. Here are […]

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