Quick Reads From Awakening Wholeness: a book that helps young leaders develop compassion for Myself, Others and The Earth.
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Dr. Pravin Chordia trained as a doctor. He did his MBBS and then his Masters in Surgery. He went on to become a brilliant surgeon, following the conventional trajectory of a good career in medicine. However, he slowly began to understand that there’s a deeper part to health. That it has more to do with the air, the sunlight, nutrition, and other things. And then he formed a movement called Medicine Free Life (MFL). It was a joy to spend time with him and his team at the MFL campus called the “Serene Eco Village”, located close to Velhe, overlooking the backwaters of the Gunjawani Dam.
It’s a beautiful five- and-a-half-hour drive from Pune, India. What you read in this chapter is largely inspired by Dr. Pravin Chordia’s work. He offers some basic tips for good health in the form of an acronym:
ANSWER — Air, Nutrition, Sunlight, Water, Exercise, and Rest. Let’s look at each one of these in more detail.
Nutrition
The saying ‘Let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food’ is ascribed to Hippocrates (400 BC), who was considered to be the Father of Medicine in the West. Ayurveda also places a huge emphasis on eating the right foods.
Here are a few tips from my experience:
Eat whole foods wherever possible: local foods (i.e., as close to their
natural form as possible, unprocessed; no boxed or packaged foods).
Eat more veggies, fruits (but more veggies than fruits), and lean
protein, along with healthy fats like avocado, nuts, seeds, and coconut.
Limit white or refined foods like salt, refined sugar, refined flour, refined rice, white potatoes, bread, and pasta. A good way to think about it is by adding healthier options rather than “taking away” less healthy ones. For example, incorporating more sweet potato or yam in place of white potato or choosing brown rice over white rice.
With a diet comprising whole foods, not only are you maximising micronutrient intake (vitamins and minerals), but you are also reducing inflammation in the body, which contributes to many chronic diseases. Refined sugar is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to food! Consider eating more nutritious local foods like moringa leaves (one of the world’s most nutritious green leafy vegetables) and millet. Mood- wise, diet is also very important.
Balancing your blood sugars (with a proper intake of complex carbs and fibre) can reduce anxiety and keep your energy levels consistent throughout the day. Protein is crucial to a healthy mood, as it is the building block for all of our hormones. Healthy fats are critical for proper brain function, which impacts mood and performance. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic living things are referred to as microorganisms, or microbes, for short. 40 trillion of these microbes exist, mainly inside your intestines and on your skin. (Compare this with only 30 trillion human cells in your body!) Altogether, these microbes may weigh as much as 1–2 kg, which is roughly the weight of your brain. Together, they function as an extra organ in your body (the gut microbiome), and play a huge role in your health. There is more about wholesome food and its connections to our health, and to our earth in Chapter 7.
