World Cancer Day!

This World Cancer Day, let us renew our commitment to raise awareness, take preventive actions, continue researching and developing effective as well as affordable treatments, and widen access to timely detection, advanced therapeutics, and quality palliative care.

First steps?

• Cultivate thoughtfulness
• Live sustainably
• Eat mindfully

Your health is in your hands!


#Cancer #cancerday #cancerawareness #WorldCancerDay #prevention #treatment #mindfulness #sustainability #veritadyne

World Bee Day 2023

The world's pollinators, including the irreplaceable bees are under threat of extinction! Imagine a world without natural pollination leading to extinction of many crops and lower production of food which is vital for human survival. 

What can we do? 

• encourage sustainable agricultural products & buying from local farmers
• avoiding pesticides and other chemicals in gardens
• encouraging growth of native plants including weeds which will flower in different seasons
• protecting bee colonies
• provide water for many animals including bees
• leaving forests alone
• raising awareness about bees and other pollinators.

Save the bees, save the world. Consume only sustainably-produced natural honey. 

Watch this video of a reading of the book "The Bee Master" which does an excellent job of educating people about bees and on handling beehives in residential areas. 

(15) The Bee Master - A BUZZZZingly Educational Story for Kids and Grown-ups! - YouTube

#bee #bees #Worldbeeday #agriculture #sustainability #pollination #food #protect #extinct #water #awareness #forests #insects #socialresponsibility #society #human #farming #farmers

Health for All

Achieving the theme for World Health Day 2023, ‘Health for All’ is a tall order!

While there are many expectations for improvements in our world health, due to promises in AI, innovations in omics technologies, materials & nanotechnology etc., the actual realization of excellence in healthcare will boil down to getting some basics right!

Not only excellence in treatment of common ailments, but also on improvement of diagnostic tools and preventive health care/wellness, including:
·       Availability of vaccines of all kinds to general public
·       Regular, mandatory screening programs for common issues like blood pressure, diabetes as well as cancers & other diseases
·       Increase in rehabilitation resources for recovering patients from various illnesses including development of communities where people & families can find the necessary support
·       Accessibility & resources promoting inclusivity of people with disabilities
·       Quality childcare where children are taken care of and also provided with quality stimulation and excellent nutrition for growth
·       Women’s and children’s health - more research and research funding allocation
·       Rare diseases research and funding allocation has to increase exponentially
·       Organ donation - universal improvements in policies, procedures and their implementation
·       Neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases – increased workforce, research and sensitization
·       Geriatric population studies
·       Health, fitness and wellness education; nutrition & exercise physiology
·       Mental health research, improvement in international policies and sensitization

Some of the biggest challenges will be in implementing all of the above in addition to latest trends in treatment & diagnostics equally among all countries. Ensuring such accessibility, equity and ethics would remain the biggest challenge in our future. Unless new tools and technologies are monitored for safety & ethics, and made available equally for every man, woman and child, we can unfortunately never claim healthcare for all!

#worldhealthday #health #AI #funding #education #healthcare #future #research #menatalhealth #wellness #ethics #fitness #nutrition #development #children #women

Pic: UPenn

March 20th - International Day of Happiness/World Sparrow day!

Today, March 20th, marks the UN International day of Happiness as well as the World Sparrow day!

The purpose of the International day of happiness is to recognize the value of happiness in our lives, acknowledge the privilege that it is to be happy and create awareness. 

Since for me, happiness and sparrows have a strong connection since childhood, it is a delightful coincidence that both these days are celebrated on the same day every year! 

We grew up watching sparrows fly in and out of our homes, build nests in roof corners and crevices, feed their young and relish the rice grains that we gave them to eat. They are active birds who spread a lot of joy with their sweet chirping and of course keep our house free from pests & insects. So many of our childhood stories had the presence of the humble sparrow, making our evenings beautiful and our imagination soar!

The sparrow is a lesson in itself in thriving in the face of adversity and having very successful rates of survival in new continents and countries where they were introduced by man. They were masters at coexisting with humans, while also keeping their 'wild animals' status intact. Sparrows are known to travel hundreds of kilometers in a year and have been seen as high as the observation deck of the Empire State building!

Although ranked as 'least concern' in the International Union of Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list, their population has been declining at an alarming rate throughout the world. This is very much related to high levels of pollution, climate change, water/food scarcity and extreme increase in human population. It has now become very hard to spot sparrows in cities in India. 

Luckily, we still observe them on a daily basis, coming to drink water and eat the grains that we put out for them, along with other birds. It takes very little for us humans to include animals around us in our everyday life by providing few basic necessities. These all add up in helping maintain the delicate ecosystem, food web and ecological balance, which is very important. Every living being has a role in the ecosystem and the more we destroy natural habitats and ignore the order of nature, the more repercussions we will need to face.

Happy World Sparrow day and International day of Happiness. May we derive our happiness from helping other living beings and just letting them live! 

#Internationaldayofhappiness #worldsparrowday #happiness #happy #world #earth #sparrow #birds #society #cities #urban #animals #ecosystem #balance #saveanimals #savebirds #adaptability #thrive

World Obesity Day 2023

Prevention is best & genetics can be managed! Obesity can be prevented or managed with mindfulness, diet, physical activity & medication in some cases. Hence the theme for the World Obesity Day 2023, "Changing perspectives - Let's talk about obesity" is precisely the need of the hour!

Simple steps like getting good nutrition, plenty of physical activity, sufficient sleep and consciously reducing stress will all help in weight management, which in turn helps maintain a healthy BMI.

It is vital that there is awareness of conditions that obesity can cause including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, dyslipidemia and other diseases including mental illnesses.

World Obesity Day also puts a spotlight on the need for increased research and investment in R&D to understand the causes and potential solutions to this epidemic better.

By developing new potential solutions, increasing public awareness, and promoting healthy lifestyle choices, let's progress towards a healthier world.

#worldobesityday #obesity #prevention #diet #nutrition #genetics #mindfulness #exercise #physicalactivity #stress #research #researchanddevelopment #stressmanagement #lifestyle #health #physicalhealth #Veritadyne

World Wildlife Day 2023

World Wildlife Day 2023

Theme: Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation

Every 3rd of March, wildlife is celebrated all over the world for the UN World Wildlife Day.

As the theme rightly indicates, UN agencies, private sector, charities, NGOs and every individual have to work together for conservation, sustainability and in the fight against illegal trade of wildlife.

Wildlife is not a resource but the very core of life on Earth. For meaningful & effective conservation, think beyond alliances of commercial profit, self-serving influence & coercive propaganda to forge a true partnership with Nature at an individual level.

Don't be just a wildlife enthusiast; be a committed conservationist!

#WorldWildlifeDay #conservation #sustainability #UnitedNations #illegalwildlifetrade #partnership #nature #wildlife #earth #veritadyne

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

This year marks the Indian presidency of the G20. India plans to use this to create a unified global health accelerator whereby the world is united in its health preparedness to tackle global emergencies efficiently.

One of the first tweets that I have seen from the government rightfully focussed on antimicrobial resistance and creating an awareness about it in the form of a quiz. Since this is such an important topic, I am writing this article to put down some thoughts on AMR, causes and effective ways of dealing with it. 

What is antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? 

AMR happens when microbes of any kind (bacterial, viral or fungal) develop mechanisms that help them to evolve, thereby resisting the effects of the antimicrobial medicine used against them. That means they can't be easily destroyed and treating them in a patient becomes very hard or sometimes impossible, leading unfortunately to death!

Main cause of AMR?

Mainly overuse or misuse of antimicrobials by individuals for themselves, in farming and livestock rearing are all causes. 

Another major cause is improper disposal of:

• Unused antimicrobials
• Water and waste segregation that does not focus on the leaching of medicines into the environment

Why is AMR a cause for concern?

From data in 2019, about 700,000 people die of infections caused due to resistant pathogens every year world over.

In addition to this, the pollution of our environment and water due to improper disposal of unused antimicrobials is also another big problem, leading to further AMR being developed by all kind of microbes leading to creation of 'superbugs'. 

What corrective measures/awareness is required in an individual capacity?

1. Antibiotics should only be consumed when absolutely required and prescribed by a doctor. They should also be taken in the right way, the right dosage and completion of a full course, as not doing this could also lead to AMR. 
2. Disposal of antimicrobial drugs - Please read more about the individual drug and manufacturer's recommendations. Some have take-back policies, some have collection sites to receive drugs back, mail-back programs, or recommended safe options to discard at home. 

However, not all countries have these options and many governments do not require pharmaceutical companies to take responsibility for the proper disposal of unused/expired medicines. 

Need of the hour?

Humankind now needs governments, with their policies in place and pharma companies, with their moral & ethical responsibility to step up and do the needful. 

In India for example, The Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) Rules, 2016 categorises expired drugs rightfully as 'domestic hazardous waste' and mandates that they be segregated, stored in separate bins and disposed in line with the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 that mandate that the drugs be incinerated at high temperatures.

Unfortunately, due to poor enforcement of the MSWM policies, there is poor management of hazardous waste, including unused/expired drugs & antimicrobials in the country. Waste segregation is an important area for the country where there is a lot of improvement, but policies have to be made clear and their implementation tight to bring everything together to fruition. 

Shared responsibility:

This responsibility for safe discarding of medicines however cannot begin and end with governments alone. Pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and distributers of medicines, hospitals and any other relevant industry partners should step up and this should be considered a legal responsibility. Very importantly, this properly defined method/flow of medicines will also prevent illegal secondary trade of controlled use medicines.

Other important government stakeholders like pollution control boards, drug regulation boards and other important groups in society are also going to play a vital role in proper implementation of responsibility on the ground! Transparent and well-defined policies and procedures will be vital if this is to be successful.

The above issues are true of many developed and most developing countries, and one would hope that the efforts of the G20 in unifying healthcare response also tastes success in implementing certain universal policies such as safe disposal of antimicrobials to safeguard our environment.

#G20 #G20health #antimicrobials #antimicrobialresistance #antibiotics #antibioticresistance #AMR #governments #policies #law #legal #responsibility #sustainability #socialresponsibility #India #water #land #environment #pollution #waste #wastesegregation #pharmaceuticals #health #implementation #management

Natural eating – local produce

We know eating fruit and vegetables is good for health. But how much attention do we pay to choosing those fruit and veggies? This article is dedicated to benefits of choosing local produce.

Buying locally produced food is good for the environment, economy, society, and health. Let’s explore each in a little more detail.

How does our choice to eat local benefit the environment? Well, imagine buying tomatillos from Mexico in Asia. They have to be stored in optimal conditions and transported all the way by flight contributing to enormous pollution and carbon footprint. In addition, huge amounts of packing materials, including plastics add to pollution. Locally sourced food, even if not from immediate farmers markets, is still more responsible and use of reusable bags will do away with most of the pollution caused by single use plastic bags. In addition to this aspect, locally grown plants that are indigenous to an area will by nature support biodiversity there. Seasonal fruit and vegetables are produced by nature in specific seasons for a reason. The weather and climatic conditions are most suitable, and this is in turn related to other plants, various animals, birds, and insects in the region. By supporting their cultivation, we help farming of these native plants which do a world of good to that region.

By buying locally, we support the local farmers, small stores, and hence the economy in the region. Local businesses provide employment to residents and they in turn spend their income in other local stores, circulating money in the local economy, thus strengthening communities.

Shopping locally means you might actually know your farmer! You might be able to see your fruit and veggies growing on the trees or plants. This increases interest in the food (maybe leading to a small home garden!), farming practices and is an opportunity to know local communities and their businesses.

Locally produced food is more fresh and hence more packed with nutrients. It tastes better and if organic, will boast of even further benefits. They don’t have to be stored for long or processed more in order to keep in optimal shape for longer.

While tasting exotic foods or food from far away lands is fun and a good thing, it should not become a common and accepted practice. Homogeneous availability of produce across the world has led to many species of plants becoming extinct. In our focus for food security, we have done away with so many resilient species that had naturally evolved to survive very difficult conditions. Respect of history, diversity and eating in a more harmonious way with nature may just about save this Earth, although many fear it is too late already!

One should be mindful of many factors that goes into putting produce in the shops and be responsible in choices. Let us enjoy all the local bounties more and consume lesser mass produced produce from far away lands. Eat healthy and enjoy!

#nature #produce #farmers #gardening #community #communities #society #health #environment #economy #farming #society #diversity #mindfulness #healthylifestyle #healthyfood #healthyliving #healthiswealth #local #localbusiness #pollution #ClimateCrisis #climatechange #singleuseplastic #food #market #supplychain #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #kirana #vegetable #fruit #natural #organic #organicfarming #healthy