''Health is in the mind and fitness is in the muscle''.

''Health is in the mind and fitness is in the muscle''.

“Health is about the environment you live in and the mind is the environment of the body. It’s not what you eat but what eats you (the thoughts) kills you,” Dr. HEGADE says.

In a candid chat, renowned cardiologist Dr. B.M. Hegde converse about  good health.

“The key is to cultivate positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive emotions. Quantam healing is the new method of healing. Your mind can heal you.” He suggests the book Quantam doctor by Amit Goswami.

Dr.Hegde opposes the burgeoning fitness craze among the young urbane crowd driven by the belief that fitness leads to good health. “Health is in the mind and fitness is in the muscle. These are two different things but often confused as one. If someone is fit to run a marathon doesn’t mean he/she is fit to live a healthy life.” “Health is not even absence of disease, as all of us have diseases. We all will have over 100 cancer cells at any given time, but they don’t become clinical cancer as they die on their own.”

Dr.Hegde practises what he calls ‘Coordinated medicine’, that’s futuristic and meta treatment. “I take elements from various genres of medicine. For instance, I take emergency care and corrective surgery from modern medicine. I don’t prescribe too many drugs and treat patients unnecessarily.” Calling modern medical treatment as ‘exclusive’ and ‘reductionist’, Hegde comes down heavily on the trial-and-error method of slapping scans, drugs and tests on patients. “I have come up with suggestions of a new definition of health and the concept of whole person healing instead of organ healing, both of which have been accepted by the Institute of Medicine.”

As a vegetarian, Dr.Hegde suggests following traditionally made and locally grown food. “One should eat what their ancestors ate. To eat Mediterranean food in Madurai will not suit your body. Eat the locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables and follow recipes that have been there for generations.” A veteran doctor that he is, Hegde says every doctor should unfailingly follow ethics since they deal with human lives.”

                                                                                              Dr.Hegde