Health Wealth

What does 2024 have in store for our health? Will a machine be taking our vitals and writing out our prescriptions soon? And why on earth doesn't my weight reduce despite annual resolutions for a healthier me? Dr Randeep Guleria needs little introduction. He understands Indian healthcare not just as a former director of AIIMS, and current chairman of internal, respiratory and sleep medicine at Medanta hospital, but also as a practicing doctor and researcher. Tune in to hear Dr Guleria analyse major trends, requirements and challenges for our wellbeing this year. (He also shares a tip or two about seeing better results on the weighing scale). Listen in! Produced by Anna Priyadarshini Sound Mix by Kapil Dev Singh

What happens when things don’t go the way you want them to? Your date ghosts you. Your weight isn’t reducing. Your promotion doesn’t come through. The newspapers are filled with war and crime. Your children don’t talk to you. You can’t find original sriracha in any supermarket because of a global shortage.Do these experiences bring stress, worry, fear, unhappiness to your mind? Even though we all know when we experience such emotions, they have an overall limiting and negative impact on our wellbeing, we just can’t stop ourselves from responding this way to bad days.In this episode, we hear from habit coach and author Ashdin Doctor about how we can find the answer to life's unpredictability within. The power to control our own thoughts, attitudes, boundaries, efforts, responses and actions is always with us. Tune in to learn how to build habits that tap into this power.Listen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Kapil Dev Singh

We all know tobacco is unhealthy. We've read the warnings, seen the images, heard the research on how the leaves damage your body. Yet, most people who pick up a cigarette, vastly underestimate the addictive powers of tobacco. The Global Tobacco Survey in India shows that over half of those who smoke want to quit but cannot. Others, decide there might be healthier, less addictive, ways to beat growing stress in their lives--vape or a marijuana joint.But are any of them truly better than the other? And do any of them actually help you relax and unwind? Or is it that in our rush to find an external solution to our internal problems we are making lifestyle choices based on only half-knowledge?Tune in to hear Dr Vishal Rastogi, the head of interventional cardiology at Fortis Hospital, Okhla in Delhi, explain the full truth about cigarettes, vape and joints.Listen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Kapil Dev Singh

Do you ever just get overwhelmed by the number of statistics printed in daily news and aren’t sure what to believe any longer? Have you ever wanted to be absolutely sure about the side effects of a medicine you are taking or the health impact of your favourite instant ramen?If these are thoughts you have then it is important you too discover the fundamentals of medical research and how to research on the research that internet algorithms throw at you.In this episode Dr Anurag Agarwal, dean of biosciences and health research at Ashoka University and former director Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, explains the basics of good quality research, why it matters, and how much should it matter to the common person.Listen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Kapil Dev Singh

Chances of conception at a later age are increasingly reducing due to lifestyle choices and environmental toxins which impact the fertility of both men and women. But what if you aren't ready or simply aren't sure if you'd like to experience parenthood in your twenties or early thirties? Can health science freeze our biological clock so that even if we aren't ready to have children today, we don't have to live in regret tomorrow? This episode answers doubts, misconceptions and fears surrounding oocyte cryopreservation (a process that freezes the female egg for up to 10 years) so that you can make an informed choice about when, how and if to have children. ***Featuring Dr Ritu Hinduja, fertility specialist, Nova Fertility Listen in! Produced by Anna Priyadarshini Sound Mix by Kapil Dev Singh

Imagine spending half your life avoiding pizza and cookies believing you are allergic to chocolate and wheat. And then one day you get to hear the trigger for your allergy was something else entirely. For many, this has been the regrettable reality. For years, the worst part about having an allergy was not being entirely sure what triggers it. Am I allergic to pollen, milk, animal fur, pollution, medicine, or stress?Today, with an increasing incidence of allergy patients in India (we have nearly 40 million asthma patients, more than the number of HIV or TB patients), diagnostics have had to evolve to become more specific and easier. In this episode, we enter the advancing world of allergy testing with one of the country's top pathologists.Powered by AI, allergy tests can now tell you not just what you are allergic to but exactly what protein or compound in the item you are allergic to. How will this revolutionise treatment? Tune in to find out more.***Featuring Dr Arjun Dang, CEO, Dr Dang's Labs, DelhiListen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Kapil Dev Singh

This week we focus on a virus which 90% of us have in our bodies--the varicella zoster virus. It most popularly causes the disease chicken pox. But once that subsides, the virus continues to live dormant under nerves in our body. It can later resurface as the disease Shingles or Herpes Zoster. About 1 in 4 people develop Shingles. These are usually those who are above 60 or immunocompromised. The awareness of Shingles is poor, even though doctors say it is one of the most crippling conditions where patients suffer from skin rashes and intense nerve pain (which can sometimes last for months).Our guest this week has had a long history of treating Shingles. He shares his experience about its symptoms, treatment, and most importantly its prevention. A new and cost-effective Shingles vaccine is now available in India and highly effective in preventing the disease. We learn more about this vaccine, its side effects, and whether it is worth the risk of staying unvaccinated.***Featuring Dr DM Mahajan, dermatologist, Apollo Hospitals, Sarita Vihar, DelhiListen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi

Isn't it beautiful to see people who can defy the limitations of age? Dancing, trekking, learning and spreading joy till the end of their life. But their family members might not feel the same way--would you let your 70-year-old mother go sky diving? It is natural to worry and feel protective of parents and grandparents. With the rise of nuclear families and huge swathes of distances between family members, that worry can sometimes even turn into paranoia, an urge to keep those ageing isolated and indoors (at least they'll be safe).Finding solutions to protect the ageing demographic with as little intrusion as possible is a task many AgeTech entrepreneurs are focused upon. This week, we learn how innocuous objects like a mirror or a lamp have been turned into devices to monitor wellbeing, and even serve as an instant alarm call in the case of a fall at home. We also learn about the reliability, limitations and privacy concerns of AgeTech.By 2050, India will have more people above 60 than those below 14. To prepare for this new reality, we need to think of answers that allow people to live a safe, meaningful and individually empowering life. After all, isn't being forever young really just the chance to continue living?** Featuring Kanishka Acharya, Founder and CEO of WelldercareListen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi

Taash party with a mask on, winter picnic with a portable air purifier, Christmas with an anti-pollution tree --- how far should you go to make sure you breathe clean air? Even though we largely know the ill-effects of particle matter and toxic gases, it still takes doctors time to convince people to mask. Many respond with--""I don't want to obsess about pollution"".In this episode, we find out how obsessed we really should be about pollution and exactly how much of an impact a few moments of poor quality air can have not just on our respiratory health but our overall wellbeing and future quality of life. Most importantly, we discuss what we should be doing when our right to breathe clean air is taken away.***Featuring Dr Arjun Khanna, Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Amrita Hospital FaridabadListen in!Produced by Anna PriyadarshiniSound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi

How far would you go to save the life of a loved one? All caregivers have a tremendous responsibility towards the wellbeing of a patient. But in some rare cases, caregivers have to battle against immense odds to find hope and treatment. India has around 450 rare diseases. Data shows that 50% of these diseases happen in children below the age of one and many don't survive. Today is World Hypophosphatasia Day, a day to spread awareness on one rare disease--hypophosphatasia. This is a genetic condition where the body cannot absorb calcium leading to bones not being able to develop. There is only one Indian who has it (Sera) and we hear about the difficult journey of this one-year-old from her father Michael. Not everyone has the privilege of good health. Sera has medicine to last her till November 2023, after which, her body will reject calcium and stop growing. What this episode gives us is an understanding of where caregivers can draw resilience and courage.  ***Featuring Michael Andrews, a rare disease caregiver Listen in! Produced by Anna Priyadarshini Sound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi