Zilla Panchayat President Kavya Desai has lamented that owing to ‘excessive fascination’ towards allopathic medicines, the ancient traditional medical system of India had failed to gain the deserving popularity.
She was speaking after inaugurating the two-day district level AYUSH Arogya Mela, jointly organised by the AYUSH Department and Nisarga Hospital, Sirsi, at the District Government Ayurvedic Hospital here on Thursday.
She underlined the need for increased emphasis on traditional medicine system such as Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy, which she believes was more efficient in healing chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma.
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Ms. Desai said that for centuries, these traditional medicines were being practiced in India, but over the period of time, this system had been losing significance.
“Surprisingly, the Western countries where the allopathic medicine system originated, are showing greater inclination towards the Indian traditional medicinal system, while the Indians are driving towards the western medicinal system,” she said.
In his address, Naturopathist Praveen Jacob, a senior research fellow in heart diseases and diabetes, said unhealthy dietary habits and lack of exercise was the primary reason for people suffering from ailments such as obesity, diabetes, blood pressure and heart-related problems.
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Referring to a survey, Dr. Jacob said on an average an American consumes 130 kg meat every year, a Chinese consumes 70 kg while an Indian consumes only 4 kg meat a year.
“Yet, the number of heart-related ailments is high in India compared against other countries. The main reason for it is too much consumption of junk food and saturated fat,” he said.
Describing diabetes as more dreadful killer than AIDS/HIV, he said that of more than 90 lakh deaths reported in the country last year, over 30,000 were because of diabetes.
He said that the people should not only take care of their diet, but also spend time in doing exercise to stay fit.
Noted standup comedian Pranesh Gangavati later inaugurated an exhibition of traditional medicines.