My Lifestyle Medicine Story

My Lifestyle Medicine Story

by a Computer Science Grad turned MD Grad

I went to medical school in a remote part of Southern India (Manipal). I hoped to learn old-school clinical medicine just as my great grandfather learned when he fought in WWII. He kept diaries of his concoctions and day-to-day experiences as a physician in the army. No one else in my extended family had the opportunity to learn medicine and practice it in their lives.

Before my medical degree, I was always curious about the programmatical automation that exists in computer science. It may have been the foundation of my curiosity for medicine. The ability to construct a piece of DNA, just as you would build a few lines of code. Then allowing it to take life, transcribed and translated and have a mind of its own. Sometimes even astonishing the creator of its capabilities. 

That is a brief preamble of my Computer Science and Medical Science worlds, coming to the history of my family. A very traditional and culturally integrated Sikh Punjabi family from beginnings in Dubai, UAE, and moving to our diaspora in Toronto, Canada. Education was of enormous importance to my parents. My father is a mechanical engineer, he designs and manufactures these massive trailer-sized machines which provided industrial-scale cooling to the manufacturing industry in Canadian Plastics. My mother is a stay at home mother who only worked in the school's where my brother and I went to elementary and high school years, respectively. She is the real architect of our daily living and the support system that gave us the courage in our daily lives. She is also the original maestro of our lifestyle medicine journey. 

My Lifestyle Medicine story actually took birth due in part to the US Medical Licencing  (USMLE) exams. I always struggled since high school with performing well on examinations, often divided between the foresight of practicality missing in standardized tests versus their ability to provide you a ticket to move ahead. Whether their ability to gather an individuals grasp of foundational concepts was eventually tainted by their tendency to give rise to good test-takers. Nonetheless, not to diminish the sacred strength of an excellent test-taker to work hard and yield such discipline. Both skills I have wished to improve as it comes to doing well on tests. My struggles to maintain that discipline led me to watch the documentaries "Eating you Alive," and "Forks over Knives." 

Having studied so hard, yet producing poor, mediocre results led me into the arms of Evidence-based Nutrition. Why then was I so passionate about this subject? Both my parents suffered from heart disease. One required a quadruple bypass, the other a stent. Also, my mother had total removal of her thyroid and parathyroid glands due to her invasive thyroid cancer. Nearly losing both one after another, namely due to a virulent mediastinal infection with my mom. This was all during my time in Manipal as a medical student under the fear of knowing I may never graduate.

Soon before completing my USMLE Step 2 CK exam, I took a risk and visited my first Plant-Based Nutrition Health Conference. My parents were skeptical yet supportive. Having come back from that conference, I was enchanted with the information I realized I was always looking for during my medical school journey. Quickly finding ways to motivate my parents to follow suit, there was definite resistance, and there will always be. Many times questioning my path, and my deteriorating residency prospects. I soon realized I will always have many exams and challenges. I may be able to jump through those hoops eventually. But, what mattered more was that I had only one father and one mother. I felt I had to prove my usefulness to in this world; I couldn't afford to fail them again.

I wrote this blurb for Merrilee, who was the producer of the fantastic documentary "Eating you Alive,." It was this documentary that initially got my dials turning and made me wonder something. Why have we been inhibiting our physiology through pharmaceuticals in almost every single case, trying to prevent some pathophysiology?

Merrilee, had also asked me to answer the question: "If you believe an Indian "Eating you Alive" would be impactful and, why?"
The Indian psyche, as with other cultures is quite nuanced. We have a multitude of Ayurvedic and ancient medical practices that are now beginning to resurface, yet we are resolute in our passion for food that makes us sick. Many Indians have a tendency to do something, so it looks good in front of others. It may not be for their own sake but to gain the approval of another. I am also a culprit of such poor practices. For example, since my parents have begun to see changes in their health. Their endocrinologist said, "there isn't any drug I can give you that replicates the changes in your HbA1c". My father's ability to boast has been his saving grace. It's this quality of his that has allowed him to stay so motivated, and I may have utilized. Indians love to be showcased in any light, it gives our "diasporic insecurity" the pleasure of being accepted in our new environment. In fact, it's this showcase that I believe is a catalyst to large-scale reverse programming of our food-related cultural norms. The same patterns that have been sending us to the hospital. I hope that Merrilee will get all the help she needs to make such a fantastic initiative come true. I've already donated to the cause.

Sorry if my blurb may have been a little choppy, I haven't written much for a while now; too busy trying to jump those standardized hoops. ;) I do hope you get a chance to check out the documentaries above, along with Dr. Greger's http://www.nutritionfacts.org. Another fantastic resource for born-again physicians. Time to conquer that burn-out and truly make America, and the world, healthy again. 

Regards, 

Dr. G

P.S. Also wanted to thank Dr. Deepa, who said "You have a story to tell. And might I dare say, a duty to tell it". I've left out a lot of details of my story for the sake of getting to the point. Thank you for your guidance, don't know where my mind would have been if it wasn't for Lifestyle Medicine and you trailblazers.