COVID-19 hides the pandemic we pass off as ‘lifestyle diseases’ – obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. These co-morbidities have allowed SARS-CoV2 to claim 6.5 million lives. The next microbe may accomplish worse unless we rid ourselves of these illnesses. Tomorrow’s diseases are unlikely to come with ready cures. We can only avoid them by restoring our bodies to a state of health which assures both energy and immunity. And really, there is only one way to do that: by eating right.

Kalpish Ratna

Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan write together as Kalpish Ratna. As practicing surgeons, they believe the end of the antibiotic era and the emergence of new diseases calls for an urgent shift of medical attention from hospital to home.Over the past two decades, they have studied the parallels between environmental assault and epidemics, and have written extensively about their observations and ideas. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced their thought that one could no longer be passive about ‘lifestyle diseases.’ Viruses and bacteria are as much part of life on Earth as humans but much more resilient. Humans must learn to co-exist with them without becoming victims of disease. And that journey begins at home.