Jain Study Center NC Raleigh 1999 08 Twenty Years

Author(s): Jain Study Center NC Raleigh
Publisher: USA Jain Study Center NC Raleigh

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Don't smoke.
Regularly practice meditation. If you take time for spiritual practice, like samayak, the health benefits are just a side effect of the long-term spiritual gains.
• The supposed benefits of moderate alcohol use are being challenged, and it seems that grape juice is as beneficial. I see no medical basis for changing the traditional Jain recommendation of abstaining from alcohol.
Could you use less oil, sugar or salt in the food you are preparing for party consumption? Consider others' health concerns, if possible. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, don't expect to be able to eat all of the items. Avoid obvious offenders, foods high in fat, sugar and salt. There are usually still plenty of tasty dishes to enjoy, given our varied vegetarian cuisine.
Most people have heard about healthy lifestyle changes before, so why should you listen to me now? Perhaps I can help you see how the health messages are even more important to us, and how to translate some of these messages into a Jain life. Maybe some of you have some risk factors or have family members that have had heart disease. In the past few years, I have lost a masi and a kaka to sudden heart attacks, both of them younger than my parents. In my masi, I lost a tremendous inspiration of a spiritual Indian woman and my "second mother". My cousins, in their 20s, lost a mother. Both of my parents have at least one risk factor. So, of course, I worry about them and I've told them what I've written here.
It may not have been clear to you that Indians are at such high risk. Perhaps you will consider change now that you've heard more. Perhaps you still won't be ready for change. It may take a long time. The more you can do, the better for you, your family, and our community.
If you would like to know the references for my information, to give me any feedback or to ask general questions about the prevention suggestions I have given here, you can email me at jinashah@yahoo.com
Jai Jinendra.
J.Jina Shah, MD
Jina Shah is a medical doctor, currently studying Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
This article is sponsored by Umesh and Harsha Shah.
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