By M.M. Goel
To enhance World Health Day on April 7 every year, we need to understand, analyze, interpret and adopt policies and programs for health as a human resource development activity.
This calls for an examination of the status of basic infrastructure such as fetal and child development, youth and senior citizens welfare, women empowerment and gender sensitivity, education, nutrition, health and sanitation, the environment and climate change, tourism, entertainment, spirituality, urbanization, social security including poverty alleviation programs, migration, access to justice and human rights, housing, the right to life, the right to death, clothing, food security, consumer protection and physically challenged persons.
This is necessary for efficiency, sufficiency and equity in human resource development activities that promote health as wealth.
An old and wise saying, ``A sound mind lives in a sound body,” justifies health (physical, mental, spiritual and social) development. Having a sound body is very essential for the proper development of one's life. If our body is not working properly it is diseased.
We cannot perform our duty well and will be inefficient at work; the growth and development of one's life depends upon the development of physical powers. Health development contributes a lot to human life and is made possible by understanding, analysing and adopting spirituality as the science of the soul in our life.
For the proper maintenance, growth and development of the body, first of all, we must have knowledge about constituents of the body (earth, water, fire, air, mind, intelligence and ego)
The body which is transient changing consists of five elements fire, water, air and earth; with in which five sense objects are included. They are manifestations of the physical, sound, touch, form, taste and smell. If these senses are active and competent, then we will have a sound body. Air must be devoid of pollution and is possible through purification of mind. Some bodily diseases are due to polluted water. Rain water is considered pure containing many useful elements for bodily development.
To have a healthy body, we must know, what are its needs? It needs proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals and fats for its proper growth and development. It needs a balanced diet, one that contains all these elements in the right proportion required for proper growth. This balanced diet provides energy to our body which in turn provides us the power for our work.
The purpose of food is to increase the duration of life purify the mind and aid bodily strength. In the past, great people selected foods that best aided health and increases life's duration; such as milk produc¬ts, wheat, fruits and vegetables.
Foods which promotes life's duration, intelligence, vigour, health, happiness and cheerfulness are dear to the ``sattavika” type of a person, such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome and pleasing to the heart.
A healthy diet must contain cow milk and ghee. Cow milk contains protein (3.4 percent), lactose (4.1 percent), solids (13.7 percent), fats (4.9 percent), solids without fats (8.8 percent) and minerals (10.7 percent). That is why cow milk has been prescribed as a food which promotes intelligence, vigour and bodily strength.
The regulation of diet and sleeping is recommended for a healthy body. Too much eating and sleeping are both injurious to health.
Extravagance in eating, sleeping and mating, which are the demands of the body, can block advancement of physical development. We should regulate our eating, sleeping, mating and all other bodily activities for proper growth and development as a human being.
The preventive and promotive health approach is superior to a curative health approach, and is possible through the right kind of food we eat which is cost effective, and is the need of the day.
The writer is Professor of Economics & Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences. Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (India). mmgoel2001@yahoo.co.in.