Small daily habits, a healthier life

You don't need a fancy diet. Home-cooked Indian food is naturally healthy when the portions are right. Build each main meal like this:

• Cut back on salt. Go easy on pickles, papad, chutneys, namkeen and packaged foods. Together they can easily take you over 5 g a day.
• Limit added sugar. Sweets, colas and packaged juices, and even chai with two spoons of sugar, add up quickly.
• Choose your fats wisely. Rotate cooking oils (groundnut, mustard, rice bran), use about 3–4 teaspoons per person a day, and avoid reheated oil and vanaspati.
• Eat on time. Have an early dinner, ideally two to three hours before bed, and don't skip breakfast.

In Mumbai's heat and humidity you lose more fluid than you might think. Mild dehydration causes headaches, tiredness, constipation and urinary infections.

• Aim for 2–3 litres a day (about 8–10 glasses), and more in summer or when you exercise.
• Check your urine colour. Pale yellow means you're drinking enough.
• Choose healthy drinks: plain water, nimbu pani with little sugar, coconut water, buttermilk and soups.
• Drink safe water. Boil or filter your drinking water, especially in the monsoon.

Regular activity lowers your risk of heart disease, diabetes, depression and some cancers. The best exercise is the one you will keep doing.

• Do 30 minutes of brisk walking, five days a week. Marine Drive, a terrace or a society compound all count.
• Build strength twice a week: yoga, body-weight exercises or resistance bands. This matters more as you age.
• Break up long sitting. Stand or stretch for two to three minutes every 30–45 minutes at your desk.
• Add movement to your day. Take the stairs, get off a station early, or walk while on phone calls.

Sleep is when your body repairs itself. Regularly sleeping less than six hours is linked to weight gain, high blood pressure, poor immunity and low mood.

• Keep a fixed schedule: go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, weekends included.
• Have a screen curfew. Put phones away 45–60 minutes before bed and keep them out of reach.
• Make your bedroom cool, dark and quiet. Earplugs or an eye mask help in a noisy city.
• Avoid tea, coffee and colas after 4 pm, and avoid heavy meals late at night.

Long-term stress raises blood pressure and blood sugar and disturbs sleep and digestion. Mental health is part of physical health.

• Breathe slowly. Ten minutes of pranayama or slow breathing (in for 4 counts, out for 6) calms the nervous system.
• Protect your downtime. Spend time on hobbies, music, prayer or nature, and take breaks from the news and social media.
• Talk about it. Share your worries with family, friends or a professional. Asking for help is a strength.
• Watch for warning signs: low mood or loss of interest lasting more than two weeks needs a doctor's attention.

Indians tend to develop diabetes and heart disease at a lower body weight than many other groups, so the healthy cut-offs for South Asians are stricter.

• Waist: under 90 cm (35.5″) for men and under 80 cm (31.5″) for women. Belly fat is the riskiest kind.
• BMI: 18.5–22.9 is healthy for Asian adults, and 23 or more counts as overweight.
• Blood pressure: ideally below 120/80 mmHg.
• Fasting blood sugar: below 100 mg/dL. HbA1c below 5.7% is normal.

Tobacco in any form, including cigarettes, bidi, gutkha, kharra and vaping, is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer and heart attacks. No amount is safe.

• Quitting helps at any age. Your heart attack risk starts falling within a year of stopping.
• Get support. Nicotine replacement and counselling double your chances of quitting. Call the free National Tobacco Quitline on 1800-11-2356.
• Alcohol: less is better. If you drink, keep alcohol-free days and never drink and drive.
• Avoid second-hand smoke, especially around children and pregnant women.

High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and early cancers often cause no symptoms. A yearly check-up catches them while they are easy to treat. As Dr. Mashru says, "Don't call us when sick, call us now and we will make sure you don't fall sick."

• Know your family history. Tell your doctor if a parent or sibling has diabetes, heart disease or cancer.
• Keep your reports together. Our electronic medical records track your results year by year.
• See the age-wise screening guide below.

Monsoon fevers, stomach infections and flu are common in a crowded city, and simple habits prevent most of them.

• Wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds before eating and after using the toilet or travelling.
• Keep up with vaccines. Adults need them too: yearly flu shots, tetanus boosters, hepatitis B, and pneumococcal and shingles vaccines after 50–60.
• Stop mosquitoes breeding: empty standing water from pots, coolers and tyres, and use repellent and nets in the monsoon.
• Be careful with street food, raw salads and cut fruit during the rains.

Strong relationships are linked to a longer life, as are small everyday habits that are easy to forget.

• Make time for people: share family meals, call old friends, volunteer or join a walking group.
• Protect your eyes: follow the 20-20-20 rule (every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds).
• Mind your posture: keep your screen at eye level, sit with your back supported and keep your feet flat.
• Care for your teeth and skin: brush twice a day, see a dentist every year and use sunscreen outdoors.