It has been 8 years since I was diagnosed with Heart Disease (Coronary Artery Disease). My blood tests were mostly normal and there were no real red flags. And yet, there I was: at the 98th percentile of calcification of my arteries for my age.
Once I was over the initial shock, I realized I was actually incredibly lucky. Cardiovascular disease accounts for more deaths (32%) than the next 4 biggest causes of death combined (all the cancers, respiratory disease, diabetes and dementia). According to Stanford Health, among South Asians, heart attacks are happening earlier (25% of heart attacks occur under age 40, and 50% occur under age 50) and with higher mortality rates (there is a 40% higher chance of mortality from heart attacks among South Asians than the average population).
It led to me making a lot of changes to my lifestyle (food, exercise, sleep) in ways that did not require me to give up eating and doing all the things I love. To ensure my changes were medically, scientifically and nutritionally sound, I worked very closely with a number of amazing clinicians, dietitians and exercise trainers.
I am sharing a few of the improvements I have seen in my health parameters through this journey to demonstrate how effective these changes have been while being quite simple to implement. Moving forward, I will share my learnings and observations on these interventions through my GeneClinicX Instagram account and on my LinkedIn account, that I hope can help those of you that are looking for sustainable and fun ways to stay or become healthy. Your feedback and questions are very welcome!
82 comments
Hitesh Shetty: This is real cutting edge real-world innovation. Also love that you have taken dog fooding to Healthcare instead of finding a Guinea pig to trial.
Nickhil Jakatdar: Thanks Hitesh. Better to lead by example!!
Mangesh Panditrao: What is amazing is that you not only turned around your health stats but motivated a lot of people like me to do the same. Making health a priority is extremely important! Thanks for sharing Nickhil!
Nickhil Jakatdar: Mangesh thank you. That is an amazing compliment! And excited to see the translation of the health improvements into seeing you more on the soccer field among other benefits.
Arati V Rao: What’s really interesting is your BMI was normal but you were a “skinny fat” person with more visceral fat than you have now. HDL is a tough one for us Indians. Genetically we have much lower levels.
Nickhil Jakatdar: You are absolutely right Arati! Initially I found that very hard to understand but it’s probably the issue that leads to many of us not being able to see it coming.
Kathy Hovsmith: Grateful and pleased to see your positive results! 🎉 Looking forward to learning more about your methods – thx!
Nickhil Jakatdar: Thank you Kathy
Samardeep Subandh: This is an unreal change in health metrics! Since I have seen this closely I must say there’s a lot all of us can learn from your experience 👏
Nickhil Jakatdar: Thanks Samardeep. You have had a front row seat to this journey. Thanks for supporting my often weird requests to be a guinea pig as I test out various interventions on you.