Healthy Habits

We spoke to ten men between the ages of 55 and 70, who were healthy, fit and had more energy than all of us put together, and asked them the secret of their health. Heres what they had to say. In this articleLakhulal Chaurasia, 69Himmat Singh, 64Prakash Singhania, 61Shashikant Puri, 58Krishnakanth Patwardhan, 63Ajit Mohan, 64Rajan Saxena, 56Govardhan Lalwani, 62Bimol Sen Gupta, 57Rajesh Likhan, 63"I take an early morning walk every single day of my life. I wake up at 5, and am at the park by 5:15. I started this when I was 40, and my routine hasnt changed since." Lakhulal Chaurasia, 69 "I was in my 30s when a very close friend of mine had a minor heart attack. He survived, but my wife and I sat down and decided to make some changes in the way we live our life. I used to eat meat almost every day. That had to stop. I reduced my meat eating and switched to vegetables, and around 5 years ago I became completely vegetarian." Himmat Singh, 64 "I used to play squash when I was young, but quit when I started developing pain in my knees. I switched to golf. Its an excellent sport, relaxing, good exercise, and it is a sport I can stick with till the end of my days." Prakash Singhania, 61 "I drink a glass of wine three times a week, and walk every day for one hour. I try to walk in the mornings, but if I cant make it, I go for a walk in the evenings. I make it a point to never miss my morning walk." Shashikant Puri, 58 "Pollution causes ageing faster than anything else. For the past 10 years I have been spending three months of a year in the hills, and it has done wonders for me. I go for walks in the morning, tend to my garden, read good books, watch television, and socialise with the locals. The air is fresh - so much healthier." Krishnakanth Patwardhan, 63 "Every day, after I step out from the bath, I tell myself loudly and forcefully that I am feeling fine, and am getting better and better everyday. I learnt this in a class that I had done. Try it, it works! Of course, this has to be combined with a healthy lifestyle - no smoking, vegetarian food, no excessive alcohol, and exercise."Ajit Mohan, 64 "I bathe with room temperature water, no matter what the season. I never switch on the geyser, even in the heights of winter. I have excellent immunity, and rarely catch a cold or fall sick. I dont know if its because of this, but ever since I started this practice - when I was in my 20s - I noticed a change in my health for the better." Rajan Saxena, 56 "I didnt exercise at all until I suffered from my first heart attack at the age of 45. I have been very particular since. I didnt know how to swim, so I enrolled in swimming classes and learnt swimming. I now swim everyday for an hour. I think its the best form of exercise as it tones up every part of my body. I am now 62, and feel better than I did at 45! Playing a sport is the best form of exercise." Govardhan Lalwani, 62 "I do a form of yoga called Kunjal Neti every morning. I drink around 4 glasses of lukewarm water with a little salt, and then stick my fingers down my throat and vomit it out. This is a cleansing form of yoga and it cleans your entire system. Its best if you first do this under the guidance of a yoga master. I follow this up with Jal Neti and Sutra Neti. Yoga is the best form of exercise." Bimol Sen Gupta, 57 "I do yoga for an hour every day, drink around 10 glasses of water, and play golf. I lead an ideal retired life, and, by the grace of god, am fit - for life!" Rajesh Likhan, 63

We spoke to ten men between the ages of 55 and 70, who were healthy, fit and had more energy than all of us put together, and asked them the secret of their health. Here's what they had to say.

"I take an early morning walk every single day of my life. I wake up at 5, and am at the park by 5:15. I started this when I was 40, and my routine hasn't changed since."

"I was in my 30s when a very close friend of mine had a minor heart attack. He survived, but my wife and I sat down and decided to make some changes in the way we live our life. I used to eat meat almost every day. That had to stop. I reduced my meat eating and switched to vegetables, and around 5 years ago I became completely vegetarian."

"I used to play squash when I was young, but quit when I started developing pain in my knees. I switched to golf. It's an excellent sport, relaxing, good exercise, and it is a sport I can stick with till the end of my days."

"I drink a glass of wine three times a week, and walk every day for one hour. I try to walk in the mornings, but if I can't make it, I go for a walk in the evenings. I make it a point to never miss my morning walk."

"Pollution causes ageing faster than anything else. For the past 10 years I have been spending three months of a year in the hills, and it has done wonders for me. I go for walks in the morning, tend to my garden, read good books, watch television, and socialise with the locals. The air is fresh - so much healthier."

"Every day, after I step out from the bath, I tell myself loudly and forcefully that I am feeling fine, and am getting better and better everyday. I learnt this in a class that I had done. Try it, it works! Of course, this has to be combined with a healthy lifestyle - no smoking, vegetarian food, no excessive alcohol, and exercise."

"I bathe with room temperature water, no matter what the season. I never switch on the geyser, even in the heights of winter. I have excellent immunity, and rarely catch a cold or fall sick. I don't know if it's because of this, but ever since I started this practice - when I was in my 20s - I noticed a change in my health for the better."

"I didn't exercise at all until I suffered from my first heart attack at the age of 45. I have been very particular since. I didn't know how to swim, so I enrolled in swimming classes and learnt swimming. I now swim everyday for an hour. I think it's the best form of exercise as it tones up every part of my body. I am now 62, and feel better than I did at 45! Playing a sport is the best form of exercise."

"I do a form of yoga called Kunjal Neti every morning. I drink around 4 glasses of lukewarm water with a little salt, and then stick my fingers down my throat and vomit it out. This is a cleansing form of yoga and it cleans your entire system. It's best if you first do this under the guidance of a yoga master. I follow this up with Jal Neti and Sutra Neti. Yoga is the best form of exercise."

"I do yoga for an hour every day, drink around 10 glasses of water, and play golf. I lead an ideal retired life, and, by the grace of god, am fit - for life!"