Health - senior citizens in particular

Inspite of a nominal health insurance (which is rather costly) personal health is the biggest worry for GPs when they travel abroad.

Open any baggage of incoming GP at airport and you are bound to get tons of medicines, churans and other local herbal remedies. Away from mother country you cannot approach a Doctor unless you are covered by Insurance. Post-60s one needs it most. So best is to keep fit and remain healthy.

Broadly we put it in two categories- food/drinking habits and physical fitness. We can share information and benefit from each others personal experiences . Caution IT IS NOT ESSENTIAL THAT ONE PERSONS MEDICINES OR EXERCISES CAN BE APPLIED TO EVERY ONE BLINDLY. So do please tread with caution when trying out something new.

Food - Native food habits at times may not be best suited for a foreign location and you cannot always carry your home packets everywhere. My suggestion is innovate, accept variation and be flexible in adapting new dishes/drinks without being blind copycat.

A few things which helped us are:

-Try stores like ASDA/TESCO/Foreign grocery shops- you will always find some things similar to your native ingredient. We go for greens, frozen fishes( these are frozen within short time of catch so are very fresh when cooked.
- Choose the category (VEG/Fish/Lamb meat/Poultry )and seek help from others to try foods of the land
-Don't hesitate to enquire/read cost and ingredients whatever is chosen
- Do not always convert local costs with your native currency- you may remain hungry.
- Take plenty of liquids i.e. Juices, water and light wines/beers only if necessary. In colder climate we tend to drink less
- Eat timely and eat well to remain healthy. A menu we generally adhere to is --- MorningTea, Breakfast of Cereals/Muesli/ Oats, Wholegrain bread which also has seeds in it. Once in a while try Mooli/Alu Paratha with oil on one side, Frozen Corn boiled and add Ginger/Green chillies and Dhaniya leaf and lime juice if required . In the food section of this blog we will look at the Breakfast choices.


PHYSICAL FITNESS
-Long walks ( keep your complete address, phone no . Some money and change, local Taxi numbers, Police and Hospital numbers, and neighbours no in your pocket). Before start plan your route with local help, dress well, carry umbrella/raincoat if needed, Have very comfortable shoes(not new). A mobile phone is necessary. Don't be afraid of asking for help from a policeman.

These tips have helped to make our stay, outings and shopping here easier and more enjoyable. Please feel free to add your comments and tips about anything you have found very useful and helpful in easing your stay here.