Q&A with Ajoy Prabhu: Most of the non-communicable diseases are preventable, in many cases reversible

The Hans India interviewed Ajoy Prabhu, the co-founder & CTO, Circee Health Pvt. Ltd who is also a medical scientist, innovator, and a serial entrepreneur. Excerpts:

What are the latest treatment options available to reverse diabetes in India?

Before we talk about the available treatment options, it is important to point out that there has been a definite shift in the perception related to diabetes which, for a long time, has been viewed as a disease that cannot be reversed. The prevailing lore that is being rapidly debunked, is that anyone who has been diagnosed with it once has to live with it for the rest of their lives.

We have made excellent progress in medicine that can help individuals with diabetes to live a normal life. However, the dependency on medicines is a crucial issue which needs to be addressed.

Now-a-days, there are several treatments that claim to reverse diabetes. These treatments are in areas of Ayurveda, diet planning, lifestyle management, etc.

Research has also found that a conscious effort to manage various facets of life can help in reversing diabetes. However, these treatments are in diverse forms that are not cohesive. This is where Circee Health comes in. We combine these different aspects of dealing with diabetes which is like a transformative experience for the patients. This is a comprehensive tool which can actually help the patients in not just managing their diabetes but also reversing it quickly, safely and most importantly- permanently.

How technology is being explored to achieve diabetes reversal?

There are devices in the market that not only help in monitoring glucose levels, but can help deliver insulin too. There are continuous glucose monitor (CGS) devices in the market which are attached to the body and carry out the function of constantly monitoring and helping in self-management of diabetes. This wearable technology is a game changer as the patients can track their improvement regularly. This way, they can work on managing and reversing their diabetes. It is also a great step forward that celebrities are now coming forward and promoting such devices that break the taboo around diabetes. So yes, such hardware-based technologies are a boon in managing diabetes. Secondly, technology can also be leveraged to manage and improve lifestyles because urban hectic lifestyles full of stress and lack of exercise is one of the biggest reasons for rise in such ailments. We have amazing devices which can help us in managing this aspect of our life too and achieve desirable results. Fitness trackers are one example of wearable devices that can help track the exercise frequency and intensity of diabetics.

Another aspect are some of the apps that can track glucose level, nutrition, etc as an aid to managing diabetes. Circee Health takes a different view than the traditional ways of helping the diabetic. We have a patent pending method that automatically presents a set of relevant lifestyle, diet, nutrition and emotion tracker. The key feature of this app is that it does not force anyone to quit a particular behavior if it is deemed bad. It simply start nudging the diabetic towards cessation of bad lifestyle behaviours and rewards them for reaching healthy goals.

Would this become another area of personalised medicine?

We expect and we hope that it becomes an area of personalized medicine and that more and more people actively work towards reversing their diabetes instead of just relying on medicine. We are not saying that medicines are not helpful. In fact, they have played a very important role in dealing with the ailment. However, our endeavour should be to continuously improve and aim for better results as we move forward. Therefore, these disease reversal initiatives need to become an important part of our system. This can become a stronger possibility as diabetics realize that it is also more cost-effective to live without the disease.

Can a diabetic be completely cured by the reversal method? How sustainable are these treatments?

Most of the non-communicable diseases in India are preventable and, in many cases, reversible. Circee Health Disease Reversal Programme, has already helped many patients in reversing their chronic illnesses. With a good partnership between patient and practitioner and following a tried and tested method of lifestyle change, cessation and ultimately reversal of diseases such as diabetes is very possible. About efficacy, we can say that this method has been efficacious for at least 50% of all the patients that have sought treatment. However, almost all of them that adhere to the treatment regimen succeed. We are working towards gathering and analysing more data, but so far it has looked quite promising in terms of this being an effective form of treatment.

What is the key for diabetes reversal?

There are four basic foundations for reversal of many of the ailments, including diabetes.

First is physical health; the patients need to start living a healthy lifestyle with more physical activity as research has shown that it not only helps in keeping the body fit but releases hormones which are beneficial for the overall health of individuals.

Second is emotional and spiritual well-being. This by the way is an often ignored factor for the increase in diseases today, because of the stressful life that we all live.

This, along with other kinds of mental/emotional pressures, leads to stress-related diseases such as diabetes. Our mind is directly connected to our body, and it is extremely important to keep the mind healthy to ensure that our body is healthy too.

Third is to follow a plant-based nutrition. There are many studies in the recent past which have proven that a plant-based diet helps in prevention of many diseases. Also, our body can start reversing some ailments once we switch to plant based nutrition. This is something I have found from personal experience of being with the Native Americans in Orinoco Delta, and following their dietary habits. Their diet, free of salt, oil, sugar, etc., keeps them away from diabetes, heart diseases and hypertension. In fact, a study by National Geographic has also found a strong relation between plant-based cultures, and good health among communities that have an average lifespan of more than a hundred years.

Lastly, we cannot ignore the utility of modern (and ancient) medicines in treating diabetes. There is a very prominent place for medicine in our lives. The prescription (and consumption) of medicines should keep the ultimate goal in mind- that of eliminating diabetes.We are very glad to see so many options now opening up for patients with type 2 diabetes to finally cure themselves and get back to a healthy state. We welcome all the organisations and treatment methods that are joining us in the fight against diabetes.