Dr Abhrajit Roy and Rita Bhimani interact with the residents of Anupama Housing Complex at the GoodLife Talk Show on Sunday evening. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

That health is high on the Calcuttan’s list of things to think was evident when residents of Anupama Housing Complex changed Puja shopping plans to attend a GoodLife Talk Show this Sunday evening. The topic: “health”. On the dais: rheumatologist Dr Abhrajit Roy and Rita Bhimani.

The talk show at Kaikhali, off VIP Road, was kick-started by Rita who asked Dr Roy about the common belief in a direct link between increased waist-hip ratio and heart attacks. “This to some extent is quite true, especially for males. So, it is important that one watches one’s diet and after the age of 45 consumes food that helps keep the cholesterol content in the blood down,” said the doctor.

The youngsters in the crowd then asked the doctor to suggest fast food that was not bad for health.

“As a doctor, I can never approve of fast food, as all varieties of the food are equally harmful. But if you find it very difficult to resist it, you should consume very small quantities of the same.”

The next question was from Bina Bhadra, who was worried about the calorie count in soft drinks. “Cold drinks reflux acidity and should be avoided as much as possible. Go for tender-coconut water, instead. It should quench your thirst and it is very healthy, too,” explained the rheumatologist.

Questions then flew in from every corner of the room ? from keeping blood pressure in check to the ill-effects of going on a crash diet.

The evening drew to a close with K.N. Sharma’s question on whether a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian diet was recommended. To this, both Rita and Dr Abhrajit Roy smiled and said: “In Calcutta, where people just freak out on non-vegetarian food, this is like asking whether Greg Chappell should be in or Sourav Ganguly!”

On a more serious note, the doctor continued: “An all-vegetarian diet is definitely far healthier. All non-vegetarians should keep at least one day of the week aside for an all-vegetarian diet. This helps detoxify the system. But it is also very important for vegetarians to have a fair share of proteins in their diet.”