Meet Sumit Nanda, a victim of chronic illness since childhood, who took charge of healing his body and gut with Ayurveda.
By Kavita Chandran
When I met Sumit Nanda at a wellness event in Singapore for the first time, we talked briefly about Yoga Journal, Ayurveda and his health. Standing tall with a lean frame and radiant skin, it was hard to believe he had a past that contained a daily cup filled with prescription medicines.
A week later, as we sat sipping Ayurveda prescribed mixes at his Ega Juice Clinic at Singapore’s Forum mall, he told me why he treats his food as medicine. Not too long ago, he used to be a perennial patient—migraines, ENT issues, immunity concerns, sinus, itchy throat, blood pressure, insomnia and weight related problems.
“I would wake up every morning and take a painkiller to pre-empt a headache that could strike any time,” Sumit said. “I must have gone to more than 20 ENT specialists but no one could cure the itch in my throat.” Finally, at 25, his tonsils were removed. But that too gave no respite, and doctors started prescribing allergy medicines for his incessant cough. He changed his lifestyle and did everything suggested—exercise, brown bread, egg whites, diet coke, low fat oil etc.—and yet, downhill was how his body marched.
At 35, he was diagnosed with high blood pressure. His energy levels tanked, he barely slept, and became a victim of frequent migraines. The doctors added more to his pill basket: strong painkillers for migraine, antidepressants for sleep and ace inhibitors for blood pressure. At 42, he flew to New Delhi to take care of his father who was hospitalized, carrying the burden of his own ill health with him. “I used to feel ants crawling all over my body.” It was his brother who recommended he go to an Ayurveda clinic nearby for a checkup. “The first time I met Dr. Ratheesh, he checked my pulse and declared my biological age to be 65,” he said. “And, he asked me to throw away all my pills.”
Sumit was put on a 30-day Ayurvedic diet that consisted of herbal supplements, such as turmeric, gudduchi (moonseeds), gooseberries and laxatives. He was told the problem lay in his gut: his food was not digesting well and nourishment wasn’t reaching at a cellular level because his cells were coated with toxins. “For the first time ever, I understood what it was like to have a full night of undisturbed sleep.” Those 30 days changed Sumit’s life, and learning Ayurveda became his purpose.
Now, as he nears 50, he has shed 15 kilos, bid goodbye to migraine attacks, blood pressure is normal, sleeps like a baby, and energy levels are always high. In the last six years, he studied and got certified as an Ayurveda practitioner, did Panchkarma (a fivefold detoxification treatment that involves massage, herbal therapy, and other healing methods), learned about healing secrets of plants and fruits, started juicing once a week, brought ‘friends of Ayurveda’ together at conferences held by the World Ayurveda Association, and most importantly, he went in search of Dr. Ratheesh and brought him to Singapore.
“I haven’t popped in a pill in the last six years, and my pulse reading shows my biological age as 33 now,” he laughs. “It’s called age reversal!” That idea and his transformation gave birth to Ega Juice Clinic—a play on age reversal (hint: read “Ega” backwards)—that he co-founded with Dr. Ratheesh. They bought fresh fruits together, and for a year, they tasted and tested fruits and vegetables to get the right mix that heals different body types. Before they knew, they were churning glass bottles every morning to a line of juicers who wanted to own their health, slowly expanding from one clinic at Cluny Court to their second in Forum mall last year. Their mission is to promote preventive healthcare “so that symptoms are corrected through diet and lifestyle rather than management with medication”. Together, they check a person’s body composition and prescribe juices accordingly, so much so that Sumit can now tell a person’s dosha by just looking at them. “You are a mix of pitta and vata,” he told me. “Eat sweet and avoid yogurt.”
What’s interesting about Ega Juice Clinic is that you get to choose your own “cleanse package” by taking a detox quiz. My quiz showed I need to “Refocus Hard” and the cleanse package suggested was a mix of pure green juices, all available at the clinic, and some specific fruits and vegetables.
Singapore climate doesn’t bode well for perishable foods, so what do they do with leftover juice bottles that aren’t sold? “I actually look forward to seeing at least some left over in the evening,” said Sumit with a glint in his eyes. “I drink them all up.
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online.
