Patients in India report relief from chronic diseases using lifestyle changes

Medical staff at the Integrative Health Clinic at ESIC Medical College & Hospital in Faridabad, India, provided a lifestyle intervention to patients with chronic conditions.

The clinic used a protocol involving three specific components: a traffic-light dietary guideline, a Yoga protocol, and advice on a four-spice culinary extract. Researchers tracked 1,466 patients who received these lifestyle practices alongside their standard medical care. The study group included patients primarily suffering from hypertension, obesity, and arthritis.

After the intervention, staff contacted patients by telephone to collect feedback on their symptoms and their adherence to the new habits. Among the patients who provided a clear answer, 83.7% reported feeling relief from their conditions. Patients who returned for a second visit reported a higher relief rate of 87.2% compared to 80.8% for those who only visited once. The results showed a direct link between the level of patient compliance and the amount of relief reported.

Patients who followed all three lifestyle practices and returned for a repeat visit reported a 98.2% relief rate. However, the clinic notes that because the study did not use a control group and patients continued their usual medications, the researchers cannot prove that the lifestyle changes caused the improvement. The clinic says the findings justify future controlled studies to test these methods more strictly.