The 10-minute service will mess with people's health, says Luke Coutinho

Mint

a day ago

When American millionaire and longevity advocate Bryan Johnson called out India's air pollution problem on social media in early February, it was received by typical wringing of hands accompanied with breathless headlines. For Mumbai-based integrative lifestyle expert Luke Coutinho, it was just the wake up call the country needed. In an open letter addressed to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and prime minister Narendra Modi, he'd written, 'The air we breathe is no longer just air—it is harming our lungs, our hearts, and our future. We cannot ignore this any longer." In the letter, he exhorted everyone from parents and educators to fitness trainers and influencers on the need for collective action to demand 'clean air, clean water, and clean food."
Also read: Shane Watson's techniques to bouncing back: Music, meditation, and mindset
'Whether it's about obesity or demand for clean air, it's always going to be about collective action. Which is why even when I put out my initial message to the prime minister, the chief minister, it was a request. The letter was about stating that we can't solve problems in our country with anger and hatred. It has to be through the unity of everyone," says Coutinho on a video call with Lounge. The demand for 'clean air, clean water, and honest food," he says, was also part of the talk he gave at the inaugural NXT Conclave 2025 in the Capital on 28 February-1 March, that was attended by global leaders. Coutinho also presented the Bharat Dish and Lifestyle tips booklet at the conclave. 'A lot of us have superfoods in the kitchen – be it makhana, desi ghee, moringa or amla, but we're looking for fancy blueberries and raspberries that have travelled on a ship for months to reach us. With the booklet available to all, the hope is it will drive conversations back to our roots are and what real health is," Coutinho says.
While well-intended health and wellness initiatives are being launched in the country, the problem at present, as Coutinho sees it, is that everyone wants to complain about things that are not going great without doing anything about it themselves. 'What's the point of us being hypocrites talking about nutrition and exercise when the air is wrong? Any doctor will tell you that without the right air, everything else is practically useless. But now we live in that country, so we can't give up. We people need to come together because that's when the government is going to listen," rues Coutinho who's penned a new book, The Calm Prescription.
In this freewheeling interview, he gets talking about why the convenience of quick commerce is not good for us, how our lifestyles are the root cause for most ailments, and a current wellness subject that's got all his attention. Edited excerpts:
We're living in a time of 10-minute deliveries. What are your concerns about how this 'instant delivery' lifestyle could affect us?
I think 10-minute deliveries are great for many things: you want a toothpaste tube or some masalas, that's great. But I think the promotion of junk food through the 10-minute service is going to really mess up –no, it's already messing up –people's health to the extent that we have doctors telling patients to delete these apps from their phones. I think 10 minutes has just become a way of giving into people's convenience, and it's going to become a very bad habit that people will find difficult to break away from. Further, I strongly believe that the easy availability of junk food on these apps needs to be heavily regulated.
Also read: 'To heal, disconnect from work, connect with nature': Soukya's Dr Issac Mathai
On Instagram, you regularly post success stories of patients who've healed from severe ailments. What stands out in a lot of these cases is that the root of these issues lies in the lifestyles we lead. Does the fact that the causes are mostly elementary leave you amused or perplexed?
Absolutely. And no, it doesn't amuse me anymore as much as it scares me. That's because barring about five or six per cent of the total diseases which are genetic, the balance are medically categorized as lifestyle diseases, i.e, poor lifestyle is causing most of the diseases. When we put up the cases on social media, these are real patients we are talking about. Reading them, people wonder, 'But Luke, how?" Today, we are used to telling clients that when they change their lifestyle, this is the magic that can happen. Otherwise, you'll just have people going from country to country looking for the next treatment, the next nutraceutical, the next yoga pose… with none of it working. Ultimately, to heal, people have to change their lifestyles.
What you are saying is that if one wants to be healthy, it's more effective to take a close look at daily routine instead of looking at only supplements or exercise as the solutions?
Yes. No one's supplements in their cupboards are ever going to solve their problems. A supplement, like the word says, is the supplement of a deficiency. If I have a deficiency of vitamin D3, I may be prescribed a supplement. But people think 'I'll take these supplements and I'll become stronger", 'get a six pack", 'I'll get a size zero". No. They still have to do the work with their nutrition, in the gym, with their sleep, and with their recovery.
There is always something new emerging in the world of wellness. What's a subject that you are currently interested in?
I'm very interested in circadian medicine. That's become huge. What is circadian medicine? It's about aligning ourselves with the cycles of nature, be it our sleep time and wake up time, understanding the importance of sunlight, the importance of eating your meals at the same time or doing your exercise at a time that suits your body. This new science of circadian medicine and quantum healing intrigues me because it comes back to common sense— that we as human beings have moved too far away from nature and that is why we have more disharmony and disease. We need to start aligning with the laws of nature, that is when things are going to start getting better.
What are some simple habits that one should practice every day?
Meditate. Even if it's five minutes a day, do your pranayama, your deep breathing, because it settles you down, it reduces stress in your body. If you don't have time for a workout, do some yoga asanas, even Surya Namaskar – do five or six of them. That ensures you've moved your body and breath together. These are simple habits that we can all do, even if we have just five minutes to spare.
How do you unwind? Do you have a cheat day?
No, I don't have a cheat day. The word 'cheat" comes guilt and that's not a great emotion to have. I have a reward day instead. I reward myself whenever I want, but I get back on track. It's as simple as that. I think everything is about prioritizing, managing and knowing where you want to put most of your effort, and that's how I manage my day. I unwind with exercise. Or a walk in nature. It can also be a recorded voice note where I'll scream, I'll shout, I'll abuse and then delete it (laughs). Yes, that's how it is.
Also read: What's causing low AMH levels in Indian women?