THE WEEK Health Summit 2025 | Experts stress balanced nutrition as key to India’s health resilience

At THE WEEK Health Summit in New Delhi, experts on the panel titled The path ahead: ‘Better nutrition and preparedness are the best ways’ highlighted that improved nutrition is essential for India’s progress towards becoming a healthier and more resilient nation. The session, moderated by Pooja Biraia, Principal Correspondent at THE WEEK, brought together leading clinicians to examine how nutrition shapes long-term wellbeing.

 

Opening the discussion, the moderator noted that India continues to struggle with malnutrition, particularly among women and children. Although food security has improved, she stressed that nutritional security must now take priority. Strengthening this requires fortifying staple foods and diversifying diets with locally available millets and pulses.

 

Dr Jyoti Wadhwa of Apollo Athenaa spoke about the clear link between diet and cancer prevention. She explained that a balanced diet supplies more than calories. It supports cell renewal and repair, helps reduce cancer risk and improves a patient’s ability to tolerate cancer treatment. She highlighted the importance of both macronutrients and micronutrients in the diet and cautioned against the belief in miracle foods or fad diets. No single food item can prevent disease and overall balance remains fundamental to good health.

 

Dr Sushant Mittal from Action Cancer Hospital focused on the role of antioxidants, which he described as vital radical scavengers that reduce oxidative stress and aid detoxification. He said that patients require holistic counselling to understand what they should eat and what they should avoid, both during treatment and at home. He warned against unverified alternative therapies that may undermine nutritional health. Diets that seem harmless, such as exclusively fruit-based plans, can result in malnourishment and unintended weight loss. He urged people to seek guidance from qualified dieticians rather than following trends blindly.

 

Dr Krishna Murty of Subharti Hospital spoke about the importance of antioxidants and extended the discussion to include the interaction between biology, environment and nutrition. He explained that health is influenced not only by genetics but also by environmental factors, a core principle of epigenetics. He observed that nutrition is often undervalued in emergency medicine despite its long-term importance. Addressing common myths, he noted that cholesterol is essential for normal cell function and should not automatically be considered harmful. 

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