About Diseases and Hospitals -Disease Prevention- From an Uzbekistani, Nepali and Italian Perspective

We were told to always eat breakfast before leaving the house.

Yes, I was often told to eat breakfast as well. They told me to eat something sweet because it would give me energy. Another thing I was told was to dry my hair properly after taking a shower to prevent headaches.

My grandmother and mother always told me to eat breakfast and not leave any food behind or God would be angry with me.

In Nepal as well, it is said that cooling the head can cause a cold. Even now, they still say that it is better not to shower in the morning. They prefer to shower in the afternoon if possible. In Japan, people dry their hair immediately after showering, but in Nepal it is not always possible to dry your hair. When I go to Nepal, I take a shower only after having lunch. We prefer not to shower after 5:00 or 6:00 in the evening. This is said to keep your body from getting cold. In Japan, people take a shower regardless of the time.

I see. So, it’s important to keep your body from getting cold.

Yes, we also do oil massages for that. Until the age of 5 we massage with mustard oil every day. Mustard oil warms the body, so even in Japan, when I have muscle aches, I warm the oil and have a massage. The best way to stay healthy is to never let your body get cold.

Jyoti's story reminded me of something. In Uzbekistan, we do not use mustard oil, but vodka for massages. It is to warm the hands and feet, and my mother would do this for me.

In Nepal, children also drink alcohol when they catch a cold. It is just a little bit with a spoon before going to bed at night. They sleep well and feel better in the morning. It is a kind of alcohol like sake. In Nepal, people often make their own sake at home, so they use it like medicine.

When I was 4 years old, my grandmother gave me a little wine and I took it as medicine. My grandmother is Russian. I think this is not an Uzbek custom, but a Russian custom.

I try to balance my cooking and do plenty of exercise. I cook for myself, so I think about the balance of vegetables, meat, and fish. My specialty is Italian food, especially pasta. Lately I have been doing muscle training, so I don't eat pasta at all. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, so I make my meals mainly protein-based.

What I usually try to do is to go to bed early, get up early, and eat a well-balanced meal. It is also a family custom to drink warm milk before going to bed at night. When I feel like catching a cold, I add turmeric to milk and drink it to warm up my body. Drinking cold milk is not a custom in Nepal. Children drink milk at school, but I don't remember drinking cold milk since coming to Japan.

Uzbek cuisine is very tasty, but it is fatty and not healthy. In my family, we like to cook healthy food, and my father especially likes to use less oil and salt in his cooking, which is a fusion. Today we make Japanese food, tomorrow Italian food, the next day Russian food, and so on.
My family always eats salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Vegetables are important.

I have thought since I was a child that I should eat vegetables, but in Nepal we don't eat many raw vegetables, so I didn't know how to eat them. Since coming to Japan, I have started eating vegetables more often and my stomach feels better. I have always had stomach pains and constipation problems since I was a child, but not since I came to Japan. When I return to Nepal, I have stomach pains and constipation again. Nepalese food is delicious with lots of spices, but it is a bit heavy.

In Uzbekistan we drink more tea than coffee. Tea is very important and we always drink hot tea. When guests come to visit us, even in the heat of summer, we drink hot drinks. We don't drink cold drinks.

I have been told to eat simple food like porridge when I have a cold. Not complicated food, but something like soup or porridge.

To prevent diseases, I add herbs in my tea. Black tea like chai is also good.

As a college student, I have a lot to do and often sleep only 2 hours a day. Today I slept about 4 hours, which is more than usual.
When I was a child, I was told to go to bed at 10:00 p.m., but I often went to bed at 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. because I was studying to maintain my grades.

Sleep is said to be important in Nepal as well. But unlike Japanese elementary schools, Nepal has a lot of homework. Homework is assigned for each subject, so I was doing homework until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. I know that 8 hours of sleep is good, but it is hard to get it. I have been able to get a lot more sleep in Japan.

In Italy is also said to be good to have 8 hours of sleep. I sleep about 7 hours now. When I was a child, I used to watch TV rather than study, going to bed around 2:00 a.m. and waking up around 7:00 a.m. My mother often got angry at me and told me to turn off the TV.

I learned that in Japan, even if homework is not completed, children should go to bed at 9:00 p.m. In Nepal, parents do not tell their children to go to bed at 9:00 p.m. because they are not allowed to sleep until they finish their homework.

I was very surprised to learn that people eat leeks when they catch a cold. In Nepal, it is said that if you eat leeks, you catch a cold. I don't eat leeks because they cool me down. When I have a cold, I eat raw garlic.

I have been coming to Japan since I was a child, so I quickly got used to wearing a mask. When I return to Uzbekistan, I still wear a mask during the winter.

There is no such thing as a flu shot in Italy. When Japanese people catch a cold, they immediately take medicine, but Italians probably do not take medicine for a cold. When I ask my friends, they don't take much medicine either. When we have a cold, we put on a lot of clothes and sweat.

I was surprised by one more thing. Yogurt. In Japan, people eat yogurt even when they have a cold. In Nepal, people do not eat yogurt when they have a cold because it makes the cold worse and makes it more difficult to recover. But in Japan, everyone eats yogurt, so I eat it too even when I have a cold. When I go back to Nepal, if I eat yogurt, I get a sore throat the next day. It is a wonder.

I guess what surprised me was the ice. In Japan, ice is served in drinks (except for hot drinks). In Uzbekistan, if there is ice in drinks, I immediately catch a cold. This doesn’t happen to me in Japan.

I gave birth in Japan, but in Nepal, after the birth, they give you a hot drink or hot soup. I was surprised because in Japan, they gave me cold juice.

In Italy, people say that drinking olive oil helps constipation. Olive oil is also applied to dry skin. Mothers sometimes pack their hair with olive oil before shampooing. Olive oil is a common and familiar oil. Another thing is, when sunburned, fresh tomatoes are cut and placed on the reddened area.