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The School Bell Podcast – A Production by Bethany
Why ‘The School Bell’?
In most schools, the bell signals the start or end of a lesson.
But here, it’s something more.
The School Bell is a cue for a different kind of conversation, the kind that begins when the class ends.
Where we step out of the syllabus and into real life.
Where we move from instruction to reflection.
And where schools aren’t just places of learning, but platforms of dialogue.
What Is This Podcast About?
At its core, The School Bell Podcast is about redefining the role of a school in today’s world.
We believe a school should not just prepare students for exams, but prepare all of us to engage with the questions, challenges, and choices shaping the country we live in.
This podcast is Bethany’s way of stepping beyond our classrooms and into the broader community.
Younger and younger people are getting all sorts of ailments. Cancers are coming up at an early age. Parkinson's is coming up at an early age.
Dr.Akash Ryall:I'm in fact taken aback with what you just said.
Ashok Soota:Yes. And I've also been continuously taken aback by it. I must tell you that one of my family members had developed a neurological ailment. So I thought we'll do some research focused on that. However, when I began, I quite quickly realized But to our surprise it brought out something new.
Dr.Akash Ryall:It brought out something totally new. It it said When the school bell rings, it normally signals the end of a class, and there are some children whose hearts would be doing a backflip when they hear that bell ringing. But here on the school bell podcast, it signals a new lesson, a conversation that goes beyond the textbooks, beyond schooling. Here, we are talking about a rapidly changing world and how it shapes our future. Today, we are exploring a subject that will touch everybody's lives, from infants to the elderly.
Dr.Akash Ryall:It's a subject that we cannot ignore. It is about technology in health care. Our guest today needs no introduction. I know that sounds cliched, but let me tell you if you are an Indian citizen, am sure you heard his name mister Ashok Suta. I am not going to give him a big introduction.
Dr.Akash Ryall:I am just going to say a few words about the man and the legend that he is. Widely recognized as one of the pioneering leaders in the Indian IT industry. He's been the founding chairman of two of India's most successful IT companies, Mindtree and Happiest Minds, both of which he led very successfully to IPOs in our country. Beyond his technology leadership, he's turned his vision into healthcare. He is the founder of Happiest Health, a global knowledge platform for wellness.
Dr.Akash Ryall:He also founded SCAN and I believe SCAN stands for scientific knowledge.
Ashok Soota:Ageing.
Dr.Akash Ryall:For aging and neurological disorders or ailments. It is India's first private sector, nonprofit research organization dedicated to aging and neurological disorders. It specializes with stem cells, microbial, and molecular biology. Mr. Sutha was named by Forbes Asia among the top 15 philanthropists of 2022, and he combines entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and innovation to create impact across industries.
Dr.Akash Ryall:It's our privilege for the Bethany Education Board and my honor to welcome him to the school bell podcast. Welcome, mister Suta.
Ashok Soota:Thank you. Thank you, Akash. I might also add it's a pleasure to be here with you for your very fascinating program.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Thank you so much. We've known each other for for several years now.
Ashok Soota:Absolutely.
Dr.Akash Ryall:And you're best known as an IT a serial IT entrepreneur. What made you step into the world of health care?
Ashok Soota:Well, really, I was looking for a source for my philanthropy and where I would look at it. And when I looked at the scenario, I saw that there are a lot of people who spend money on education, the environment and actually just helping the needy in terms of health care. As you've noticed, we are the first entity to have created an institution for as a non profit institution in the world of medical research. So that's how scan came about. Okay.
Ashok Soota:There were certain other things which became the inspiration for happiest health and as we walk through this, I think I will explain to you why one thing then led to the next.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Okay. Before we go there, was there something personal that triggered this? Was there
Ashok Soota:Sure.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Something like
Ashok Soota:Invariably, you might say something like this happens. The inspiration for scan initially was that one of my family members had developed neurological ailment. So I thought we'll do some research focused on that. However, when I began, I quite quickly realized that you can't do anything by just focusing on one aspect. Right.
Ashok Soota:That so many disciplines, if you will, are interrelated. As you've noticed yourself, it's stem cells, gut microbiome, molecular biology, so many things you have to bring them all together. And then the moment you're beginning to develop those capabilities, you can't be narrowly focused. Sure. And then given the fact that my expertise has always been building large institutions Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:I began to think of scan on a much larger scale.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So, mister Suta, tell us now, Mindtree, Happiest Minds, what led you to scan? What led you to Happier Health?
Ashok Soota:So in the case of Happiest Health, you know, was a different situation altogether. There was a doctor in a leading hospital who recommended an angioplasty for me. Mhmm. And then when I asked him what it was going to entail
Dr.Akash Ryall:Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:He said maybe multiple stents, maybe a bypass, ten percent probability, I'll send you home. However, I then began to get second opinions. Mhmm. And then it came through to me that the whole recommendation was based on false premises. And this example of
Dr.Akash Ryall:Let me stop you for a second. You said?
Ashok Soota:False premises, completely false premises. In reality, there was no blockage in the left main which he told me I had. And that got reconfirmed by maybe six other people seeing the scan that was done for me prior to that. This example of an unnecessary procedure got me thinking and I realized there's so much of this going around and therefore I decided it's a world that I want to be a part of And we then created Happiest Health to become both, I would say the most integrated health care company in the country which is both knowledge, wellness, health care and diagnostics. Okay.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So, you know, clinicians today, I don't know, those good old days are gone. They I'm in fact taken aback with what you just said.
Ashok Soota:Yes. And I've also been continuously taken aback by that, I must tell you.
Dr.Akash Ryall:But, you know, having said that, recently, my son and I had to go to Manipal Hospital to help somebody, and they said that they have to do this battery of tests all over again. Now on one hand, we feel we've just done these tests for somebody, and you're asking us to do these tests again. But to our surprise
Ashok Soota:It brought out something new.
Dr.Akash Ryall:It brought out something totally new. It it said exactly what you were saying when you took your other opinions. We didn't have to do surgery. We didn't have to
Ashok Soota:Yeah. So this is really a serious issue, and we'll come back to it when I think you're going to focus a lot on artificial intelligence. Yes. And I think that clearly has a role Okay. To play in this area.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Okay. So just a quick one on on what would be a substantial change that technology has brought into this field?
Ashok Soota:Well, know, I think there's no question that the most significant change is artificial technology. And if you look at it today, there's AI in radiology, there's AI in diagnostics, there's AI in cardiac care. You name it, it's everywhere. So it is a single most important factor. AI.
Ashok Soota:Yeah. The other day someone played
Dr.Akash Ryall:a song for me and it was all AI. Some did fantastic and he said Yeah. I said, who's the singer? He said, no. AI.
Ashok Soota:Well, it's leading to quicker and better decisions also.
Dr.Akash Ryall:What about the ordinary people? How will it impact
Ashok Soota:their Well, you know, here, well, AI is really helping. Telemedicine has been around, but now people even rural areas can get access to the best medical device. Their diagnostic films can be seen, all AI interpreted films, so that you get quicker better diagnostics for them and you get quicker more gentler therapies for them also. And AI is helping in all of that.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Amazing. I think you answered this question of mine where I was just going to ask you about technology playing a role in diagnostics and prediction of illnesses. Can can something like that happen even at home? If I'm at home
Ashok Soota:Well, you know, see I'll tell you that in fact, I think what technology is doing is really two or three things. It's making the patient become a more active participant in their own healing. That's very important. At the same time, there are people who seem to think the technology can now substitute for the doctor. I don't believe that that is the right approach.
Ashok Soota:I think you will always need the doctor. Right. Where such technology comes into play in my view is really in two three areas. One is in gesture assisting the doctor. Now you have say, Elon Musk saying or Vinod Khosla saying, hey, our technology is wonderful.
Ashok Soota:You actually don't need a doctor. Now that's not the way we are going. At Happiest Health, we are developing a series of expert products. They include cardio expert. That includes your personal physician.
Ashok Soota:It includes something for pediatrics. In all of them we say is there to assist the doctor. The second aspect of this is really an education. Your field. You can have you know, technology and new knowledge is coming up at such a space, at such a rapid speed that the whole delivery of education in this area could be changed through expert systems.
Ashok Soota:And finally comes the patient who can use it to become a more active participant in his or her own treatment, but certainly not a substitute for the doctor.
Dr.Akash Ryall:And and we believe that over here too, that teachers can't be replaced. You can have
Ashok Soota:I sure think so. But the I will tell you that the delivery of education is changing dramatically also. Amazingly. And due to Jenny, I'm sure you're evaluating it, and maybe on another occasion we should discuss this, and probably I might find you and possibly support a solution for you all to implement.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Here's a little follow-up question to what you just spoke about. Again, how will the the poor in our country, the farmers, the people who are not in a urban setup, how will they actually be part of the the solution?
Ashok Soota:Sure. So you've noticed yourself for example that now you have telemedicine being augmented by AI. So that's one part. You have increasingly got mobile clinics, which today can do very sophisticated work. I mean, you can even visualize being able to set up something for a day care procedure for which they would have had to go to a larger town.
Ashok Soota:So that's an amazing development and is really expanding at a remarkable speed.
Dr.Akash Ryall:What does AI and technology have to do with the new generation now? What do we tell families in our own school set up now about the future, about the next generation? What should they be really aware of?
Ashok Soota:Well, you know, firstly, all of us have to be much more aware of everything linked to health and wellness. My first perspective in all of this is that we should think of wellness is the steady state. Health care only exists to get you back into that steady state and therefore you focus on that. Now having said that, I think the most critical thing still is not medicine and not the medicines you give. It really is lifestyle, nutrition and the environment.
Ashok Soota:Because unfortunately, it's a very polluted environment in which we are all having to live. Right. How do you counter those aspects to get into a really good environment which takes you into wellness and sustains your wellness? The other area which I I think is a cause of great concern is the increase in mental wellness problems. It's huge.
Ashok Soota:And unfortunately, that is what is hitting the younger generation much more. Sure. The stresses of the world, even the education system is so demanding. In so many respects, you know, we have all our five kids who work with who are studying here. I'm amazed at their knowledge because they're studying things which we didn't study until we were literally in class 10 or 12.
Ashok Soota:Right. But they're learning a lot more. The methodology of learning has probably improved a lot, but it's all adds up to really a lot of stress. I find them all needing tuitions. We never in our lives thought of it, that at our ages.
Ashok Soota:So all of this adds up. And then there's social media, which imposes a huge huge it's an opportunity, but it's also largely a threat.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Absolutely. We totally agree with what you're saying. At least over here, we have a a digital detox policy going. We are strict about the young ones having Insta accounts and Facebook accounts. Yeah.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Even before they are mature enough to handle something like that. Sure. Just yesterday, there was an unfortunate accident in one of our leading schools here just because of pressure. It was a boy who sadly took his life. Really?
Ashok Soota:Yes. Just yesterday. Oh my god. How old was the boy?
Dr.Akash Ryall:He was he was in the twelfth grade, so I'm thinking he'd be about 16, 17 years old.
Ashok Soota:Very, very sad. But, you know, and this is, of course, the biggest concern. I think the pressures and to what extent can, let us say, approaches for wellness help? And I go back to the points I was making. It's just emphasizing these basics and make people think of another type of environment.
Ashok Soota:Right. When do you come into the fact that saying you identify someone who may have needed counseling before taking that? That's a very difficult thing to do. And you can't make it so pervasive that everybody suddenly begins to think that maybe I need a problem. That's just the thing.
Ashok Soota:Yeah. So how do you draw a balance to get, the right degree of attention?
Dr.Akash Ryall:And that is such a difficult balance.
Ashok Soota:Yes. In
Dr.Akash Ryall:a school like ours, we we are proud to say we're not an elitist school.
Ashok Soota:Sure.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Yet we have about six counselors. And and You do have. Okay. We we do. We we have a separate counseling department.
Ashok Soota:So how do you identify the students who need it, and how do they come in, and what sort of program does it
Dr.Akash Ryall:So right in the beginning, mister Suta, what we do is we have an orientation with parents.
Ashok Soota:Okay. With our
Dr.Akash Ryall:children, and they know that, you know, these people are there for them. We constantly tell them that it's not a stigma to go and see, to have a chat. And you'd be surprised. We have from the smallies right up to the twelfth grade going across and chatting and talking. And, of course, we it's confidential.
Dr.Akash Ryall:We don't know what. Absolutely.
Ashok Soota:Yes. But it's a very important program. I'm really impressed with this. I meant to have six counselors.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Absolutely. Because some some everyone is different. Everyone has their own challenges. And I think so many kids have come and spoken to me and said, you know, sir, we feel so much better after having spoken to so and so.
Ashok Soota:Very good. Superb.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Coming back to AI in health care, could you share some specific examples of AI applications that are already saving lives?
Ashok Soota:Sure. The biggest is obviously cardiac care. There's so much information which gets in through and interpreted that it leads it to, let us say, better diagnostics and then a better approach including right through to the procedure. I can tell you there's a major breakthrough coming ahead. And that is when you begin to apply quantum computing towards collecting and interpreting the data.
Ashok Soota:And then you'll be able to actually do much more in terms of prediction. You'll catch data from not just the heart, it is from related and multiple organs within the system. And all of that gets fed in through algorithms. It gets analyzed and gives you a portrait and a picture of what is likely to happen, and then you begin to take preventive action.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Wow. That's amazing. Isn't it? So for younger people, I think that that that would be you know, we do a master checkup once a year or
Ashok Soota:At what age do you start? Whatever.
Dr.Akash Ryall:I think here the the I'm I'm talking about the regular medical checkup. After 40, it's suggested that once a year, you do that. But if AI is going to look at predictions through algorithms, why wouldn't anyone want to go and see what would be their medical condition Sure. Later on?
Ashok Soota:You know, there again, I would not move to the extent of saying that schools should start adopting those checkups. Although increasingly, you're finding younger and younger people are getting all sorts of ailments. Cancers are coming up at an early age. Parkinson's is coming up at an early age. So all these things happen.
Ashok Soota:But by and large, I think it's good to keep the child's mind free of these concerns. Just look for things which may need attention and then only act.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Right.
Ashok Soota:But other than that, exactly as you said, in fact, we're in the process of framing out at Happiest Health, a program which should be done for people in their twenties Mhmm. People in their thirties, people in their forties and so
Dr.Akash Ryall:on. Fantastic. So that's coming.
Ashok Soota:Yeah. And that's coming. Actually, we're developing two programs if I can talk about them. One is called happy healthy lifespan Mhmm. And the other is called happy healthy aging.
Ashok Soota:I intend to be the first person to register for happy healthy aging myself. Wow. And we hope we will people you know, sustain people through that program. Can you tell us in a
Dr.Akash Ryall:nutshell what the program will
Ashok Soota:Well, know, there's going to be a number of what you might save. To start with, there'll be regular routine tests which will be done based on the age group and the formula that we are describing. And then he is going to focus on things like, let's take the gut microbiome. Increasingly, people are realizing that maybe that's the source of all problems. I'll ask you a simple question here.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Before you ask me that question, can I quickly check with you? Gut microbiome is the the microorganisms that are found in the intestines
Ashok Soota:Exactly. In
Dr.Akash Ryall:a labyrinth. Absolutely.
Ashok Soota:I'll ask you a very simple question, and you take a guess if you will. How many bacteria call in the gut microbiome do you think you have in a typical body? Take a big guess.
Dr.Akash Ryall:I don't know. 50 lakh.
Ashok Soota:Okay. Fair enough. I'll tell you to increase. Well, you know, the answer will really, puzzle you.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:It's 37,000,000,000,000 bacteria. You wonder where on earth could they find space in your body. That there are more bacteria in your body than there are human cells. Obviously, they're going to have a huge impact some way or the other. They're good bacteria and they're not so good bacteria.
Ashok Soota:You need a diversity also.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Sure.
Ashok Soota:So it's not that you're saying, hey, all of that is bad and they get rid of it. That is what antibiotics do. They'll get rid of both good and bad. Yes. But here, you need this balance and how you get the balance, it has huge impacts.
Ashok Soota:And now increasingly, they're realizing that Parkinson's is maybe coming about due to the gut microbiome. Multiple other ailments, the origin of this lies in the gut. Therefore, that needs to be analyzed. I would say that everybody should get and you know what's happened? When things become fashionable in the medical industry or the supplement industry takes over, Everybody is popping probiotic pills.
Ashok Soota:But that's not the answer. The real answer is nutrition. So when you ask me what would we do in our program Mhmm. We would get this gut microbiome tested. We would give a free consultation for nutrition and all of the in addition, we will give a variety of services at a discount.
Ashok Soota:And therefore, let's assume that the subscription is about 50,000 rupees. The discounts if you avail of those services may actually make it negligible. And those discounts, I would really think of as investments in your wellness.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So this is this the second initiative that you were talking about?
Ashok Soota:No. We're going to just bring it about. We have we're about four months away from launching it at the moment. And the reason is very simple, if you'll see. You know, as we are developing Happiest Health, we're trying to marry the availability of our facilities Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:With the availability of the doctors. You can't get one earlier than the other. Right. And if you ever pass by near our home, there's a beautiful view, that building which we had acquired doctor Nayak's house.
Dr.Akash Ryall:The new setup on there.
Ashok Soota:Yeah. So we've demolished it, and this will come up there. Our mental wellness will also come up there.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Oh, fantastic. So it's close by all the time.
Ashok Soota:Very good. Yeah. I hope we don't need the mental wellness very much, but this much we'll certainly need. Something
Dr.Akash Ryall:that has been worrying me for some time when I've noticed AI taking over in in different fields. Now over here too, we are talking about AI in health care. What about, ethics? What about clinicians following ethics and principles? Because Sure.
Ashok Soota:Sure.
Dr.Akash Ryall:It can be just misused.
Ashok Soota:Sure. You know, there's another related question which I'll take up after this and that is about has it dehumanized health care? Right. And you know, when I gave you this example of a person who with whatever audacity if you will or arrogance or criminal intent in my view, should tell me that I need an angioplasty because I have a blockage Mhmm. In the left man.
Ashok Soota:And I could have taken him at face value after all. It's just that I chose to get a second and then in that after that even a third opinion. Now, if you'd had AI being applied and at the moment those solutions don't exist Mhmm. You could give the output of that result, feed the AI part into it and it would then recommend the next course of action. Right.
Ashok Soota:And if that course of action was distinctly different from what the doctor had said, lo and behold, the doctor would know and everybody would know you can't do it.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Right.
Ashok Soota:And also, you know, once doctor
Dr.Akash Ryall:So is that something coming?
Ashok Soota:Of course. I mean, we are going to start working again. I must tell you these are future programs. There's work going on all over the world. Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:But we ourselves are going to now develop AI in radiology, AI in diagnostics, and AI in cardiac care. So all of these things, and there's just a limit to how much you can do. But these will throw up all of these type of issues. The thing about now is it dehumanizing.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Mhmm. And
Ashok Soota:here, I would say that, you know, all technology in the end Mhmm. And that's a fundamental principle well before all of this happened. It happened in our world for that matter in IT. It must be high touch and high-tech. Both of them together.
Ashok Soota:And the moment you forget that, then you think you're going to fall apart and you move away from keeping in touch with the real person, and that's your customer.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Right. Right. I like that high touch and high-tech. I think that's the way we have to go also
Ashok Soota:Absolutely.
Dr.Akash Ryall:The way of the future. Can you tell me a little bit about, this is for our students and for students all over the country who are watching this podcast. What new career paths are emerging for young people at the intersection of AI and health care?
Ashok Soota:Well, actually, opportunity has obviously never been higher. The issue is firstly to look out for the curriculum and the educational programs. These could include bioinformatics because that's the core of almost everything today. There's med tech where there are new devices coming out which are online, etcetera. And thereafter, when you look at the career paths, there's any number of things.
Ashok Soota:Now let's take health care as a service. You know, we've all been talking of software as a service in the IT industry. The real value comes when you verticalize it. And in the case of healthcare, you can think of the solutions. You can think of an ICU as a service.
Ashok Soota:So an organization which literally focuses on just saying, hey, we've created the most modern ICU set up. You don't need to be able to do all of this or get all your patients necessarily there and here's advanced monitoring available for everything of that sort. We down the line at Hapios Health, I can't see ourselves getting into that. But you know, we are saying we are setting up daycare, ambulatory centers. We are not planning to get into we'll do surgical procedures, but we're not planning to have overnight stays.
Ashok Soota:Right. But supposing it is a need and a demand, we can't say that we're in health care and we won't do that sort of thing. Ultimately, what we'll do is because we've got our clinics all spread around. Mhmm. We will provide this surgical unit as a service available to all our doctors.
Ashok Soota:So then we bought this expert unit which is created as a service. Now all of these are opportunities which could never have existed without the use of technology because then you really need remote care in many cases, you need remote monitoring, you need remote follow-up more than anything else. I think you should be able to track a patient online for as long as you need to do, well after they're discharged. Whereas today, that process stops. Right.
Ashok Soota:You know, a patient has come and gone, and you decide, okay, how many days I'll keep them in a hospital? And then you and then you could ignore some very important things.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Right. Right. So so my question about the kids and the career path, do you you see it changing now? Do you think old school medical medical setups will have to adapt now with all the technology and AI available and
Ashok Soota:You know, I'm not an expert on that. I have no idea how much is going on there. Mhmm. I've certainly got a feel on changes taking place for example in a typical management institute. Right.
Ashok Soota:And which is the sort of thing where maybe I can start examining your own needs at a different level because everybody needs it.
Dr.Akash Ryall:True.
Ashok Soota:One way or the other, Jaina is changing the delivery of so many different things. So we could examine those and then see how we can take these programs forward. I'm not so sure what is being done in health care except that I would say when we get a series of these expert products in, and one of the goals of those is to also use it in education, we will begin to market it to such institutions.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Okay. So that's in the pipeline. That's something
Ashok Soota:that we are thinking about. It will take us at least eight to nine months to get out the first few products.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Here's that question again. Can technology itself improve ethics in health care? For example, greater transparency, accountability?
Ashok Soota:Sure. So that's the example I gave you. I mean, if that doctor who gave that recommendation to me, if he knew that I would get this thing examined or this their own hospital began to do a correlation, then you're monitoring. You're monitoring what the doctor's recommending. Today, what do hospitals do?
Ashok Soota:They do monitor the procedures that people do. I think they monitor whether they've been excessively done. But sometimes you don't have knowledge. I mean, say that look there was a blockage and therefore I did a bypass what you do. But supposing the result is actually fed into an AI system, and the AI system says, hey, you can't be doing an angioplasty.
Ashok Soota:That that itself is the greatest form of transparency.
Dr.Akash Ryall:And that's coming? That that's coming. Fantastic. So do you foresee a day when we stop popping pills, and instead cure diseases at the root cause? You were talking about, stem cells.
Dr.Akash Ryall:You were talking about, the microbial Well,
Ashok Soota:you know, think that's definitely coming. And it's happening in varying degrees even today. I think particularly for a lot of generic ailments which gone for a very long time. You know, we have a collaboration at scan with the Sanger Institute which is a part of Cambridge. And I asked a person who's working with us as a principal investigator.
Ashok Soota:I said, how many of the world's current problems do you think are going to get solved in the end by stem cells? We no longer need to take pills. Now obviously, she's a believer. So she said 90%. And my director of scan Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:Who's one of the world's leading authorities on the gut microbiome, he was present. He said, no, that's not enough. You'll also need the gut microbiome and with those two together in autoimmunology, you'll be able to solve every problem. So therefore you're working at a grassroots level. And you're no longer it doesn't mean though that things will get cheaper.
Ashok Soota:That's something which one must caution you. Because you're now getting into things which are taking a lot of money to discover. So whoever brings those ailments and find solutions are going to be able to try and monetize those. But at least you'll stop popping medicines. Right.
Ashok Soota:Each one of which which leads to another side reaction. Yes. I'll give you my own example here. For years and years and years, I avoided taking statins. Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:Although my cholesterol levels for thirty forty years would have been above the limits that I was asked to take.
Dr.Akash Ryall:And
Ashok Soota:then ultimately I did. But with the knowledge of saying, hey, it's going to lead to an increase in my blood sugar and therefore I'll now have to start taking metformin. So one medicine leads to the leads to the other. And that is the difficulty with all these pills.
Dr.Akash Ryall:I was told once a simple Crocin, if you take a Crocin and you don't really need it, the kind of damage that it can
Ashok Soota:do. Absolutely. And there's so many things which are of that sort. Of course, now, you can also go to the opposite extreme where in The US, mister Kennedy has decided that Oh,
Dr.Akash Ryall:not all at all. Autism. Please do
Ashok Soota:all this. And then you can bring very essential things to a halt. And, you know, the same thing applies equally to antibiotics, if you will. You know, I gave you an example when I said the antibiotics wipe out both the good and the bad both at the same time. But that doesn't mean that you don't take the antibiotic when you really need it.
Ashok Soota:And that's where, again, you need to draw the balance. You take these well, and then you monitor. But one other important thing again about the gut microbiome. Okay. It's wiped it out.
Ashok Soota:I'm going through the process now myself Mhmm. Having had to take a series of antibiotics for a variety of reasons. I now want to track how much time it takes for my gut to get back to where it was prior to the antibiotics. And it's expected to be a three month cycle, so, you know, about a month or so from now. Okay.
Ashok Soota:Can I look at nutrition to improve it from where it was earlier? That would then be the gainer.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Right. Right. And especially if you said that there are how many? Three
Ashok Soota:37,000,000,000,000.
Dr.Akash Ryall:37. How is technology changing medical education, the role of the doctor, the role of the patient in their own healing journey?
Ashok Soota:So, you know, I as I mentioned earlier, I think the patient is certainly begun beginning to get more involved. Right. I think as far as the doctor is concerned, one of our philosophies and which I hope will become increasingly important
Dr.Akash Ryall:Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:As we're saying the role of the doctor is more educating than medicating. So can you have the doctor providing some knowledge to the person or just dispensing a pill? That's really key. Right. And particularly when you're saying, hey, let's start moving away from just medication and into lifestyle, nutrition and multiple other things like this which will help you to embrace wellness rather than trying to get away from an illness alone.
Ashok Soota:That's absolutely key. And then education as I said, it's got to find its way into the system. It's got to find its way through a sort of a grassroots level which I'll come in, get my technology people and come and talk to you at Bethany. And
Dr.Akash Ryall:We appreciate that.
Ashok Soota:But at the same time, the second part of it will really be usage of these expert systems that we are making available.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Fantastic. We've had doctor Rebecca who heads the the nutrition
Ashok Soota:At yes.
Dr.Akash Ryall:At Saint John's come and speak to our children, I think, on two three occasions. She even she even came and spoke to parents.
Ashok Soota:Very good. Well, that's important. It has to begin with parents because they have to understand.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Right. Exactly. So we're trying our best to see that the children get that
Ashok Soota:Yeah. They were a good awareness, I mean, today. But that still doesn't mean, you know, I'll tell you the forces of marketing are really so pervasive. I mean, take the kids in our house. What is their biggest thing?
Ashok Soota:Thrill in life is to get to a McDonald and have a burger. Mhmm. Pizzas being ordered in whenever you're allowed to order them in as distinct from. And, you know, which doesn't mean that you do it every day, but you do it often enough to say at least half of those could have been replaced by the healthier food available at home. That's that's a huge challenge in itself.
Ashok Soota:Huge challenge because you're facing a huge marketing Yeah. Machine out here.
Dr.Akash Ryall:For parents who are listening in, mister Sutha, what advice would you give them to prepare their children to lead a healthier tech enabled life, if I can Yeah.
Ashok Soota:Well, tech enabled, but we're also cautioning them on the dangers of tech here. Because clearly, they've got to be told you know, you mentioned how you've laid down certain processes here. But to what extent do they get carried forward at home? In the sense, the parents are busy with their own challenges. Sometimes the child needs some attention or the other and then you just give them the child a mobile phone or a computer.
Ashok Soota:And then before you know it, the child is hooked on to it, and the child is also using it for purposes other than Internet.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So so let me tell you something what we've we noticed. One of the earliest drugs that a child gets is cartoon network. Absolutely. Because early in the morning, they we find the easiest way to feed them their breakfast is to put on that TV and they automatically open their mouth and either the nanny or the mother or whoever. And there is a danger.
Dr.Akash Ryall:The problem is yes because they are seeing color and sound and movement and then they come to school and then they have a teacher saying good morning children. They already lost them.
Ashok Soota:Yeah yeah. Yeah. Because they
Dr.Akash Ryall:are they get that high.
Ashok Soota:Oh, they know. So how do you get out of that? So one is, of course, the parents have to educate, have to avoid this. And you said they watch the cartoon and eat, but they're not even eating properly. They're turning around and looking in the TV and put a small little sabir.
Ashok Soota:Need to stop that. I think there are one or two things we must also realize that within a this media world, there's also a lot of useful material, educational material. That's one. I found and again, I'm basing this on the limited experience. You mentioned that Davis comes and attends all the parents' programs.
Ashok Soota:I do a very limited thing with the kids. I look at their results and what do you think I found? I found that the kids with the worst education Mhmm. Or worst grades, actually what is wrong is the spelling. They just don't understand.
Ashok Soota:Maybe English is a complicated language also. Lot of it doesn't flow naturally. And their spelling is wrong and they get a wrong answer although the content was not bad. So there's software available to improve spelling. I don't do it through a software.
Ashok Soota:I've laid down a principle. If somebody wants to use I'll I'll allow them to use my computer for twenty minutes a day. There are three of the kids, you know, the other two don't need it. And when you come for twenty minutes, ten minutes you watch whatever you want. Ten minutes has to be an educational program which I prescribe.
Ashok Soota:Okay. And then I make you do 10 spellings every day. That's it. And so in about twenty two minutes, we are done.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Great. So I hope parents watching this podcast will take that advice. Twenty two minutes, ten minutes of a little fun and entertainment, ten minutes of something educational, and two minutes of of spelling. Spelling, we're we're all taking that for granted because we have spell check now even on our phone. Yeah.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Yeah. But let me just tell you a little bit about our digital detox policy where we talk about three options that parents can give children. First, of course, is no phones, no TV, and we've had children. I remember Kushi. We had Sammy, Pinto.
Dr.Akash Ryall:They managed right up to the twelfth grade without a phone, without technology. They and they did.
Ashok Soota:They didn't renew very well. Okay.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So that's one option. The second option is to use it say for about an hour every day. Yeah. Yeah. Five production in the evening, an hour.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Or they don't use it Monday to Friday, but they get two hours on Saturday and two hours on Sunday. So three options. Trying to encourage this. Every three months, we recognize the children who follow the digital digital.
Ashok Soota:I think they're very good. I think the first one in today's day and age is probably very extreme. I'll say, although your kids have done well when they were deprived of that media. The other aspect of the media is it is also provides a lot of education. Even if the kids like, say, we sit around and we may be watching the news while they we are having our food also and not necessary the best of things.
Ashok Soota:We don't always do that. Some meals are purely just sitting around the table with the family and the other meals we are sitting around and also watching in another room where the where the TV also is. Now that also is knowledge for the kids. They're much more aware of what's happening in the world through that process. And I'm actually amazed of the interesting questions they ask and the concern they show for different parts of the world.
Ashok Soota:Why is that happening? So it's not really essential to block it out completely.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Completely. Compare.
Ashok Soota:But the other two methodologies are fantastic.
Dr.Akash Ryall:But it's a it's a it's a battle. You know how distracting it is. Absolutely. And sometimes even us as adults, we go to research something, we're getting distracted because so many things are popping up. Sure.
Dr.Akash Ryall:While we're doing something, there's a message that comes, and then we we we, you know, tend to reply. So it's that much more difficult for a young mind
Ashok Soota:Young. I know.
Dr.Akash Ryall:To be
Ashok Soota:a focus. Well, there, of course, somewhere. I mean, for an adult and particularly busy people, I'll tell you for myself, I'm not on social media at all. And because it's so even the family group, I actually live with two family and I've got my old rookie friends in my college from and we still get together for reunions every two years. But I don't get on to that group.
Ashok Soota:I get Davis to see it and then give me the mails.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So, Richard Jake has I'm not on Facebook. I'm not on Instagram. I don't know for the love of me what the what the other things that are
Ashok Soota:Yeah. Sure. All about. But I get all my family news, through it it comes. One way or the other, those groups serve a purpose because the family Right.
Ashok Soota:Which is spread now all over globally, they do keep in touch through those, my dear.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So there are the close and there are the cautious. As we come draw to a close to this, let me just ask you this one little question, and I wanna pick your brains. How do you think schools can incorporate wellness and technology into education so that children, parents, and everybody gets that right dose of of growing up in a healthy Sure. Fashion. You know, like you said, today it's burgers and pizzas.
Dr.Akash Ryall:They're they're watching television all the time. They're slouching. I don't know how many how many children actually go out to a park and play. When we were growing up, we were
Ashok Soota:That's all we did because there's no way.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So how do we how do
Ashok Soota:we bring in this this balance, mister Susha? Sure. So, you know, firstly, I'm glad you used the word wellness. A lot of these things will begin with how do we get them to think in terms of health care. To my mind, it's important for all of them to realize that what we really should be doing is to embrace wellness.
Ashok Soota:Right. And we should then do whatever is needed for that wellness, which means how do you create a really a mind obviously. It's not as everything is beginning of the mind. How do you ensure that that is kept? Then you go to the body and there of course nutrition really becomes very key and it begins at a young age.
Ashok Soota:The changes are taking place at a very early age and those habits that are getting formed. In fact, we one of the clinics will be opening is a pediatric clinic. And I've told the person who's going to head that, it won't be four or four or five months before he actually will start the clinic. But I said, I want you to start working on an expert package for children in which a key part has got to be diet and for the kids. So that you begin right there and you lay on a path of action.
Ashok Soota:So there's no one easy answer. In the end, you realize we're in a system, we're in a world with a lot of distractions. So And if we get the right messages across and we realize that our aim for all of us is to enhance our wellness, be it mental wellness or physical madness, that really is the goal.
Dr.Akash Ryall:And I think the key is if we if they start young, then it it just
Ashok Soota:It's really it'll become a habit. It's really important to begin this at a young age.
Dr.Akash Ryall:At a young age. Right? I was intrigued with the little magazine that you showed me. Tell me a little
Ashok Soota:I'll be very happy to tell you about them. I don't know whether I'll be able to get them into the camera. Yeah? Well, here's scan. Mhmm.
Ashok Soota:It's just about three years old. I'm actually very proud of what we've achieved here, by the way.
Dr.Akash Ryall:2021 was when you started.
Ashok Soota:2020. And for all practical purposes, '22, by the time we really got going, We had a false start but now I've got a wonderful director. Now look at the way it's grown. If you just see this annual report and see a feel of the projects that we are doing, there are neurological disorders which you said is one of the areas that we were originally focusing on But then we've expanded. We've got pediatric rheumatology.
Ashok Soota:We've got orthopedics which is bone regeneration through stem cells and cardiovascular diseases of course. But this is just a small part. I'll leave you this if you'd like to have it.
Dr.Akash Ryall:If I
Ashok Soota:I've recently got a small bookmarker which is on the seven Oh, I can point it on me. Yeah. And the other thing Yes. You know, we have this monthly magazine for Happiest Health. I do believe it's a it's a really wonderful product.
Ashok Soota:There isn't a product like this anywhere in the world actually. And it gets rave reviews. I knew you had a lot of mental wellness issues in your mind, so I brought the mental wellness issue with it. Okay. You can have a look.
Dr.Akash Ryall:So when you say that it's one of its kind in the world Yeah.
Ashok Soota:Because
Dr.Akash Ryall:Why do you say that?
Ashok Soota:What Well, firstly, if you look around, when I say it's one of its kind There are track program, what do they have? Most of them are nowadays fitness and how do you build your muscles and so on and so forth. So they're really much more men's fitness than they are anything else.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Okay.
Ashok Soota:But there's nothing like this. You see, we have a team of 80 researchers who create these stories. Okay. Nobody does that anymore. And now I think they all go to chat GBT and get the answers.
Ashok Soota:So this is a dialogue between people who are having problems, the doctors, hospitals, technology, really captures all of those things which are evolving to change the world of health.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Happiest. Happiest health. And which which month? This is October. This is
Ashok Soota:the So it happened to be the latest one for that matter, and it is our mental wellness.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Wonderful. Wonderful. So mister Sutha, thank you so much for being with us today.
Ashok Soota:It's my pleasure. Entralization.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Telling you your journey, your insights. It's been a privilege to have you and to learn how technology is just changing healthcare. Yeah. Also, setting the way we think, the way we live our lives. And at Bethany, we always say learning doesn't stop at the classroom door.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Conversations like this prove that the bell may have rung on this episode, but the ideas we've discussed will stay with us in our schools, in our homes, and hopefully in the way we look at health from now onwards. Such an important topic, parents and students who've been listening in, I pray that you have heard everything that this man has spoken about this evening, the gems that came out from him. And I wanna thank you, Mr. Suta, on behalf of the Bethany Education Board, and all of us in Bethany for being with us this evening and for all your insights, the wealth of knowledge that you've shared with us. Thank you very, very much.
Ashok Soota:Well, Thank you Akash. I think it's a wonderful program, and I must commend you on having such an unusual program, if you will, and then getting this whole message across to people in many ways as you plan to do.
Dr.Akash Ryall:Thank you.