![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IMG_5157-scaled.jpeg\")
Launch of Nene\u2019s debut book 21 Days to Good Health | Sakshi Mehra | ThePrint\n<\/p>\nNew Delhi: After nearly three decades of operating on patients and treating heart conditions, Dr Shriram Nene has turned to preventive healthcare. The cardiothoracic surgeon argued that medicine must focus on keeping people healthy long before they need an operating table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would come in at the last minute with millimetres and milliseconds. We would bypass their coronaries, change their valves. And honestly, you couldn\u2019t turn back 20, 30, 40 years of that living. We would save their lives. But I thought, what could I give my patients, who would be 40 years before they came to see me, with the idea that maybe I could just meet them over a chai instead of on the operating table?\u201d Nene said.<\/p>\n
That question is at the heart of Nene\u2019s debut book, 21 Days to Good Health: A Surgeon\u2019s Evidence-Based Program to Reset Your Body, Calm Your Mind, and Add Years to Your Life, which was launched in Delhi on 31 October. The book draws on five pillars of well-being\u2013nutrition, movement, sleep, stress and mindset\u2013and offers readers small daily steps towards better health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tShow Full Article<\/p>\n
In conversation with CNBC-TV18 managing editor Shereen Bhan, Nene spoke about preventive healthcare, the dangers of wellness fads, AI and the importance of everyday habits.<\/p>\n
The audience included several doctors, as well as prominent figures from business, public service and the armed forces. Among those present were former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant; Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, the 26th Chief of the Naval Staff; Dr Ambrish Mithal, chairman and head of endocrinology and diabetes at Max Healthcare; entrepreneur and angel investor Dr Ritesh Malik; and Kapish Mehra, managing director of Rupa Publications.<\/p>\n
The basics of good health are hardly a secret, according to Nene. The challenge is finding the time and consistency to follow them. His book attempts to make that task manageable. But he, too, is careful not to promise an overnight transformation. The evening also offered a familiar picture of the struggle to practice what people already know.<\/p>\n
As the discussion unfolded, guests mingled and chatted, while many looked forward to the dinner menu that Nene said he had personally curated to offer healthier choices.<\/p>\n
No quick fixes<\/p>\n
The 21-day habit rule is hardly new. Most people have heard some version of it\u2014start small, be consistent and do not expect overnight results. Nene\u2019s book builds on much the same premise, breaking healthy living into manageable daily tasks rather than prescribing a dramatic lifestyle overhaul.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell people to move. And notice I say movement, not exercise. Why that\u2019s important is even if you walk 15 minutes after you eat, and this is not a new thing. In 4,000 years, Shatapali is a common thing, right? You do that three times a day; it\u2019s 45 minutes,\u201d he said, referring to the ancient Indian tradition of walking after a meal to aid digestion.<\/p>\n
\nLaunch of Nene\u2019s debut book 21 Days to Good Health | Sakshi Mehra | ThePrint\n<\/p>\n
The book discussion turned to the growing market for quick fixes, from fasting and supplements to intravenous vitamin drips and weight-loss medicines. Nene urged people to examine who was making a health claim, whether it was backed by peer-reviewed research in humans, and whether it was appropriate for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s looking for the magic bullet. The Diwali parties are coming. The weddings are coming. Everyone wants to get skinny. We\u2019ll talk about GLPs at some point, but the bottom line is that, are they the answer? I think we need to preempt that and start the lifestyle equation first,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nene acknowledged that GLP-1 medicines can help patients who meet the medical criteria for them, but argued that they should not replace the basics of a healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n