A teeny-weeny bit about us
Our business is a content website called Love4wellness.com, founded by Lavanya and myself. Lavanya is always bubbling with ideas, and I am efficient in exploring the pros and cons of those ideas and executing the good ones. These complementing strengths and being sisters-in-law with many common interests have kept us growing despite the several teething problems the business has been throwing at us since inception.
This venture aims to spread awareness on health and wellness matters and make lesser-known natural remedies, therapies, and cures available for the greater good. And we focus on sourcing the content from credible sources such as industry experts to ensure we publish reliable information.
What led us here?
We got into home remedies big time when we became a mother. When it comes to young children, issues such as cold, cough, fever, rashes, cuts and bruises, etc., are a common occurrence. It all happens out of the blue that most of the time, you might not have a medicine handy; that’s when kitchen cabinets came to the rescue. When the kids used to wake up at night coughing all of a sudden, I gave them honey with a dash of pepper, and they would go back to sleep. Rashes? Turmeric mixed in neem oil helped. And the list goes on. Most of such remedies have been used in our families for a long time, others we picked up along the way from friends, the internet, and numerous such sources.
Eventually, we also understood such remedies are not restricted to such minor issues but can be useful for many more serious conditions as well. A few incidents that happened in the family imbibed the understanding further.
Lavanya’s father found out he had diabetes in his 70’s. Coming from a generation that believes “food is medicine”, he opted to change his dietary habits as well as take herbs as recommended in the Siddha medicine system. He is still going strong in his 80’s.
And, when my mom found her blood pressure was inching close to high blood pressure range, inspired by Lavanya’s father, she asked me if she could take any simple lifestyle measures before opting for medication as a worst-case scenario. I encouraged her to follow the DASH diet, and she is able to maintain her blood pressure quite effortlessly.
Personally, four years back, I got pain randomly, one day in the neck and on another day in the knee, and some days in the shoulder. Religiously I made trips to my Ortho, and he found no problems physically. I felt bizarre. It was a few months when I found the problem was with my mind; I was dealing with my teen daughter, and it was overwhelming. And, how relaxed I felt when I knew the reason! Then the pain disappeared because now my brain consciously handled the pressure. I started reading pieces on parenting and shared my concerns with close aides, and it helped. There, I knew mental health is important if you want to feel well physically.
With Lavanya, it was her heel pain. For no explicit reason, she will have terrible heel pain that makes her frightened even to use the bathroom during the night for fear of feeling the pain that hits as soon as she puts her foot down. And, yoga came to her rescue. She was practicing legs-up-the-wall before bedtime, and that gave her not only relief but a complete cure. It has been two years, and she has not had it again. Now she regularly goes to Zumba and lately joined Tai Chi classes as well. She is literally dancing her way through life.
I also witnessed the loss of quality of life in my mother-in-law, who has been diabetic for many years. Modern medicine has definitely increased the lifespan, but does it help in maintaining the quality of life? In the case of lifestyle diseases, it is a no. Especially when the person is unaware of the lifestyle changes one must make while on allopathic medications, the quality of life gets terrible.
Added to these, Lavanya’s first-hand experience as a volunteer in several Stroke rehabilitation programs gave us solid hope about the therapeutic approach.
And, consciously, we looked around only to find many such experiences.
Thus, encouraged, we embarked on the journey called Love4wellness!
We understood the endless possibilities and decided to unearth such solutions and present them in one place accessible to as many people as possible. And, the obvious answer was to start a website and put out all such information as articles.
With both of us coming from an engineering background, having worked in the software industry before starting families, we were confident we would manage the technical aspects. And we have the necessary experience with writing, editing, and presenting content due to our stint with freelance content writing. So, we assuredly set out to bring up the website and thus was born Love4wellness.com, a trusted source of health and wellness information.
What challenges do we perceive the health and wellness industry is facing?
Information on modern medicine is quite readily available. A quick search on the internet will provide ample information on pretty much any health condition. But this is not the case in the case of traditional medicine systems. For example, most resources available on the Siddha medicine system are in Tamil, an Indian regional language. Similarly, one will be hard-pressed to find information regarding TCM; perhaps it is available in Chinese dialects? We ourselves don’t know yet and are still trying to find out. Luckily, Ayurveda and yoga have become popular in the West, and a lot more references are available.
Nevertheless, when one is facing a health issue that has no straightforward treatment in modern medicine, it is indeed quite challenging to identify which medicine system has the solution. And, if we do manage to find this out, the next obstacle is to find a reliable physician. Hence our quest to bridge this gap. Sounds like a complex task? It is indeed so!
The opportunities we see up for grabs in the health and wellness industry
As far as we are concerned, the field of medicine is just that, MEDICINE. Rather than distinguishing between modern medicine and alternative medicine, why not look at wherever the solutions are available. After we started our website, we came to know about functional medicine, integrative medicine and understood the opportunities we could potentially use.
1. Make lesser-known CAM better known
We got to know several hospitals that use music therapy, yoga, hypnotherapy, etc., integrated into modern medicine, accelerating the treatment. It is simply unwise to say a complete no-no to modern medicine. Evidence-based medicine knows what it does, and Modern medicine is a clear winner here. Other CAMs such as Ayurveda, TCM, Homeopathy, Siddha, etc., are slowly increasing the evidence and catching up thanks to several studies happening worldwide.
When we start exploring all that is available, without any underlying perceptions, preconceived notions, or bias, I believe so much healing can happen. The opportunities become endless, and more importantly, people will have a choice. And for this, spreading awareness is the starting point.
My personal experience with covid is a testament to this scenario when both modern medicine and home remedies came together to uplift me from one of the scariest moments of my life when my entire family was down with the virus. So, the advancements we have made in the allopathic medicine system are indeed a boon, and if we could find more about existing solutions, ensure efficacy and make them available to the masses, it would be amazing.
2. Steadily work on removing the stigma and create awareness about mental health
Mental wellness is another area finally graining ground, and slowly we are moving away from treating it as a taboo. So this is one area we feel has terrific potential within the healthcare industry. And again, I can see many wellness-related segments such as yoga, Tai Chi, etc., playing a major role in helping many.
3. Preventive medicine finds a more prominent place
I am definitely not against scientific developments, but it is an indisputable truth that the entire human race has become physically less active with technological advancements and comforts. Many don’t have a healthy lifestyle. The age-old saying “Prevention is better than cure” does not resonate with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
Thus we yearn to see preventive medicine taking the fore in the near future. Here is an ultimate example. It is said, in ancient China, doctors were paid to keep people healthy. So, a doctor would be paid as long as a person is healthy and will not be paid if the person falls sick until he gets cured! And, what do you think preventive medicine is? It is the choices that you make in your life. Shortly your lifestyle habits.
Advice to others about business
1. Just start
If you are contemplating starting a business, be it any business, I would say, just go ahead and do it because till you actually do something, there is no way of knowing the outcome. So, you have an idea/passion, and you want to bring it out to the world. Start!
You might be wondering do I have what it takes to be successful? As for me, even now, I do not know. Yes, the website is growing steadily, as one can expect for a new business, with all the hiccups in between. Though from a technical background, I feared using FTP the first time I used it to sort a plugin conflict. Now, I know it’s as easy as pie! So, just dealing with what life throws at us and moving along is a great attitude here.
2. Define success
I think having a vision of success is important. We, myself and Lavanya, started this venture with no sight of monetary success. It was a passion to make people AWARE. And, that was our idea of success. Even if a handful of people decided to try the home remedies or reach out to health experts based on the information we share, we have achieved what we wanted to.
So, it boils down to what success means to you!
Of course, we are doing all possible things to increase revenue, because we are to stay here and, to stay, you know you need money!
3. Don’t be afraid
When we started, we looked upon Mayoclinic, Verywellfit, and Healthline as our role models. We want to be an authority like them. They are such big names, and we do not want to get intimidated. We know it is miles to go, but we are determined to make it.
No matter what, staying in the race is only important.
4. Enjoy the learning, and you will enjoy your work
Trust me, the learning you get! That is amazing and incredible. From confidence to try new things to an improved positive outlook, this journey has molded us into better persons, and we believe the process will continue to shape us in the years to come.
So, treat every experience, good or bad, as a learning experience, and you would simply enjoy the journey.
5. Content creator
Particularly, if you are into content creation, I would ask you to do a lot of reading on the technology and tools you need to use. An incredible number of useful tools are out there. You need to know what you need and which one will be efficient for your business. You name a functionality, and there is a plugin you can depend on. And, not only textual content but creating visual content has also become quite easy. So, if you intend to stay in the competition, do not hesitate to invest. But, see to that your investment is an informed one. Investing in the right tools is essential to save your time and effort. And, last but not least, don’t shy away from taking assistance when needed. With 24 hours a day, being the Jack of all trades is unwise.
We thoroughly enjoy being content creators, and we are also proud of being one because this is for the greater good. As the Japanese saying goes, “The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention”, we live by it.
GP
The work of a family doctor includes a wide range of clinical diversity, which requires extensive knowledge and erudition from a specialist. However, I believe that the most important thing for a family doctor is to be human because the cooperation and understanding between the doctor and the patient are crucial in ensuring successful health care. On my days off, I love being in nature. Since childhood, I have been passionate about playing chess and tennis. Whenever I have time off, I enjoy traveling around the world.
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