Compassionate Vision: Eye Surgeon Dr. Sharang Wartikar (vegan) on Diet and Health, Part 2 of 2

In Part 1, Dr. Wartikar shared his journey from medical training to embracing veganism, revealing how compassion, nutrition, and lifestyle choices profoundly shape both personal and planetary health. Building on those foundations, today he turns to the practical side – exploring how daily habits, diet, and mindful living directly influence eye health and overall wellness.

“There are six pillars of lifestyle medicine. Nutrition is the biggest one. Then there is exercise. Then there is sleep. Then there is management of stress. Then avoidance of any unhealthy, risky substances like addictions. And finally, is your relationships with your friends and family and close ones. So all these six pillars have to be in place if you want a good, healthy life, mentally and physically. Specifically for eyes, other than nutrition, what we would require is giving your eyes adequate rest. We are in a world where screen time is absolutely unavoidable. But we have to try and keep it minimized. Follow the circadian rhythm – that is you sleep early, wake up early. Give your eyes adequate rest before you sleep, at least an hour of screen-free time if you can.”

Beyond medical advocacy, Dr. Wartikar also spends time clarifying to others what veganism really means– especially because in Indian culture, dairy is often mistakenly seen as a product that is ahimsa, or free of violence. “Traditionally in India, milk has been considered to be as ‘veg,’ but we all know that’s not true. It doesn’t come from any vegetable or a plant. It comes from an animal. Plus the amount of cruelty that goes on in the dairy industry, it’s mind boggling because male calves are slaughtered. The female calves are repeatedly given oxytocin injections. There is repeated artificial insemination. They are basically treated like milk machines and there’s so much cruelty. And in the end, what do they do? They are sent for beef, for slaughter, because India, even though it doesn’t have any beef farm, it is the world’s number two beef exporter. So it’s very obvious that all the cattle for export are coming from the dairy industry. So anybody who supports the dairy industry will also support the beef industry. Luckily, more and more people are becoming aware of this.”

“In the past six years that I have given up the non-vegetarian diet and shifted to a plant-based diet, I have saved water that can feed 10,000 people for a year. I have saved food that can feed 200 people for a year. I have saved a forest the size of 20 tennis courts. And I have saved emissions equivalent to driving a petrol car for one lakh forty thousand kilometers (140,000 kilometers), besides saving more than 2,000 animal lives and probably adding some benefits to my own health. That is the power of one person just by changing your diet. So please understand each one of you has that power within you to make such a big impact just simply by choosing what to take on your plate.”