Information Indigestion

Over loading of information can be harmful. You are loading yourself up with lots of information from the net, books, through conversation with friends and colleagues. But somewhere down the line when you are loaded with information instead of feeling instead of feeling knowledgeable you tend to get muddled up. You suffer from confusion of thoughts. You reach a point of saturation when your mind refuses to absorb more knowledge. A good deal of matter gets deleted from your memory bank and you just fail to apply in when the need arises.

Some people say fruits are the healthiest of all food and that consuming fruits will keep your weight under check. Where as others have to say that consuming too much fruits especially after sun-set will lead to weight gain because of the natural sugar present in them. Conflicting reports will definitely result in paralysis by analysis. General practitioner from Mumbai, Dr. Kajal Bose says, “Very often I get patients who come to me after having themselves diagnosed their ailments, and having being through a round of self-prescribed medication. It’s onl y when they cannot see any improvement, or when it only gets worse they come to the doctor.”

One tends to get paranoid when one is over-informed. I remember when I was pregnant; I got more information about the dos and don’t from the net and from books than from the doctor. The information made me more educated about pregnancy, but I got a little paranoid too. I kept asking my self am eating the right food, am consuming the right vitamins, minerals and calcium. If I consume chocolates will it affect my unborn kid’s brain? I should not be consuming pineapples or raw papaya because I read somewhere that might lead to abortion. I stayed away from fish for the fear of mercury poisoning.  Getting paranoid for me did not end over here. When I started off with my child’s first solid food I remember going to various sites and taking down recipes for various baby food and I finally got exhausted doing all this. But did our parents load themselves up with so much information? The answer is definitely no. Getting asphyxiated by data and information is what happens to us almost every day.

Being over-informed is like overeating. Too much can give one mental indigestion. Too much of information is dangerous. It is always better to take small bites of information than a huge bite. Then the information can be easily digested. Dipshikha Roy says, “I love to keep my self well informed about health and nutrition. I check out lot of information through the net and medical reference book.” Dr. Kajal Bose adds, “I have seen that patients today are very conscious about there nutrition choices. They are well informed about their health. But this information can be a backfire also as in the case of people who take up fancy diets to loose weight and cut carbohydrates from their diet completely. So it is always better to be well informed, but at the same time check with a medical expert before they opt for any diet changes.”

People working in IT companies are more at a risk information overload. Overload of information can lead to increased cardiovascular stress, due to rise in blood pressure, weakened vision, confusion and frustration, over confidence. To have a thirst for knowledge is good, but if too much information is hindering your decision making then it’s time to take help from a doctor.