By Delia Burnham
Is it easier to live a healthy life in Romania than in Western Europe? In an attempt to answer this question and guide those seeking an answer themselves, as well as tricks on how to stay on the healthy side, we have added this section on Healthy Living.

When I was asked to write about Healthy Living in Romania, it really got me thinking. It reminded me of my first year in Romania, living in Buzau, as an English Assistant through Socrates / Comenius, when all the children I met and taught always wanted to know why I had come to Romania. The discussion inevitably arrived at the point where all the children said that life in Western Europe was so much better than in Romania, and the point at which I always contradicted them. But what about the lack of violence on the streets? What about the unspoilt countryside and wild nature where you can trek without actually meeting anyone? What about the fact that most of them ate fresh fruit and vegetables from their grandmothers’ gardens or bought from the local market? What about the fact that most of them ate three home-prepared meals per day? At this point a lightbulb turned on in some of my pupils’ heads, realising that maybe life was not so bad in Romania after all!

Is it easier to live more healthily in Romania than in Western Europe? This is what I am about to take a look at.

First of all, health does not just mean physical health. If we take Japan’s example, health is more holistic, often covering the following five areas – Body, Mind, Relationships, Society and Finances. Without going into too much detail in my first column, it would be sensible to at least look a little further afield than just body.

Let’s see where Romania is on the good vs. bad list.

Advantages:

• Easy and cheap access to organic fruit and vegetables from daily markets

• Easy and cheap access to quality home-made dairy and meat products from small producers’ shops.

• Access to land on which to grow your own (renting houses with gardens in Bucharest is very inexpensive, buying land or houses in the countryside are also still fairly inexpensive).

• Families to buy produce from, similar to the box scheme in places like the UK (ordering fruit, veg, chicken, eggs, cheese, cold meats etc. from a family who sends you produce once a week)

• Great climate for agriculture and therefore diverse range of products, following the seasons and making it simple and cheap to eat locally and seasonally

• Wild and unspoilt nature accessible to all

• Bucharest is small so fairly manageable on foot and by bike

• Good, varied climate for seasonal sports

Disadvantages:

• Bucharest apparently most polluted capital in EU

• Dreadful drinking water

• Heavy traffic, both a pollutant and stress-creator

• Contagious stressful rhythm of life in Bucharest

• Extreme summers and winters make getting around Bucharest in a sporty way rather difficult

• Lack of affordable and clean health centres and swimming pools

• Small range of sports on offer through organised channels, need to organise these yourself

• Poor infrastructure leads to excess stress travelling through the city

• Lack of tourist information means that wonderful places to visit are often overlooked as very few people know about them

Overall I would say that at first glance, Bucharest is probably about average with good and bad points, but as Romania is developing there are still many ways in which one can work this to one’s advantage. In Western Europe systems, services and structures are a little more set in their ways and so it is difficult to find flexibility, where in Romania one might be able to do so.

Ultimately it is of course, up to each one of us to live healthily!

I would recommend that you start with food:

• Buy your fruit and vegetables from one of the following markets (whichever closest): Piata Domenii, Piata 1 Mai, Piata Amzei, Piata Obor, Piata Floreasca, Piata Traian, Piata Gemeni, Piata Crangasi or another one from our Shopping chapter.

• Find a good butcher! There is an excellent one near me just off Ion Mihalache called Mircea Macelaru’ on Str. Maior Campeanu 15. Or try one closer to your home from our list in the Shopping section.

Another way of easily bringing fresh food into your home is growing your own herbs or easy vegetables, such as mint, basil, thyme, rosemary, lovage, sage, or even spinach, lettuce, rocket tomatoes, or cucumbers. If you would like some advice on growing your own, please just ask the author of this section!

Drink good quality, living water!

This is a subject we can expand on:

We all know that this is a global challenge but Bucharest faces plenty of them when it comes to a clean and healthy water supply. Even though Romanian water is purified, it can still contain heavy metals, dust, sand, recycled medicine, excessive hardness, nitrates, chemicals, and the elderly piping system or even newer plastic pipes do nothing to help the situation.
Other sources of pollution are often agricultural and industrial, as many pollutants enter the water table through waste being dumped on land near to or directly into rivers.

Water in other areas of Romania may well be of a much better quality of course, and it would be interesting to hear your experiences, but on the other hand, pollution is not localised to just one area, such as Bucharest. My first year in Romania was spent in Buzau, but the water quality was not much different from Bucharest, but I know that this varies greatly.
Wellwater is often of a much better quality than tap water if you are able to use this in your area! If you have stayed at a traditional Romanian house without connection to the water mains, you may have your own stories.

Despite the fact that Apa Nova (Bucharest) of course treats and filters our water supply, many Romanian doctors still do not recommend drinking tap water. Bucharest has a problem with fresh quality water supply & lack of working purification stations.
Besides cleanliness, the natural quality of water is also extremely important. Over the last couple of decades, people have begun to study the idea of water being an energy source, i.e. “Living water,” containing natural crystals which are easily absorbed and resonate with the body’s natural energy.

Many studies of tap water have shown that its natural crystal no longer exists due to the “cleaning” treatment it undergoes before being piped round the city. This means that the body may find it difficult to absorb this type of water as the water does not resonate with the body’s energy. As a result, you may have often experienced bloatedness after drinking tapwater.
Any unnatural element, such as clorine or fluoride, which the body ingests, takes a large amount of energy to remove from the body, tiring us out and depleting our natural energy source
Having lived in Bucharest for the last 8 years, and observed the external effect that Romanian water had on my skin, I gradually understood that this was also having an adverse effect on my insides!

I invested in a water filter and optimizer (which energises, mineralises, and ionises the water) which has made a huge difference to my quality of life. I use this filtered water for cooking and all my drinking needs (boiling vegetables, making stews, brewing tea etc.) which is sometimes overlooked, but equally important in terms of what we ingest.
I also make sure I give my cats this water, and water any flowers with this, and I have seen myself how much longer a bunch of flowers actually “lasts” when fed with living water.
In addition to drinking water, I would recommend investing in a showerhead filter so you can wash in cleaner water as the body absorbs a large quantity of water whilst bathing / showering. I also use the showerhead to wash my fruit and vegetables.

Regarding other types of water we use, if you are a swimmer then I would advise you to try out different pools to see which you prefer as these also vary greatly in cleanliness.
I personally have never had any health problems caused by swimming in Romania but you could try the following out: Pescariu Sports & Spa, World Class, Club Floreasca.

Read Delia’s column on Healthy Living on www.romania-insider.com.