Youthful health freak preaches century old medicine doctrines

  • 2010-03-04
  • Interview by Linas Jegelevicius

Dainius Kepenis, a 58-year-old resident of Lithuania’s resort of Palanga, is an unchallengeable motivational speaker. He is an ardent supporter of non-traditional medical doctrines, such as Ayurveda and Valeology, the sciences of health. The ex-highly ranked sports official 20 years ago gave up a cozy public servant’s life in order to start his venture – Palanga Health School. Over time it has turned into a highly successful undertaking with over 20,000 graduates worldwide. The Baltic Times sat down for an interview with this youthful health freak.

People tend to be cautious when it comes to novelties, particularly in medicine. Can you briefly describe the term ‘valeology,’ the doctrine you actively preach?
Unfortunately, the science of valeology is not widely known in Lithuania. Russians were the first to start using it thirty years ago. To put it briefly, it is the science of being healthy. Actually, if you look through Lithuanian history, we can find some true national valeologists back in the 19th or 20th centuries, like Maceina, Vydunas, Dineika, Salkauskis and Sezemanas. Basically, I follow their doctrines, supplementing them with modern approaches of non-traditional medicine.

But are they not out-of-date in the age of nuclear magnetic resonance and tomography?
On the contrary. I believe that medicine has never been so confused in its different approaches as it is now. Let me tell you just one example. A few weeks ago, in various Internet sites, there was published an article by a German dietician who “shattered” all the stereotypes and myths regarding our nutrition by claiming that a human being doesn’t need much water, comparing eating lettuce to chewing toilet paper, exalting fatty products. Have you read the story?

I have and found much consolation to my frequent pigging – out.
Not only you. Many obese people got exhilarated: “Look, somebody finally told the truth!” Alas, from a medical standpoint, the majority of people are very illiterate and conformist. If people knew that current medicine takes only 8 percent responsibility for a person’s health, the rest of health is up to us ourselves, they would behave differently. They would pay heed to their health, the ways of a healthy lifestyle, and would examine the medical doctrines of our ancestors.

Dozens of health zealots running to bathe in the Baltic Sea in Palanga in wintertime is not an exotic sight any more for local residents. For the last two decades, it, as well as healthy food, exercise, and a positive attitude to the surrounding world, have been a daily activity for Palanga Health School healthy living advocates. But don’t get me wrong, many urologists will maintain that wintertime bathing is a certain way to fall ill with prostatitis…
(chuckles) However, nobody fell ill! From neither prostatitis, nor from another cold related illness. Talking seriously, plunging into cold water is not a mandatory thing for those who shiver just thinking about it. From my extensive experience, only a few people refuse such a swim on the first days at school. However, you have to believe me, at the end of the course, everyone jumps in the frigid Baltic Sea, even at temperatures hovering way below 20 Celsius. I keep repeating to my pupils that there is no need to bathe in the cold sea every day – taking a cold shower daily would exhilarate everyone for the rest of the day. But wintertime bathing is not the main thing in our Health School. What is more important, here we study untraditional medical doctrines, such as Ayurveda and Valeology, sciences of health, as well as their application in daily life.

Why did you decide 20 years ago to quit your well-paid state official’s job and assume a risky venture in something that no one had heard of before – Health School?
Honestly speaking, I got fed up with the clerk’s routine. I got tired of being unable to change health policies, even in the capacity of the highly ranked sport official, so I started looking for something more challenging in my life. I went back to Palanga and rented here the biggest vacant resthouse and started operating my Health School. It is an activity that I have been enjoying for 20 years now.

Has the downturn affected your health business?

Surprisingly, I didn’t see any decline in numbers last year. On the contrary, when there is a crisis, I see numbers going up in the school. I have been constantly gathering fairly large attendee groups for the last five years. Up to 200 people graduate from our Health School every year.

Nowadays, people tend to know about their health much more than before, however, it doesn’t encourage them to choose healthy living. Why is it so?
The bottom line is that there is no healthy lifestyle-promoting system in our country. As you know, so far, smokers, alcoholics, obese people and healthy lifestyle advocates make the same mandatory health insurance payments. In my opinion, the size of the payment should be differentiated due to a person’s input into his or her health. Our state health care system focuses only on illness treatment and medicine, but not on illness prevention and healthy living. It will be that way as long as our state health care system is controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. It grows rich from such state policies.

You are a long-term President of the Lithuanian Health Union that is commemorating its twentieth anniversary this year. What major objectives have been accomplished?
For many years, it [the union] had been lobbying for health policies in ministries and the parliament; however, lately we have been focusing more on down-to-earth matters, for example, organizing health schools. We had them operating in seven towns countrywide last year. Many other health movements have sprouted up from our union, and I see it as a success of our movement.

Healthy lifestyle advocates and you have been ardently lobbying for different, healthy livingpromoting state policies, illness prevention. What can you tell about the State Health Program that has been carried into effect for nearly a decade?
Well, it doesn’t work. There has been improvement only in one field – we have succeeded in lowering the infant mortality rate over [the past] ten years. However, in all other major fields – cardiovascular, diabetes, hypertension cases, illnesses related to smoking and alcohol consumption – we have seen only increase. It means that our current health care system doesn’t work. The trend will go up until our top clerks in the Ministry of Health start talking about prevention of these kinds of illnesses.

If you were in a position of making health policies, what three things would you do first?
Firstly, I would strictly separate healing illness from illness prevention. Secondly, I would incorporate clergymen, top insurers, our society’s prominent leaders, healthy lifestyle promoters into the already existing Health Council in order to bring a more holistic approach to our health care system. Thirdly, I would immediately invest into healthy lifestyle promotion, starting with toddlers in kindergartens.

Does wintertime bathing and dieting contribute to your being in such good shape and bright mood for a 58-year-old?
When I was nearly 40 years old, my biological age was a bit less than 25 years old. I don’t know what it is now, but I feel very young. What I could physically perform as a 40-year old, I can do the same now. I can easily run a marathon, I jog 10 kilometers daily, I dip in the Baltic Sea’s waters regularly and I feel great.