Are you too lazy to live?: Why Malaysia has become one of the most diabetic countries in ASIA?

I think this has to stop, I mean seriously. The population has become the VICTIM of health problems, particularly diabetes, obesity and chronic degenerative diseases. Strolling along the parks or window shopping in shopping malls have become a regular sight of noticing overweight obese people all around you. Being officially certified fattest country in South East Asia, Malaysia has become a nation of embarrassment, which regards to health status and weight management.

In today's post, I would want to share with you all about one of the many cases which came to me, stories and real life experiences from my clients, and friends. Many of us are still in the dark about what conventional dietary professionals are taught, and is REALLY being prescribed as diet plan or protocol to their clients. How many of us realized that most of the Degrees of Dietetics and Nutrition are sponsored by Food and Pharmaceutical companies?

Imagine this, you are overweight and diabetic, and you need help to fix your diet and get your health and weight back on track. The next thing in your mind is getting professional help, in this case, consult a Registered Dietitian or Nutritionist. So, what do you do? Of course in almost every case, most people would either go to a hospital or contact these professionals. With high hopes of getting your life back on track, and being positive that you can get help to reverse diabetes from so called dietary experts, you have no idea what's coming next.

A client of mine, recently came to me with desperate help of tackling her husband's health condition and hopefully being able to be normal healthy adult again. An individual and a patient of diabetes, and recent sufferer of Pulmonary TB ( being on antibiotics for 6 months ), he went to a specialist hospital and consulted a registered dietician. Keep reading...

I urged my client to bring me the diet plan which was prescribed to her husband, and after days of waiting, she finally sat down and showed me the Diabetic Dietary Plan. It was disastrous, utterly a recipe for diabetes, obesity and pro-inflammatory. The diet plan was so simple, and below are the translated version of Bahasa Malaysia.

Panduan Pemakanan Untuk Kawal Diabetes - Food Guideline for Managing Diabetes

Diabetes Diet Plan?

Nasi - Rice
Mihun - Noodles
Macaroni/Spagetti/Mee - maccaroni, spagetti, noodles
Bubur Nasi - Porridge
Tosai - Made of flour and black lentils? High glycemic index
Putu Ayam - made of rice flour, usually eaten with refined brown sugar
Bun Kosong - Plain Bun
Roti - Bread
Oat (Mentah) - Oats
Biskut Krim Kracker - Biscuit Cream Cracker

Ubi Kentang - Potatoes (starchy carbs)
Ubi Keladi - Yam (starchy carbs)
Labu Merah - Pumpkin (starchy carbs)
Kentang Putar - Mashed Potatoes (starchy carbs)
Jagung - Corn

From the above diet plan for diabetic patient, it is a recipe for dysregulating blood sugar and insulin resistance, developing diabetes, and setting one for other chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, etc. A heavily high glycemic carbohydrates dietary plan, grains based protocol. It sounded more like a diet meant for developing diabetes. Where are the healthy fats? Where are the leafy green organic vegetables? What happen to ancestral animal based foods?

I wonder, why are rates of diabetes and obesity keep alarmingly increasing in industrialized countries such as USA, Australia and UK? Why wouldn't we become overweight, diabetic and diseased with the dietary recommendations endorsed and prescribed by dietary professionals as such? Even countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt are now influxed with American fast foods and processed foods too.These countries are one of the most obese and diabetic in the world.

As everyone knows the food pyramid and the endorsement and recommendations from so called dietary experts in respective countries, we are all getting from bad to worst, while trying to eat a so called 'healthier' low fat, high carbohydrates diet. To be precise, a high glycemic refined carbohydrates diet loaded with sugars.

Now, back to my client's husband case. He was given a general pamplet of Food Guideline for Managing Diabetes. No assessment made, no detailed testing conducted, pamplet given, and was asked to follow the diet plan for 3 months. It sounded very similiar to what American Dietitics Association professionals would prescribed to their clients in general. A diet plan based on calories in calories out, high GI carbohydrates blood sugar spiking foods, and no management on micronutrients nor inflammation, how would it be possible to even scratch the surface of managing blood sugar or reversing diabetes? Not to mention toxicity (such as pesticides, chemicals) in the foods or even intolerances and sensitivities?

Are these dietary professionals bad people? Of course NO! Same apply with medical doctors who are not taught nor educated about information and fields which they are misinformed. I believe these professionals want to help their patients or clients, but in sad reality, the industries of diet, nutrition, and health/medical, have been so corrupted and powerfully influenced by the food and pharmaceutical powerhouses.