"Diet and exercise talk" - Double jokers!

I just attended a so called "diet and exercise talk" recently. I told myself, I need to write and share with whoever reading this post today, about that talk which blew me away in a bad way. I had actually anticipated what would be presented and shared amongst the audience on that day itself, but, what can I say? The talk was purely about Law of thermodynamics and calorie counting. Boring, boring and very flawed theory and presentation.

Some of my clients were in the talk as well and of course, they asked some really basic questions about foods, diet and weight loss which the so called 'dietician' failed to answer correctly. Worst of all, she tried to avoid the questions and acted quite defensively. There are actually 2 sessions about health which was presented to the audience on that day itself. Exercise and foods for weight loss. Both turned out to be mediocrely absurb yet waste of time and most of the information presented were misleading and incorrect. The cute looking lady who presented on the exercise for weight loss is actually a physiotherapist! Since when physiotherapist qualify to give exercise on weight loss talk?

Anyhow, below are some of the questions thrown to the dietician and physiotherapist on both sessions.

Dietician (Miss Kong) Columbia Asia Hospital

Question 1

Audience:  As she was just beginning to explain and recommend the audience of what weight loss meal should consists(includes grains), one of my clients asked, "Isn't grains containing gluten unhealthy and causes health issues?" "Shouldn't we avoid it?"

Dietician: Oh, we are not talking about other health issues here today. We focus on weight loss. Only barley contains gluten and other grains are okay to consume.

Audience: In this case, which types of grains are safe and recommended to consume? 

Dietician: I did not recommend eating grains and gluten is just one of the nutrients in the grains. (You gotta be freakin kidding me big time!! She endorsed consuming grains for weight loss meal and now she said no? Make up your mind Miss dietician!) 

Question 2

Audience: Is soybean based foods safe to consume?

Dietician: Yes it is. (That's what happen when you enrolled in any dietician or typically nutritionist course or certification. American Dietician Association is funded by food industry! And she definitely is severely lack of knowledge and got tons of reading to do. Read your nutrition and medical journals Miss dietician!)

Question 3

Audience: Let's say if one eats 6-7 avocados a day, which each avocado contains about 350-370 calories, and total calories is around 2200-2500 daily, would soley eating avocado promotes weight gain as that person consume more calories then he or she normally does? Let's say that person consumes around 2000 calories daily and goal is weight loss.

Dietician: Not necessary can experience weight gain. May I know the purpose of eating so many avocado per day? Is it because of Omega?

Audience: Because your whole presentation of weight loss is all about counting calories and eat low fat and low calorie diet, this is why I'm asking if eating a high fat high calories diet would result in weight gain. The answer should be YES, because more calories consumed, but why did you say maybe no? 

Dietician: I need to know what that person previous diet plan first in order to determine if he or she can gain weight or not by eating that amount of avocados daily. (She sounded seriously dumb and doesn't know what she is even talking!)

** That question itself, by using avocado and a high fat higher calories foods, is to debunk her whole theory and recommendation of counting total calories consumed and lower fat intake. And guess what, she don't even know that this question is proving her wrong and the law of thermodynamics and calorie reduction is hugely flawed. 

Question 4

Audience: What is leptin? (She was presenting on leptin and some of the audience are curious)

Dietician: She gave some retarded answer which no one seem to understand. She was saying that leptin is a chemical developed in the brain. (Oh god, if someone who holds a MAsters degree in Dietitics and has this knowledge about human body or nutrition, what will our health status and future be for general population?) 

Miss Physiotherapist (Also work in Columbia Asia hospital)

Question 1

Audience: Can eat fast food and have weight loss?

Physio: Yes you can, as long as you exercise. (Well, did she know she has to mountain bike or run the boring treadmill for more then 2 hours to burn off that Big Mac each time she eats Big Mac? Promoting eating fast foods for audience, that's a joke! My grandma can be far better health advisor then her.) 

Question 2

Audience: Will poor sleeping patterns affect weight loss? 

Physio: No, it won't. (Does she even know why we have cravings for sugar when stay up late at night? Late night awake -> Cravings for sugar -> cortisol and insulin elevation -> blood sugar mobilization and fat storing -> insulin/leptin resistance -> weight gain and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Question 3

Audience: Is sit ups an effective and safe exercise? Will it burn abdominal fats?

Physio: Yes, it is safe and good exercise for the abs. It will not burn abdominal fats but will strengthen the abs muscles.

Audience: Then, why do I feel lower back pain when performing the exercise?

Physio: Did you do it on the hard surface?

Audience: No, normal surface with yoga mat.

Physio: Hmm..it shouldn't be the case. I'm not too sure.

** Of all people, a physiotherapist provided this answer. I'm out of words seriously. Doesn't she know about excessive flexion of rectus abdominus and huge stress of erector spinae and lumbar spine?  Imagine patients with back problem and she get these people to do sit ups? 

I apologize if I rant a bit too much today. I just need to get this off my chest. By recalling that diet and exercise talk I attended, I'm still confused and annoyed. Confused not because I have questions and unclear of what was presented and shared to the audience, but confused, because why such health professionals can survive in the industry, giving mislead and misfed health and diet information to the public. Don't these ladies know that calorie reduction doesn't work anymore as many people have attempted and the failed miserably? Wonder why more people are getting fatter and sicker? There you go, that's your answer! 

What to eat and do during holidays?

Just came back from holiday. Had a relaxing trip, ate some good foods, get some tan under the sun, did some shopping and had an awesome massage session. While on holiday, most people tend to eat, drink and did things which are 'harmful' to their health and body. For instance, excessive alcohol consumption, overdose of sugary foods and drinks, fast foods, junk foods, late night sleep, being a 2nd hand smoker while clubbing, ingestion of fluoride by using typical hotel toothpaste, etc. 

Today, I just thought of writing a quick post about some stuff which you could consume and also avoid while on holidays. Well, of course we can't be too strict on ourselves while on vacation, (don't be stressed out but have awareness), and if we could filter and moderately control some of the harmful foods, drinks and substances we ingest, that would be really good while we can still enjoy our holiday trip. Well, that's my point of view, but other people might think otherwise and disagree with me. 

Anyhow, I hereby provide you some of the DO's and DON'Ts while on vacation. Make your own judgement and decide wisely, enjoy your holidays. 

DO'S

1) Eat as much organic whole foods as possible. (Please see below pic)

2) Incorporate fermented foods in your 'holiday' diet. (Please see below pic)

3) Drink as much clean water as possible, too much of exploring and walking under the sun will dehydrate your body, reduces your body ability to detoxify and increase constipation. Look out for artesian water such as Volvic or EVIAN. 

4) Sleep with 'pitchblack' room. After whole day of touring and exploring, your body needs a good rest and sleep. Interrupted sleep or sleeping in brightly decorated room will reduce/prevent quality sleep. Even a small lamp or toilet light can increase your body's cortisol production, and suppresses your melatonin hormones. 

5) Do some simple stretching and 'work in' type of 

6) Floss your teeth after every meal of before you go to bed! Also, bring your own toothpaste that does not contain fluoride and other harmful chemicals of course.

DONT's

1) Avoid being 'overdosed' 2nd hand smoker. Nightly clubbing packed with heavy smokers in pubs and discos generally intoxicate your body with loads of cancerous substances. Free radicals damage!

2) Eating too much of refined flour, sugar and trans fat.

3) Using hotel provided toothpaste loaded with neurotoxin fluoride and other harmful chemicals such as SLS and even saccharin!

4) Drink tap water!

5) Don't soaked too long in the swimming pool. Chlorinated water! 

6) Drink too much of alcohol. Minimal consumption of wines during the trip is 'acceptable'. Well...

Fermented tapioca

 Instead of cereals and breads, why not organic free range eggs for breakfast? 

Toxic toothpaste! Typical hotel toothpaste loaded with fluoride, SLS, sorbitol and saccharin.

Fluoride: The Hard to Swallow Truth Documentary

Folks, look out for this new documentary about fluroride. The water we drink, the toothpaste we use, and other substances and products which are laden with this dangerous neurotoxin. Question is, why the government and the health industry not letting us know? Is the government protecting the population? It is time more people should realize about the danger of fluoride in our water supply and other products we use and consume on daily basis. Fluoride is a poison! 

Video URL: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7aTfyo0Xz_c

Tulsi Tea

Just received my order purchased from overseas. I've been trying for quite some time to get Tulsi tea whenever my friends went to India, but unsuccessful. I was excited to try out this tea, of course it is organically grown, and some of them are caffeine free. Tulsi tea is high in adaptogens, a powerful antioxidant, and depending on the types of Tulsi teas which you purchase, with some of their different beneficial functions such as stress relieving, immune system boosters, liver and kidney detox, mood enhancers, aid digestion, etc. 

I've been to many countries in South East Asia to find this tea, I don't think it is available on the market except India and United States. For tea lovers, I highly recommend this tea, try it out, let me know if you like it. It's tea time! 

Vitamin Drink? What a joke!

Well well. When I walk along the valley of one of the supermarkets in Kuala Lumpur, I came across a beverage product, so called 'Vitamin Water'. What a joke! Vitamins in water? It sounded so convenient, never have to eat organic whole foods such as vegetables and fruits. Just pop open a bottle of that beverage product and you get all the vitamins needed. Sounds easy right?

I can tell you what's in that beverage product. Certainly you are not getting real vitamins derived from organic fruits and vegetables and other natural sources. Come on folks, let's be realistic here. You think you can get real vitamins in a bottle of water? Heard of synthetic vitamins? If you read properly the ingredients in the beverage product, you will notice primarily you are ingesting fructose, cane sugar and even artificial sweetener sorbitol! So, sugar, sugar and 'bad' artificial sweetener and synthetic vitamins. More and more people find easy solutions to their daily diet and nutrition by going for 'packaged and bottled' products. No money to eat whole foods? No time to prepare your own foods? It's mainly excuses and more excuses. 

Well, if you want to store more fat and further suppress your immune system and cause more problems to your health and body, then feel free do drink lots of 'VitaminWater'. Decision is yours, i've provided you a brief review for this beverage product. Till then...

Endurance exercise: Damage the heart (latest study)

A friend of mine sent me this piece of article from dailymail. This is another study conducted in the USA, which shows that excessive endurance exercise can hurt and damage the heart, which turns out to be harmful. Well, I'm posted a few times before about endurance exercise or training, but this would be a new study and article about how these excessive exercises could hurt the heart. I won't write much this time, just go ahead and read the news and listen to the video interview below by Dr James O'Keefe. There are some really useful information which you would appreciate, especially if you are into marathon/triathlon training or any endurance types of exercises. 

Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2154267/Excess-exercise-hurts-heart-cause-dangerous-long-term-harm-say-scientists.html
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authored_newsitem.cws_home/companynews05_02348
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120604093108.htm

Video interview: Dr James O'Keefe
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1648108/Videos/Author%20interviews/87_6/8706okeefevideofinal.wmv

Dinner Meal : Don't know what to eat? Come on guys...

Till today, I still have people asking me what to eat for dinner when they reach home after a long day at work. Darn. Sometimes I feel abit annoyed telling some of you that THERE ARE TONS OF REAL FOODS you can still eat! I can't eat this and that.  Really? Whoever gotten my '30 Days Eating Real Foods Challenge' plan, you surely know that there are long list of whole foods to choose and eat, and best of all, most of them are moderately tasty too. 

Anyway, this is the 3rd sample dinner meal I posted, which anyone can prepare when you are at home. It won't take you more then 30 minutes to prepare and having a nutritious healthier meal, rather then hitting on McDonalds, KFC, Pizza, or nasi kandar dishes. Most people also concluded that home cooked foods are healthy. I disagree, it depends on the ingredients and way of cooking and preparation. Question is, how much organically grown whole foods are included? How much raw foods is part of that meal? Any table salt, table sugar or MSG is added? Is vegetable oil being used to stir fry or deep fried? Anyway, who says  you can't survive without rice or noodles? No time to prepare your own or family meal? That's just lame excuse! 

Meanwhile, the foods in the meal plan are as below. Remember, you are what you eat. Your abdominal belly size tells the whole story of what you have been eating all these years. Sexy round potbelly don't lie! 

Ingredients:

- Organic sweet potato (medium)

- One papaya (small)

- Half bowl of organic baby tomatoes

- Serving of organic purple cabbage

- One large avocado

- 3 organic free range chicken eggs (scrambled with organic coconut oil)