Choosing what to eat is an easier decision for Patrick Holford, a leading UK nutritionist, health commentator and founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition.
That?s because he knows the exact chemical reactions foods set off in his body. So what does someone who encourages people to strive for 100 per cent health eat for breakfast?
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During a Dubai workshop Patrick Holford will be explaining the vital bodily processes that you need to understand in order to give your body exactly the right nutrition
?It varies but today I had scrambled eggs, with lots of pepper over it, on some pumpernickel rye bread and I am currently drinking some spicy Rooibos red bush tea,? Patrick told 7DAYS.
It is a ?full calorie day? explains Patrick, who spends much of his time personally testing out the latest dietary and nutritional research.
He is an advocator of the low glycaemic load (GL) diet, which takes into consideration how much the carbohydrates in your food cause your blood sugar to rise.
But Patrick, who will be in Dubai next week for his one-day Total Health Transformation workshop, is currently testing a new diet.
?At the moment I?m testing a new piece of research called ?alternate day dieting?,? he reveals.
The diet is based on previous investigations which found the lifespan of animals, including primates, can be increased by up to 50 per cent, by giving them low-calorie food on alternative days. So far Patrick reports positive results and high energy levels.
You might be wondering where to find the time for all that testing and trialling. But developing your perfect eating plan doesn?t have to be that taxing, you just have to commit a little time to learning the fundamentals.
During the Dubai workshop Patrick will be explaining the vital bodily processes that you need to understand in order to give your body exactly the right nutrition.
The workshop is the condensed results of decades of research. Here?s a sneak preview of things you need to know:
Blood sugar
?The first thing is blood sugar. I actually call it glycation, but it is about understanding your sugar balance,? says Patrick. To regulate your blood sugar, levels he recommends the low GL diet.
Anti-oxidants and oxidation
?One of the most prevailing myths is high cholesterol ? the myth is that cholesterol in food like eggs sticks to your arteries and can cause a heart attack.
?This is complete rubbish. What happens is that the cholesterol in your blood can either be damaged by sugar, called glycation, or it can be damaged by oxidants. In other words, if you smoke a cigarette or eat fried foods, you are introducing these harmful oxidants into the body. The immune system attacks the damaged cholesterol and gobbles it up with vacuum cleaner cells called phagocytes, and you end up with this big frothy abnormal cell, called a foam cell. That is what you find in arterial blockage.?
Patrick recommends eating foods which are high in anti-oxidants such as turmeric, beetroots, blueberries and even dark chocolate.
Methylation
Your body makes thousands of miniscule chemical adjustments all of the time to maintain homeostasis (or an even keel), including producing insulin or adrenaline if, say, an alarm goes off.
?You actually do it by this process of methylation,? explains Patrick. ?Methylation depends on B vitamins like B6, B12 and folic acid.
?Forget the rhetoric about eating a well balanced diet, if you want to know if you?re getting enough B vitamins in your diet take a test for homo-cysteine levels. If you are not getting enough B vitamins you may need to consider supplements.?
Lipidation
?I call it lipidation but it is about fats. It is now very clear that to be super-healthy you have to have an optimal intake of omega 3 fats, which are found in oily fish and seeds, as well as an intake of vitamin D, which is a fat.?
While Patrick says Omega 3 can be added to the diet by adding seeds like chia and flax to your cereal, eating fish might not be a simple a fix for Gulf dwellers.
?In a place like the Gulf when you eat local fish, they all tend to be warm-water fish, but you actually want salmon and kippers and mackerel, or else you need to supplement omega 3,? says Patrick. When sunbathing in the UAE winter sun, leave it 15 minutes before slapping on the sun block, to absorb some of the sun?s vitamin D, he adds.
Hydration
?Terribly simple, it is about water. You want to drink six to eight glasses of water each day,? says Patrick, adding that this should not include sweetened drinks which raise blood sugar.
Take a bite out of diabetes
Today marks World Diabetes Day but the good news is that sufferers of the ?Type 2? disease can eat themselves healthy again, says Patrick.
?I call Dubai, the ?dia-besity? capital of the world,? he says. ?[Type 2] is an absolutely reversible condition. We?ve had people who had it for more than 10 years, injecting insulin, who no longer need insulin and no longer have diabetes. With type 2, it was always assumed that the cells in the pancreas that make insulin had died. Actually it has now been shown that with low GL diets or low-calorie diets those cells can come back to life. The key is not a low fat, it is a low GL diet.?
There?s lots going on in the UAE to help fight diabetes. The Balance Wellness Club is running a series of sessions including ?management of chronic diabetes? on November 22. Call 04 384 7010 to find out more. Also, next week iCARE?Clinics are offering free glucose and blood pressure checks. Call 04 384 7272 for info.
Take a free online test to assess your percentage fitness at?www.patrickholford.com.?Patrick is hosting a one-day workshop at the Al Murooj Rotana next Tuesday. Dhs300. To book email ahmed@organicfoodsandcafe.com
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