In recent years, I have started to pay more attention to eating healthier foods, as well as exercising more regularly, two things which used to be further down on my “to do” list. My views on this subject were most definitely made stronger by a recent visit to the UK, where my brother has been spending a lot of time trying to find a solution to his daughter’s illness, which was eventually diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It forced her to stop work because it occurred so frequently, often causing her to pass out. Many visits to doctors produced little in the way of positive results, and of course they always recommended medication and even surgery for some of the related problems.

Frustrated, my brother began to look for other solutions and came across one doctor who had been researching Chronic Fatigue Syndrome for 30 years and became convinced it could be treated by proper diet and nutrition. My brother persuaded his daughter to start the very strict diet, and within just a week, she started to feel the benefit. Although it’s still early, they are very encouraged by the results and my niece says it is wonderful to start feeling some of her lost energy returning after years of constant fatigue.

As a result of his research, my brother became convinced that most doctors do not give enough attention to diet when they diagnose illnesses and prescribe remedies. Many believe the multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical industries play a role in this, and I agree. While some of their discoveries have achieved major advances in medicine, it is obvious that they also have a strong vested interest in seeing ailments treated with drugs.

Now I have started looking at this subject more closely, I am learning that diet and health have a much closer link than most doctors would have us believe. This is changing as some doctors are increasing their focus on nutrition to address sicknesses. The Malaysian government has been urging people to lose weight, exercise more, and eat less sugar in order to reduce the country’s increasing obesity rate and alarmingly high rate of Type 2 diabetes.

It’s worth noting that the consequences of sugar consumption are being increasingly recognized around the world. Cutting your sugar intake should be high on everyone’s list because nearly all of us consume too much, and the excess consumption does nothing useful for our weight or general health. Sugar consumption is now being linked to a wide range of medical problems.

As I have discovered as I look for ways to improve my children’s food intake, finding reliable information about what food to eat and what they do to your body is not easy. There are many thousands of “experts” out there and they don’t all agree with each other. What seems clear to me, however, is that moderation or minimisation is the key when it comes to foods which are deemed to be less healthy. Cutting out enjoyable food completely makes no sense to me but overindulging is foolish. I am also making minor changes to my children’s diets, which certainly need adjusting!

All that said, if any of this inspires any readers to take a closer look at what they eat and that results in improved health, then I am glad I wrote this. For those of you who are tired of being told to adopt a healthier diet, my apologies.

On a very much separate note, it was terrible reading about yet another terrorist attack in Paris, which occurred only a few days after the Beirut bombing, which as usual received a lot less media coverage. So far, Malaysia has been spared a major terrorism incident and this is in no small way due to the efficiency and vigilance of the Malaysian police and intelligence authorities. They are to be commended for this.

Finally, for those who celebrate it, have a great Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Read more:

• Malaysia: A Brief Look at the Nation’s Past and Present
• Thoughts on Family Relationships and Staying in Touch
• A Brief Look at 1Malaysia, the Red Shirt Rally and MACC

Source: The Expat magazine December 2015