Welcome to Live Better!
Empower yourself with the latest knowledge on how to Live Better.
Understand how the 4 pillars of health affect your well being so you can live with minimal illness and keep modern chronic illnesses at bay.
Disclosure
I don’t have any agendas. I am not selling any product or service or recipe. I do not get any commission from the links I put up here. I am not affiliated to any food industry or pharmaceutical company. It is my wish that by not gaining anything out of this, you will believe what I present in these pages. If I were to benefit in future when I need a source of income, I’ll disclose it clearly. Right now I am doing this out of my passion for health.
I am biased towards a nutrient-dense, animal based, low-carb diet, simply because it enables me to maintain optimal health and so have many others who are ahead of me in this.
Please check out the About page to find out my motivation behind setting up this site.
There is a rise in Modern Chronic Illnesses since 1990 even though dietary guidelines were introduced in Singapore from 1988 (earliest I can find)
In 1995 they introduced the Healthy Food Pyramid. A revision was made in 2009. The latest My Healthy Plate was introduced in 2014.
Despite such guidelines, the prevalence of Chronic Illnesses are NOT coming down but rising.
Is it because people are not following them OR
is it because the guidelines are incorrect?
If you have been following the guidelines diligently like me but not enjoying the best of health, or worse, become diabetic or have other chronic illnesses, I think it's time for you to try something different.
How my health improved greatly with a simple change to My Healthy Plate
I used to eat like this
Most of my lunch and dinner consist of 1 bowl of white rice, 1 serving of meat and 2 servings of vegetables, even before the HPB's healthy plate came about in 2014
Then I switch to this
After PM Lee's message on cutting down rice and switching to brown rice, I reduce to 1/2 bowl of white/brown rice for lunch and 1/2 bowl of brown rice for dinner. I added 1 serving of vegetables for lunch
After cutting out rice totally for dinner since April 2019
I stop seeing a doctor for medicine
My recoveries from infections are shortened and the symptoms are mild.
I become fat adapted, rarely feel hungry and have better energy levels throughout the day.
Since Jan 2020 I eat like this for breakfast
lunch
dinner
By cutting 3 servings of my rice intake daily, my health improved. This is the power of a Low-Carb Diet.
This is the healthy plate from Health Promotion Board
As vegetables and fruits are classified under carbohydrates, this is not much different from the previous food pyramid. They are still recommending that 75% of your food intake comes from carbs. In fact, if you read the details in the factsheet, you will notice that they recommend 5-7 servings of Brown RIce & Wholemeal Bread for people from 19 to 50 years old. 1 serving is equivalent to 2 slices of bread or 1/2 bowl of rice. I only take 2 servings nowadays.
Since vegetables and fruits contain good carbs, 50% of your food intake coming from this group means you already fulfill the purely carbs portion. Replacing the brown rice & wholemeal bread with a duplicate portion of animal meat & organs will make this a truly healthy plate. But if you really have to take rice, choose brown rice.
Notice they did not draw any meat in the blue quarter? That’s because they think that animal meat has ‘bad’ saturated fats. I will clear this misconception in my section on Saturated Fats.
I will also point out the ‘outdated’ recommendations in the factsheet for My Healthy Plate in the link below.
What are the 4 pillars of Health?
Right Diet
Do I really need to avoid foods that are high in Cholesterol?
Are Saturated Fats harmful or beneficial?
Are Vegetable Oils really Heart Healthy?
How toxic and addictive is Sugar?
Are all Carbohydrates bad?
Why are Processed Foods unhealthy?
Isn't a Balanced Diet about eating everything in moderation?
Regular Exercise
What kind of exercise should I do?
Do I need to do strength training?
How long and how intense should my exercise be?
Should Athletes worry about a high-carb diet?
Can I exercise away a bad diet?
Rest & Recovery
How much sleep do I need in a day?
Can I catch up on my sleep during weekends?
Is snoring a precursor to something else?
What important processes take place during sleep?
Healthy Lifestyle Habits
How many meals per day is ideal?
Can I snack whenever I like?
Why shouldn't I eat 3 hours before bedtime?
What are the benefits of fasting?
What are some harmful habits?
What supplements should I take?
Challenging conventional dietary recommendations
Did you know that Insulin Resistance is the underlying cause of many Modern Chronic Illnesses?
