Is the Vegan Diet Optimal?

Science is filled with bias, and this is why I am not sure that a vegan diet is optimal or more healthy than an omnivore diet with small amounts of meat. There are many peer reviewed studies showing that higher intakes of non-animal food such as vegetables and fruit will increase longevity, but this does not mean that a diet without any meat is optimal.

Regardless, based on the totality of what I've read, a vegan diet looks safe and healthy (it is approved by the American Dietetic Association) and I choose to go vegan because of morality and because I have not seen any evidence to convince me that a vegan diet is unhealthy.

Many point to populations such as the Okinawans in Japan who have legendary longevity but who eat small amounts of fish. While it is true that the traditional Okinawan diet had small amounts of fish (one teaspoon per day), this does not prove that we should eat fish today because our oceans today are polluted with heavy metals, microplastics, and other toxic chemicals. Our oceans were less polluted in the past.

Bulk Nutrients Rice Protein Isolate Unflavoured

I've been trying different protein powders from Bulk Nutrients. I have always been purchasing protein from Bulk Nutrients, and I like to try different types of protein just because I love variety. I recently purchased rice protein in unflavoured form. I've heard that rice protein tastes horrible, but I have actually just tasted the product in person and it is incredibly bad. The description everyone gives is correct. It is chalky and tastes like sand. I'm going to have to mix it in with other protein powders and some flavouring (for example, pea protein and stevia). I've purchased two kilograms of the rice protein, so it might be hard finishing it all. 

Sugarless Organic Stevia from Chemist Warehouse - Review

As part of working out, I've been drinking pea and rice protein shakes for a few months now. I've learned that for those who have trouble gaining weight, you can mix in carbs to your protein shake to create a "mass gainer." I've been mixing in either powdered oats or waxy maize starch to my protein shake. As a result, the taste has gone south. My pea and rice protein (Earth Protein) was vanilla flavoured and tasted quite nice. However, once I added carbs in, the blend tasted horrible, especially with powdered oats, which not only made the blend taste bland but often clumped together and made the mixture thick.

Today I purchased Sugerless Organic Stevia from Chemist Warehouse for $8 (250g). It seemed pretty cheap. The product came with a spoon that measured half a teaspoon. I put two teaspoons into my carb and protein shake and tasted the mixture. It was surprisingly good. The product seemed to do the job.

The major surprise I got from this product came from looking at the nutritional information. According to the table, this product, which is labelled "organic stevia," contains 0.5% stevia (steviol glycoside). The product is 99% organic erythritol, which is a different type of sweetener.

I wonder then why this product would not be labelled "Erythritol + Stevia" or something less misleading because erythritol is a completely different product. Furthermore, it seems like you can purchase erythritol online for much less than $8 per 250g.

Could I Make My Own Soylent to Save Money?

Normally I spend about $10 to $20 on lunch. It is a lot of money, and many of my colleague like to bring lunch in from home. The problem is that I simply don’t want to cook. It is too much hassle. Furthermore, bringing in lunch to work and letting it decay and smell is just not an option. I have been reading about soylent, which is an open-source nutritional powder that can replace food. I am not sure the product ships to where I live, but given it is an open-source drink, I can simply make it myself. Supposedly soylent is about 50% carbs using maltodextrin and powdered oats and about 25% rice protein, with the rest being fats, vitamins, nutrients, enzymes, and so forth. I have already been mixing in rice and pea protein with powdered oats to create a “gainer” that will help me gain more weight and build more muscle, so I largely already have something that is similar to soylent anyway. (I am thinking of replacing powdered oats with waxy maize starch because the powdered oats usually clump up when mixed with my protein shake. Plus powdered oats have high GI.)

On the weekend, I love to browse the aisles of the local chemist and check out the latest “greens” powder. I have already purchased a powder that mixes many greens, e.g. chlorella, spirulina, and barley grass. I have mixed a small amount of greens powder into my protein shake. I find that these greens powder (especially spirulina) taste horrible, so I now try to minimize it to just a few teaspoons per week. By mixing multivitamin-type powders with protein and carb powders, I am making my protein shake something that is starting to resemble normal food.

Anyway, if my protein shakes have carbs and a little bit of greens powder in it, I figure I can probably use this as a replacement for my lunch at work. Given that powdered oats cost about $10 per kilogram and pea and rice protein cost about $25 per kilogram, then assuming each day at work you have two serves (two scoops or 60 grams) then the cost works out to be about $1 per day. That is a massive difference compared to $15 for lunch! I eat whole foods for dinner at home, eat out every now and then with friends and family, and take multivitamins, so it’s not as if I will rely on these powders completely. If I want to socialise and go out, then I am happy to do so, but often at work I am just hungry and need to eat something and I go out and eat alone, and I spend about $15 for that when I could be drinking something equivalent for $1. An excuse I used to use for myself to eat out is that I like to get out of the office and walk around and breathe in the fresh air. But I am always free, after drinking my shake, to go out for a walk in the park.

Two days ago, I purchased a bottle of iced coffee and drank it for lunch. I mainly wanted to buy it because it was an HDPE bottle, which is supposedly safe for reuse. I was going to mix my protein shake in it. However, I noticed that in the afternoon I was farting a lot. I may have developed lactose intolerance. I used to drink milk a lot. Recently I’ve experimented with vegan foods. It turns out that maybe my body has gotten used to it, and now I find I cannot drink cows milk. That’s okay for me because there are plenty of other alternatives e.g. oat milk or almond milk. Some people argue that cow milk has essential calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D for bone health, but the reality is that most of these are additives in the milk, and most milk alternatives are fortified with these anyway, and even if they are not, I take multivitamins.

The Comfort of Deferring to Expertise

When people come to me seeking my advice because they think I'm an expert in my field, I try my hardest not to let them down, and I give the best advice I can give. When people seem satisfied, I start to wonder whether it was wise of them to trust me because nobody knows my own imperfections as well as I do, but whether it is because of trust or image, there is a myth commonly held of the expert. This is why physicians are held in high regard and are respected. They are seen as experts in health. I am not the only one who feels this insecurity, and indeed there is a term for it: impostor syndrome.

When I start to doubt the veracity of my own advice and expertise, naturally I start to question the veracity of other people's advice and expertise, and certainly being sceptical of expertise can save us, e.g. the Commonwealth Bank financial planning scandal.

But at the same time, I understand the comfort of deferring to expertise. Before I went to the gym, every second person I met gave me advice on health and fitness. They'd tell me to buy a bike and then go into detail about different types of bikes, materials used for the types of bikes, and so forth, and yet others say different things, e.g. I should be playing soccer or tennis or badminton. Of course, deep down I knew that these people simply tried to sway me one way or another based on their own personal interests. If they were passionate about cycling, they'd naturally want to steer me towards cycling with them.

After I joined the gym and received advice from one fitness consultant, my friends stopped giving me amateur advice. When people asked me what I did for health and fitness and I told them that I was now a gym member and that my fitness consultant or personal trainer prescribed me this and that, that weight of expertise seemed to intimidate other people from giving me their half-baked views, and suddenly I feel calm and at peace because I don't need to listen to diverse viewpoints, evaluate, decide for myself, and feel ashamed if I made the wrong choice. I can just obey the expert, and typically no one dares to question the expert.

If I knew more about health, maybe I'd do my own research, but health is not my area of expertise, nor is it an area I am passionate about, so I am satisfied with deferring to the experts in this area. But in other areas, e.g. personal finance, I am quite passionate about finance and prefer to do things myself rather than rely on a financial advisor or financial planner, and given the bad reputation financial planners have had recently, I am glad I've taken this route.

There is probably no best way to handle uncertainty. In some areas you want to do it yourself and in some areas you want to outsource to an expert.

Treating a Shallow Flesh Wound

I am a clumsy person. Over the weekend I fell outdoors and scratched my elbow. Flesh tore off, creating a shallow wound. I was fortunate that there were no deep cuts. See below for a picture taken on the day I fell (sorry image is poor).

To treat the wound, I washed it with Dettol and Betadeine before applying gauze and then sticking it there with surgical tape. I took off the gauze every day but what I found was that, when taking the gauze off, I would peel off the scab and as a result the wound did not heal and I'd be back where I started.

This has been going on for a week now and the wound has not healed. I went to the pharmacist today who recommend that I put on a Smith & Nephew clear barrier film and, instead of taking it off every day, leave it on for as long as possible before taking it off gently and applying the same film again.

Smith & Nephew Clear Barrier Film

Flesh wound with clear barrier film attached

 

Gauze

 

 

 

Don't use Zovirax for cold sores

About one year ago, I had an outbreak of cold sores. I took Famvir immediately, which seemed to work.  Famvir is pill that you take as soon as you see the cold sores appear. My doctor gave me extra prescriptions for Famvir.

Unfortunately, recently, about a year later, I had another outbreak of cold sores. I tried to find the Famvir prescription but I had lost it. Instead I purchased Zovirax, which is a cream you apply to the cold sore to treat it.

The bottom line is that Zovirax seems to work, but the package and the internet say that you cannot swallow Zovirax. This is completely unreasonable because cold sore almost always break out on your lips or near your lips. If you apply Zovirax to your lips to treat cold sores, you will eventually swallow the cream when you eat, drink, or sleep.

I will ask my doctor for prescriptions of Famvir so I don't need to use Zovirax (or Blistex or similar cold sore creams) when I have a cold sore outbreak again.

Greenmax Yam and Mixed Cereal

It's great having breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but in between these meals there is always the need for something quick to tame hunger. Something quick that can fill me up include the following: coffee, tea, instant noodles, and Milo. The problem with coffee and tea is that they have caffeine, which is not good when you want to be able to fall asleep at night. Instant noodles have too much salt, which can lead to high blood pressure. Milo is essentially 60% sugar, so stay away if you want to avoid obesity, tooth decay, and diabetes.

I have recently discovered Greenmax Yam and Mixed Cereal. It can be prepared simply by mixing the powder in the satchel with hot water, and you have a very warm soupy beverage. It tastes very nice and fills you up. According to the nutrition information, it is high in fibre and low in salt and sugar. It is an excellent beverage if you are feeling hungry but aren't willing to spend a long time cooking a full meal. It is healthy, tasty, filling, and convenient.

Health, Wealth, and Wisdom

How can a person be happy? Different people have different answers to this question, but for this post I would like to talk about myself and my journey in life to find happiness. I believe that for me to be happy I should focus on attaining adequate health, wealth, and wisdom.

Health refers to eating right, exercise adequately, and getting good sleep. It also involves seeing your doctor regularly to get checked, as well as avoiding risky activities like binge drinking or unsafe sex. Wealth refers to making money. Wisdom is knowledge about everything, from knowledge of health to knowledge of a spirtual nature.

Often people go overboard trying to get as much health, wealth, and wisdom as possible, and my casual observation leads me to believe that being obsessive about health, wealth, or wisdom can actually make you unhappy rather than happy. For example, some hypochondriacs read every health scare on the internet and go to the doctor thirty times a week; people obsessed with money earn $100,000 per year but believe it is insufficient because their friends are earning double that, so they work 80 hours per week to try to catch up. This is why I stress the word "adequate." I believe that, when it comes to health and wealth, you if you're doing enough, then you are doing enough.

Another way I find happiness is not to worry too much. Being content with your health and wealth is one way you can stop worrying. Instead of worrying about getting heart disease in the future, go out there and do your thirty-minutes-per-day exercise or start eating healthy food. In other words, get busy doing what you need to do and don't sit around and worry.

Avoid Processed Meat

When you read health advice on the internet, it's difficult to arrive at the truth because, armed with Google, it is very easy to find studies that claim one thing and studies that claim the exact opposite. One way of discriminating between good health advice and bad health advice is to look at the quality of your source, and one way you can discriminate among research universities is to look at the latest university rankings (see Times Top 200 University Rankings 2010-11).

The American Cancer Council, in 2005, claimed that high consumption of red meat was linked to colon cancer. However, although they found a statistical link between consumption of red meat and incidence of colon cancer, they did not know what it was about red meat responsible for this result: "Researchers aren't certain what it is about red meat that might influence cancer risk. The iron and fat it contains may be culprits. For processed meat, the salt, smoke residue, and nitrates and nitrites used as preservatives may play a role." This may mean that although you can reduce statistically reduce your risk of getting colon cancer by avoiding red meat, it may not be the redness of the meat itself that is causing the increased risk of colon cancer but the likelihood that red meat is more likely to be processed and have more iron and fat.

The Harvard School of Public Health, in 2010, claimed that eating processed meats, but not unprocessed red meats, may raise risk of heart disease and diabetes. This is further evidence that processed meats, with added salt and preservatives, have serious adverse health effects.

Stressing About Stress

I spoke to a friend about high blood pressure yesterday. About two weeks ago I had blood pressure checks and got systolic blood pressure readings of about 136 mmHg, which is higher than the normal systolic blood pressure reading of 120 mmHg. My friend told me that worrying about hypertension is not a good idea because worrying about hypertension causes you to stress, which increases blood pressure.

This I think is a crazy idea. It is true that stress can increase blood pressure. However, if your fear or stress or hypertension makes you take action to reduce blood pressure (e.g. by reduce sodium in your diet, getting more exercise, and eating more fruit and vegetables) then you have less to worry about in the future. If you let your health get bad then in the future you will have major health problems to worry about, which will be very bad for your stress levels.

Health Assessment April 2010

About a week ago I had a health check at work and realized that my blood pressure (136/82 mmHg) was too high (read Fish and Soluble Fiber). I have since committed myself to doing more to lower my blood pressure and eat more good fats.

Today I will update you on my progress. Below are my blood pressure and weight measurements so far.

Below is a chart of my systolic blood pressure over time. Normal systolic blood pressure is 120 mmHg. My blood pressure seems to fluctuate greatly but averages around 140 mmHg. It is difficult to know whether my recent attempts to lower blood pressure has been successful. I will need to collect more data over a longer period of time to know whether this recent decrease in blood pressure is a definite downward trend or whether it is just randomness.

The data below show some health performance indicators (HPIs). E.g. on 2 April 2010 I did 104 minutes of aerobic exercise. There are three different fiber supplements I take: (1) inulin from Metamucil Fibresure, (2) wheat-based fiber called "Benefiber", and (3) fiber in the form of psyllium husks, also from Metamucil. The "Cenovis" column refers to Cenovis Men's Multi Once Daily. FOV refers to "fruits or vegetables" and refers to the number of cups of fruits of vegetables I eat during that day.

Each day, I aim to exercise 30 minutes, have 12.5 grams of psyllium husk fiber, 6.25 grams of Benefiber, 6.25 grams of inulin, 1000 IU of vitamin D, one Cenovis multivitamin capsule, 5 cups of fruit or vegetable, and 1500 mg of omega 3 fish oil. The graph below shows the degree to which I comply with these goals. For example, if I manage to do 30 minutes per day of exercise, then compliance is 100 per cent. If I manage to do 15 minutes per day, that is 50 per cent compliance.

Keeping up with the daily requirement for wheat fiber and fruit and vegetables is difficult. However, I am getting too much fish oil and aerobic exercise, although aerobic exercise compliance is dropping significantly over time, a sign that I have started off enthusiastically but over time my enthusiasm for exercise has waned. I am perfectly compliant with my multivitamin and vitamin D consumption.

Even though I am not having enough fruit or vegetable, I am not too worried because I hope my vitamim supplements make up for it. The fact that I have some fruit and vegetables is better than nothing.

To conclude, it's only been about ten or so days since I started my battle to reduce my blood pressure, so it's still early days. I will have to wait later to see what happens. To keep myself accountable (to myself) I have made it a chore of mine to report on my blog all information about my HPIs, blood pressure, and weight. I believe that full disclosure is good. I am aware that many people like to keep their health private because for them it is a person issue, but whenever I meet people I always tell them about my health because I think the practice of disclosing all your health information keeps yourself accountable. Of course, maybe if I had, e.g. a sexually transmitted infection then I may not be so keen to disclose that. (By the way, I do not have an STI!)

Fish Oil and Soluble Fiber

I had a free health checkup at work a few days ago (see WorkHealth for more information about this government initiative). My results are as follows:

• Waist measurement: 83 cm (Normal)
• Blood pressure: 136/82 mm/Hg (Medium)
• Total cholesterol: 5.37 mmol/L (Normal)
• HDL cholesterol: 1.16 mmol/L (Normal)
• Blood glucose: 5.9 mmol/L (Normal)

The main areas I need to look at are my high blood pressure and the high amount of bad fats in my blood. Even though I am normal, I am at the high end of normal for my blood pressure and cholesterol. My weight is fine. I have a good blood glucose level, which is pretty easy if you just avoid refined sugar.

I have been doing some research on the internet and have found out where I am making mistakes. Firstly, I take fiber supplements but it is fiber supplements that are wheat-derived and is insoluble fiber. I should be having more soluble fiber, e.g. fiber from psyllium husks, which can be found in Metamucil (I currently take Benefiber). I will need to diversify the fiber supplements I have.

Secondly, I have been ignoring my vitamin supplements, which means I am not getting much fish oil. Apparently you need about 1000 to 2000 mg per day, which I am not getting.

I plan to go to the chemist and buy lots of fish oil as well as different types of fiber supplements.

Towards 120 - Lowering Blood Pressure

I've been keeping some statistics on my blood pressure and my weight. I have my own blood pressure measuring machine that I purchased online. Here are the data so far:

Normal blood pressure is 120/80 (systolic blood pressure is the top number and diastolic blood pressure is the bottom number. My systolic blood pressure seems to average around 135 and can fluctuate to highs of even 155! Obvioulsy I am concerned about this, and I have to do something to try to get my systolic blood pressure back down towards 120.

I have noticed that blood pressure really fluctuates. For example, after you have done exercise or eaten, there is a good chance your blood pressure is high. However, in the morning when your tummy is empty and you are feeling relaxed, blood pressure seems to decrease.

Here is what I plan to do to lower my blood pressure:

1. Light strength training - I have been reading articles online that say that although strength training can increase blood pressure, if you keep it low intensity with high reps, it should reduce blood pressure in the long run.
2. Increase aerobic exercise
3. Eat healthy food
4. Reduce sodium (salt) intake
5. Reduce alcohol intake
6. Reduce caffeine intake

References:
10 ways to control high blood pressure without medication (Mayo Clinic)

Buying Dumbbells Over the Internet

I have purchased a dumbbell set from Overstock Outlet. You get four dumbbells delivered to you by post. Two of them are 4 kilograms, and the other two are 2 kilograms.

These dumbbells are fairly cheap ($45 not including delivery costs), and the option of buying them over the Internet makes getting them convenient. The problem is that the handles are made of steel and feel cold and rough against your palm. This is easily fixed, however, by wrapping a piece of blank paper around those handles.

Increasing Bedtime Volatility

Above is a time series chart of when I go to bed. The date is on the horizontal axis and on the vertical axis is the hour at which I go to bed. Zero is midnight, -1 is 11:00pm, 1 is 1:00am, and so forth.

You can see from the chart that a major change in average bedtime occurred at the beginning of February 2009. This happened because I changed jobs from working part-time during the afternoon to working 9 till 5.

Normally what happens is I wake up at 6:30 in the morning on Mondays to Fridays. However, on weekends I normally stay up late, which is what causes those spikes to appear. About a week ago I went to a sleepover, and I stayed up till 5:30 in the morning for that. This explains that major spike towards the end of the chart. As you can see, I adjusted for that by going to sleep really early the following day.

What I have only just noticed from plotting the data is that the volatility of my bedtime seems to be increasing over time. My sleep is becoming more and more erratic, which may not be good for my internal body clock.

Coffee at Work

In a previous blog post titled Frugality at Work, I claimed that being frugal made it difficult for me to behave normally at work. I have discussed this idea with friends, family, and strangers, and I have taken steps to address the issue.

I have noticed that many people at work bring their own lunch. The economic recession may the reason for this. There are some people who always eat out, and in order to still have lunch with them I normally eat my meal either before going out with them or after. When I go out to lunch with then I usually only drink a cup of coffee, usually a latte or a flat white (even though the two are quite similar). A cup of coffee costs about $2.80 to $3.00 per cup, increases my concentration, and provides lots of antioxidants. Normally my friends pay about $10 or $15 for a full meal, so I do save quite a lot of money by only drinking coffee. I prefer to just have a coffee at a cafe or restaurant instead of bringing my own lunch. The reason is because many restaurants or cafes actually do not allow you to bring in outside food.

Sometimes I wonder whether paying $2.80 per coffee is a good deal. You can easily make your own cup of coffee with your own machine or even just make instant coffee, and the overall cost is probably a few cents per cup. Nevertheless, I understand that I am paying not really for the coffee itself but for the atmosphere, the warmth, the environment, etc. It's also a great way to socialize rather than just staying at your desk and eating all by yourself. Walking to the restaurant or cafe gives you exercise and fresh air as well.

Losing Motivation to Exercise

The chart above shows how much aerobic exercise (on my exercise bike) I have actually done (in blue) and how much aerobic exercise I think I should be doing (in pink). I assume that I should be getting 30 minutes of exercise per day.

The chart shows that lately I have been doing very poorly and I no longer have an aerobic exercise surplus. Rather, I am in deficit, and I will need to do a lot of exercise to get back into the black.

The chart shows that in the early days when I started recording exercise data I did much more exercise than I should be doing. These were the exercise boom times. In fact, I used to weigh about 82 kilograms and now I have gone down to 72 kilograms. I am 1.82 meters tall, so that is a BMI fall from 24.8 to 21.8. I do not exercise to lose weight. In fact, I think that now I am a little bit on the skinny side, so weight loss is not something I consider.

The chart shows that this boom gave way to a recession at the start of 2009. I started working full time at February 2009 and my exercise picked up again but now you will notice that the lines aren't smooth anymore. The lines seem to resemble stairs. This occurs because, during full-time work, I only had time to exercise on the weekend, so instead of doing 30 minutes of exercise per day I would do about four hours on the weekend. Lately, however, my exercise has completely fallen flat. This latest exercise recession is nothing like the one I experienced at the beginning of 2009. This recession is seeing no growth in exercise duration whereas the recession at the beginning of 2009 saw exercise duration increasing very slowly.

Vitamin D Supplements

For a long time now I have been taking Cenovis multivitamin tablets. Each one of these tablets contains 200IU of vitamin D3. I have recently read that scientists are starting to believe that 200IU per day of vitamin D (the amount recommended by the U.S. government) is not enough. Many scientists now believe that 1000IU of vitamin D3 per day should be the new recommended intake.

I began recording my vitamin intake from November last year (2008). At around April of this year (2009) I started taking pure vitamin D3 supplements (Oste-Vit-D) in addition to my normal Cenovis multivitamins. Since I take both Oste-Vit-D and Cenovis multivitamins, this means I get 1200IU of vitamin D3 per day. However, because I don't always remember to take these tablets every day, I am confident my intake of vitamin D3 will average out to about 1000IU per day from now on. My graph below confirms it. It shows how much total vitamin D3 supplements I have taken since November last year.


Many people are curious to know why I take vitamin D supplements. They tell me that spending time in the sun gives enough vitamin D. Spending time in the sun can give you vitamin D, but spending time in the sun also increases the risk of skin cancer. Many people laugh at me because I have dark skin. They claim that because I have lots of melatonin in my skin that I have lower risk of getting skin cancer. That is true. However, just as dark skin reduced the probability of getting skin cancer by blocking UV rays, it also reduces the ability the body has to synthesize vitamin D from sunlight since UV rays are necessary for vitamin D synthesis. Hence skin darkness is irrelevant.

Further Reading: Skin Color Matters in the Vitamin D Debate

Big Sugar

I have just watched a documentary on Google Video called Big Sugar. I have embedded the video above.

Big Sugar talks about how important sugar is as a commodity. The documentary also looks into how sugar suppliers corrupt politicians in the United States. Also highlighted is the poor labor conditions that workers face in sugar plantations.

I have always dreamed of owning a large plantation where I could grow coffee, sugar, or some other important crop. I believe that the best way to help the poor is to give them a job. Poor people tend to be unskilled and less education, so a simple job, usually in agriculture or manufacturing, is best. How much to pay workers and how well to treat them is a tough issue. If you pay workers too little, some people may see this as unethical or cruel. If you pay workers too much, your business may no longer be profitable, which means you cannot expand the business, which means fewer people are employed.