In early 2020, an article published in The New England Journal of Medicine proposed that the health benefit of dairy consumption is relative to what is not being consumed. They have shown that milk is good for health when substituting processed meat or sugary beverages for milk. However, milk is adverse for health when substituting plant protein for milk.

In late 2020, another article published in Frontiers of Nutrition attempted a more mechanistic approach. The author discussed the dairy nutrients that influence cardiometabolic outcomes. Hence, this article sees dairy’s health benefit as more than substituting the worse for the better…

I was once challenged that:

“Turtles can live for 400 years but live a slower pace of life than a human being. You don’t need to exercise to live long. The best way to care for your body is not to speed things up, but to slow it down.”

The above statement is seemingly legit. Those who are reluctant to exercise can potentially use the above statement as an excuse to “avoid” exercise.

There is very little science in supporting the fact that “exercise is not necessary for longevity”. The closest scientific hypothesis related to this phenomenon is “live fast…

Background

Fat and fiber

There have always been contenders of high-fat diet and high-fibre diet, owing to various reasons which can be traced back to science and philosophy.

People have occasionally used the hunter-gatherer diet to justify why we should eat this and not that, which ironically rarely mentioned by nutrition scientists. Hunter-gatherers used to eat a lot of animal fat and high-fiber plants. Interestingly, there are distinct groups of individuals who are unnecessarily restrictive with their diets nowadays, to go on for an almost full animal-based diet or vegan-diet. …

The background

I was challenged that fiber is a “not essential” nutrient for our body and that this is not commonly known by people. I agree. Even nutritionists rarely talk about fiber as a nutrient.

What is a nutrient?

This question is highly debated. The general consensus is that carbohydrates, protein, and fat are the macronutrients; whereas vitamins and minerals are micronutrients. These nutrients consistently being absorbed by the body and can support growth. Now, consider the following:

• Is water a nutrient?
• Is alcohol a nutrient?
• Is air or oxygen a nutrient?

Whilst our body absorbs water, alcohol, and oxygen (from the air), and is involved…

NUTRITION AND METABOLISM

Our body physiology is designed to maintain an appropriate amount of biomolecules in our body for us to function optimally. We gain the biomolecules from the environment in the form of food, and we excrete the excess biomolecules or their byproducts back into the environment. In other words, our physiology regulates what and how much can go into our body, as well as what and how much can be released into the environment.

Although excessive food intake causes biomolecules to accumulate in our body, which is a problem; it is equally important to question whether the “wastes” are properly excreted.

…

There have been opinions on whether a pizza should be sliced into a pie or square shape. Indeed, a pizza slice can also be rectangular. Nevertheless, you can slice it in any way you like, go as wild as you like following your imagination. The only issue is that the shape that pizza slices may not be of equal sizes.

But, pizza slices don’t have to be equal, do they? When sliced into a pie shape, each slice contains crust; whereas when sliced into a square shape, you may pick parts of the pizza that has no crust, the part…

It is commonly believed, with the support of some scientific evidence, that an individual consumes more food when the food was served as a larger portion size than a smaller portion size. This phenomenon is known as the “portion-size effect” by behavioural scientists and is believed to be one of the underpinning environmental causes of over-eating.

The more food is offered, the more is consumed.

In this article, I will share with you some personal experiences, followed by some scientific studies and comments that I find fascinating about how consumers commonly perceive portion sizes and whether or not changing portion…

On 28 Feb 2021, I’ve submitted my doctoral thesis entitled “Weight Management and the Prevention of Obesity — The Role of Dietary Protein in the Regulation of Appetite and Body Weight” for examination, to the University of Auckland, New Zealand. It’s a milestone after four years of hard work, while waiting for my oral defence, it’s time to remind myself of what’s like as a PhD student. If you are a current PhD student or considering to do a PhD, I hope this article can provide you with some insight.

The Interview

It all started back in 2016 when I completed my…