DIETS always come and go with doctors and nutrition experts giving their expert opinions on what is deemed healthy and what is unhealthy. Over the years, such opinions have changed, leading people to start eating back the food they avoided like the plague to keep their health in check.
Of course with loads of information on food and nutrition being accessible at the tip of your fingertips, it is always best to get a second opinion from the related medical practitioners.
Recently a doctor made waves online with his takes on nutrition and diets, calling them “Stupid Myths”.
In the viral TikTok video, Dr Mani was seen equipped with nothing but a whiteboard and a marker pen, addressing food myths that according to him are “foolish”.
First off, he started with the controversial take of milk, whether low fat or full fat, is a “scam”, saying that humans are the only creatures to drink milk until the day they die.
“Who needs milk? Milk is only for babies. When your teeth have developed, all we need is healthy foods only. For example, take a look at animals. Animals only drink milk when they are babies. After they have grown up, they stop drinking it.
“Human beings are the only living creatures who drink milk until they die,” he said in his video.
Mani also touched on Malaysia’s iconic chocolate malt beverage providing energy, calling it a myth.
“We have all been fooled. (It is) full of sugar. This is why diabetes is on the rise (in this country),” he said.
Mani also dismissed the notion of meat consumption causing cardiovascular issues and increase in cholesterol while rejecting oats as a praised health food, advising us to look toward our local fare.
“You won’t get heart diseases and increased cholesterol when you eat meat. That only happens when we eat too much sugar, junk food, frozen food and foods that contain flour,” he added.
“You do not need the oats. We need to eat foods that are naturally present around us, like what our ancestors used to eat in the past,” Mani advised.
Meanwhile, the doctor also debunked the calorie deficit myth, labelling it as the most foolish myth stating that those who apply this are “unhealthy”, hinting that it can cause one’s metabolic syndrome to rise along with breakfast being “not compulsory” in our daily diet.
On the other hand, Mani also stated that rice is not the leading cause of the rise in diabetic patients, reiterating that overconsumption of sugar, processed foods and foods containing flour are the main culprits.
Netizens were on the fence with these claims but a lot have agreed with Mani’s opinions, with some of them drawing from personal experience in reducing weight alongside their cardiovascular health.
“You are right. I stopped consuming all forms of sugary foods and bread for a month and my bloated tummy was gone. I do eat rice but in small amounts with more proteins,” a netizen commented.
“I stopped taking sweet foods and drinks, foods that contain flour and that cured my high blood pressure and high cholesterol were reduced in one month,” another netizen attested.