Rupert attempts to fuel the car with a baguette.
Spring was in the air and my thoughts were elsewhere when I put 17 litres of diesel into my petrol tank. I didn’t discover that there was any problem till I was halfway to Deal.
I attributed the juddering of the car to external conditions: it was raining heavily and traffic was bad.
I made my destination in the dark and wet but it wasn’t until the next morning – when I attempted to start the car – that the only thing that issued from the car were dense clouds of smoke from the tailpipe.
The wrong fuel
I looked at my receipt from the service station and there in black and white was the inescapable fact that I had filled the tank with the wrong fuel.
The Wrong Trousers
The Wrong Trousers (1993) is a film by Nick Parks in which the penguin takes advantage of the inventor Wallace’s very large ‘techno-trousers’ for illicit reasons and there is no doubt that the waistline of the general population continues to grow larger as does the waistband of clothes.
In fact the sizing of clothes has changed correspondingly in response to personal growth. I know this only too well as I was size M (medium), but now it materialises that I’ve been downsized to S (small), yes, you’ve got it ‘small’.
Underpants, an intimate, close-fitting garment resemble today an open-necked vase in order to fit the pendulous abdomen. Whatever happened to those six-pack abs?
Weight-loss is not achieved by exercise
Dr Aseem Malhotra, an NHS trained cardiologist reiterates in his book ‘The 21-Day Immunity Plan’ the well-known fact that weight-loss is not achieved by exercise. However it does help tone the body, improves range of movement and does wonders for mental health.
It is not what you do, but how you do it, and short high intensity exercise has proved most beneficial for health.
The point is that society is increasingly ill – obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, inflammatory diseases and more continue to rise around the world.
The modern industrialised diet
But why? Because more and more people consume the modern industrialised diet, the takeaway, grazing and processed nutritionally empty calories.
This is Metabolic Syndrome as defined by the endocrinologist Dr Gerald Reaven in his 1980 book ‘Syndrome X’. For more than a hundred years we have known that farinaceous foods (consisting of or containing starch) make one fat and exercise makes an insignificant difference.
A training diet that resulted in calcium deficiency in bones and teeth
Andy Green, a rowing coach and athlete, who worked with me for six years, acknowledges that the high carbohydrate diet he ate during training had more calories than arctic rations, but few nutrients, and as a consequence has suffered calcium deficiency in his bones and teeth.
The NovoThor Whole Body Light Pod came into being to help long-distance runners prepare for the Rio Olympics in 2016. The medal table revealed the remarkable performance of the runners including our own Mo Farah.
Reducing oxidative stress and inflammation
The benefit of Photobiomodulation Therapy is the reduction of oxidative stress and inflammation which restores the compromised mitochondria (the cell’s batteries) to full energy production. It’s not magic, it does not work alone and it requires a healthy diet and lifestyle to suit.
The Big Fat Fix
To understand this in greater depth look at the recent work of the oncologist Professor Robert Thomas, the cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra ‘The Big Fat Fix’ movie, and the athlete Donal O’Neill, the producer of the film ‘Cereal Killers’ and ‘Run on Fat’.
There are many excellent contributors to the debate on metabolic syndrome and their work can be viewed on YouTube: Dr Robert Lustig, paediatrician; Dr Andreas Eenfeldt MD; Dr Gary Fettke; orthopaedic surgeon, Gary Taubes; investigative journalist, Prof Tim Noakes; nutrition scientist; Nina Teicholz; journalist, Jean-Marc Schwarz, research in fructose and childhood obesity, Dr Paul Mason, sport and exercise physician, Zoë Harcombe, nutritionist and Professor Tim Noakes, nutrition scientist.
Don’t screw it up
As my former colleague Andy Green titled his first book ‘One Body, One Life - ‘don’t screw it up’.
In conclusion it’s down to the individual – no-one can do it for you – there are no shortcuts.
Take an interest in what to eat, when to eat, and remember it’s not a solitary event, food is to be shared. Also, exercise in a life-enhancing and sustainable manner.