Staying in good health

If you hope to be a productive writer of a thesis or academic article, it is important to enjoy good health.

As everyone knows, Thailand has a national love for junk food. Some young people start their days at 7am by drinking a bottle of Coca Cola or eating an ice cream bar. In Thailand, people love fast food restaurants, donuts, sweets, and every possible combination of fat, sugar, caffeine, and high cholesterol. This is compounded by the fact that Thai people, like all Asians, are prone to high blood pressure and high blood sugar which can lead to diabetes and other health problems. Most countries in the world, except Russia and a few other places, accept that smoking cigarettes is bad for the health, yet many students can be seen on the TU campuses every day smoking, ignoring the fact that they are risking cancer, emphysema, and other illnesses. None of these students would think of crossing the river to visit the Siriraj Hospital and see what happens to many people who smoke cigarettes. I discussed these problems with a specialist in public health who works at the TU hospital on the Rangsit campus, and the doctor laughed and said, “Thai people are not aware of this.”

Because the Ministry of Health has failed to educate the Thai people, they must be responsible for their own education. Any student or ajarn who hopes to have a productive career in academic research must remain in good health to get work done. Students writing dissertations typically gain several pounds, as if they were pregnant. They sit around a lot reading and writing and eat fast food or so-called “comfort food” such as pizza and cheeseburgers, KFC and McDonalds, the most fattening options available. Dr. Andrew Weil, a health expert, has written a number of books, some of which are in the collection of the TU Libraries:

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=445228

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=484672

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=488787

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=632158

http://koha.library.tu.ac.th/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=549517

Dr. Weil’s helpful advice is also available online:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02995/Dr-Weil-Anti-Inflammatory-Food-Pyramid.html

Dr. Weil suggests a diet that follows traditional Thai ways. Food is extremely important as a social and cultural element in the Kingdom and Thai people are famous for loving to eat at any moment of the day or night. Dr. Weil suggests eating any time you like, but trying to choose healthier options. Thailand, like all of Southeast Asia, has excellent fruits and vegetables. Yet many students and even young ajarns do not think of eating these healthy foods and instead prefer donuts and French fries. Even if they do eat some fruits and vegetables, they probably do not eat as many as Dr. Weil says they should. He suggests people should eat 4-5 servings of fruit per day and even more servings of vegetables. It is just as easy to bring fruit to the office in a plastic container instead of cake, cookies, and candy. Because they have natural sugar, fruits do not cause a spike in energy followed by a crash the way refined sugar products do, and you can eat as much as you like. If you eat lots of fruit, you will probably have less craving for other sweet things. Thailand also has lots of fine seafood. Dr. Weil suggests eating seafood several times a week and avoiding red meat.

Try eating home-cooked meals.

Most students and young ajarns are too busy to shop and cook for themselves, so they eat every single meal out or buy food that has been prepared by someone else and eat it at home. This makes it difficult to control what goes into the food you eat, since food vendors and restaurants put in salt, sugar, and fat to add flavor. It is more difficult to practice portion control because restaurants want to seem to give you lots of food for your money, so you may wind up eating even more than you wanted. At home, it is easier to stop eating when you are no longer hungry and save the rest of the food for the next meal. If you can, try to arrange with friends to cook meals for each other from time to time where healthy ingredients are used.

Reduce caffeine intake.

People in the Kingdom love Thai iced tea and Starbucks coffee which contain lots of sugar, fat, and caffeine. Yet Bangkok is already an agitated city to live in without any extra caffeine irritating the nervous system. A young ajarn once told me he was having trouble sleeping, and when I suggested he might consider drinking less coffee, he said he has to be wide awake to teach an early morning class. In fact, just being in front of a classroom full of people who expect to be lectured to will wake up almost any ajarn. In the same way, it is not really necessary to start a work day or study day with caffeine, it is just a habit that quickly becomes addictive. One administrative assistant told me that when she tried to cut down on her habit of drinking Coca Cola every morning in the office before the work day begins, she suffered from headaches. While it may be difficult to change such routines, in the long run for the sake of your health and productivity, it is worth trying.

Finding things you like to eat that are also healthy for you.

If you look at Dr. Weil’s diet recommendation, you may be surprised at what is allowed and even recommended. For example, if you like drinking wine, a glass or two of red wine every day is okay for the health and may even help lower cholesterol. If you like chocolate, it is fine to eat a little of that as long as its cocoa content is around 80% – this should be indicated on the cover of the chocolate bar. The whole point of any diet or exercise routine is to find something you like, otherwise you will never continue to follow it over time.

Change your own long-term health prospects.

Some young people know that diseases such as high blood pressure or diabetes runs in their family but they still eat unhealthy foods. Maybe they think that because they are young, there is plenty of time before they have to worry about illnesses that their parents have. Or maybe they feel that since these diseases are inevitable, they might as well enjoy themselves eating foods they enjoy. Maybe they even feel that since Bangkok is such a dangerous city to drive in or even to cross the street in, they might as well enjoy ice cream since they might be run over by a motorcycle or van at any time. Whatever the reason, in fact diet and exercise can make a big difference in problems like blood pressure, blood sugar, and other important issues. If you find your own way to be happy with a healthy diet, then you have learned something about yourself and set a good basis for the rest of your life.

(all images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).