玩偶姐姐

it's all about what you don't eat ... oh and I am zero refined sugar products as well

- @Friday with Mateo

it's all about what you don't eat ... oh and I am zero refined sugar products as well

- @Friday with Mateo

If you are living in HCMC you could find street food problematic.聽 A lot of southerners add refined sugar to main course dishes.聽 聽As my wife's mother is a Northerner, she cooked without sugar and my wife is acutely aware whenever she tastes added sugar, particularly in soups.

My primary doctor in HCMC, an internist, told me that diabetes is a real problem in Vietnam due to excess refined sugar consumption.

- @THIGV

@Mac68 Very true ... I got diabetes when I was living in Japan ... everyday sake and rice ... recipe for the Big D ... now I eat rice sparingly ... drinkin' ... not so much ...

@Mac68 Very true ... I got diabetes when I was living in Japan ... everyday sake and rice ... recipe for the Big D ... now I eat rice sparingly ... drinkin' ... not so much ...

- @Friday with Mateo

My primary doctor in HCMC, an internist, told me that diabetes is a real problem in Vietnam due to excess refined sugar consumption.

- @THIGV

My primary doctor in HCMC, an internist, told me that diabetes is a real problem in Vietnam due to excess refined sugar consumption.

- @THIGV

Sugar, in and of itself, will not cause diabetes. However, excess sugar consumption can contribute to weight gain (obesity). Therein lies the sugar-diabetes link.

I'm assuming you're referring to type 2 diabetes. Biggest risk factors are, from what I've seen,

your weight and where you are carrying that weight,聽

your age (+~40 and risk rises),

your ethnicity (people of African, Spanish, American aboriginals, East Asians, Polynesians/Micronesians/Melanesians have a significantly higher risk),

member(s) of your immediate family having diabetes,

smoking,

and having a low level of physical activity (which would not be a cause of diabetes, but it is a contributing factor to welght gain).

Diabetes is at an epidemic level in VN, especially in middle-age people. This is not attributable to excess weight (obesity), as the BMI of most VN people afflicted with type 2 is within normal, healthy parameters.

Focus is now on the over-consumption of white rice, and the use of low quality cooking oils, combined with sedentary lifestyle.

I walked a VN friend in Hanoi through the whole procedure of diagnosis, counselling, and treatment.

Yes, he was a bit "hefty", loved beer, cigs and video gaming.

- @Aidan in HCMC

@Aidan in HCMC Welp ... refined sugar is one of the main bad actors in the Diabetes Saga ... just ask Dr Eric Berg and William Li ... they have some great educational content on YouTube ... love those guys!聽 They got it figured out pretty well, me thinks.聽 Insulin resistance ... HUGE ... but yeah ... rice, noodles, and even potato carbs all convert to glucose ... too much glucose in the blood is NO BUENO ...

Hi all,
I was wondering if any members here are currently doing Intermittent fasting, one-meal-a-day or keto ... ???
Back about 3.5 years ago, I quit all refined sugar products, processed food, and began IF/OMAD/KETO lifestyle.
It was one of the most life changing events of my life. Sure it is not for everyone, but for me ... GRRRRRRREAT !!!
-@Friday with Mateo

You might want to check into this story. Obviously, it looks dubious but she allegedly lives here in Vietnam:

A Vietnamese woman claims to have given up solid food over four decades ago and survived on water spiked with a bit of salt, sugar and lemon juice ever since.

63-year-old Ms. Ngon is famous in her native Tan Trach commune, Vietnam鈥檚 Long An province, for her very unique diet. For the last 41 years, she has allegedly been living on water with a few grams of salt and sugar, as well as a bit of lemon juice, completely shunning all other nutrients. She not only appears to be in tip-top shape for her age, but she is in great health, is always full of energy and can execute Yoga poses that people decades younger than her wouldn鈥檛 even dream of attempting. Ms. Ngon used to eat rice and other solid foods until the age of 21, when she started dealing with serious health problems. Her vision started deteriorating, her stomach ached constantly and she would vomit on a daily basis. Blood tests revealed that she suffered from a blood disease. After attempting the prescribed treatment without seeing any significant improvement to her health, she decided to quit her medication, thinking she didn鈥檛 have long to live.That鈥檚 when a doctor allegedly came to her and advised her to start drinking water mixed with a bit of salt and sugar and quit eating solid foods.

@johnross23

That's quite a story. There is no doubt in my mind that in Western society we all eat too much, too often and sadly this regime is now becoming the norm in developing countries. While consuming only water, sugar and fruit juice may be considered extreme, it is only the opposite end of the spectrum where millions of people stuff themselves with far more food than their bodies can deal with.

Also, as we age we tend to eat to excess and take much less exercise, when in fact we should be doing the exact opposite. As our metabolism slows down we need to exercise more to burn the calories.

I tried intermittent fasting and some keto phases over the past couple years, and yeah, you really notice a difference with energy and focus after a few weeks. It鈥檚 not super easy at first, especially if you love noodles or sweets, but cutting those out and sticking to one main meal a day did help me drop about 12kg. My trick was to plan meals ahead and track everything, otherwise I鈥檇 slip back into snacking or eating random street food, which is everywhere here.

For keeping on top of all the vitamins and supplements I take, I started using Menalam. It鈥檚 pretty handy for tracking stuff and making sure I鈥檓 not missing anything, especially since it syncs with my iPhone and helps me stick to my plan.

I've been eating one keto meal (less than 20 grams of carb) per day for over a year now. No more insulin and my blood glucose runs between 85 & 110.

I've lost about 15 kg during that time. I usually stick to the diet at least 6 days a week.

I'm not particularly fat by western standards, but I would love to be 5-6kg lighter. I am going to spend over 5 months this winter living in Vietnam with my vietnamese girlfriend and she thinks I can easily lose 5kg if I eat the same meals as her every day. I will keep you posted if this works out.

I'm not particularly fat by western standards, but I would love to be 5-6kg lighter. I am going to spend over 5 months this winter living in Vietnam with my vietnamese girlfriend and she thinks I can easily lose 5kg if I eat the same meals as her every day. I will keep you posted if this works out. - @Malcolmleitrim

It will almost certainly work, especially if you limit your portion sizes to the same amount that she eats

Im 40 now and I've been low carb now for 20 years. I typically eat after 1pm and stop by 7. Different than keto since I eat higher amounts of protein but its been my saving grace since everyone in my family gets obese very easily even eating healthy by western standards. Its shockingly not as hard as you would think in Vietnam.

I'm not particularly fat by western standards, but I would love to be 5-6kg lighter. I am going to spend over 5 months this winter living in Vietnam with my vietnamese girlfriend and she thinks I can easily lose 5kg if I eat the same meals as her every day. I will keep you posted if this works out. - @Malcolmleitrim
It will almost certainly work, especially if you limit your portion sizes to the same amount that she eats - @OceanBeach92107

That will be the difficult part, limiting the portion sizes.

@Friday with Mateo

I鈥檝e been doing IF in HCMC for a couple years: 18:6 most days, OMAD when work gets crazy. Dropped 14 kg and my A1c went from prediabetic to normal. Eating out, I just ask for 鈥渒hong duong鈥� and swap rice for extra veg or tofu, even pho without noodles works in a pinch. Late beer was my weak spot, so I switched to tea and a short walk after the meal.

For supplements, I track doses and labs in Menalam. It syncs with Apple Health and lets me upload blood tests, so my plan gets nudged monthly without me overthinking it.