A BBQ Park

This morning I am at Hong Kong airport awaiting departure on Air Asia to Kuala Lumpur.

I stayed in Hong Kong six nights, three at Yesinn, Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island and three at the Jockey Club Hostel in Mai Tei Tuk in the New Territories. It rained some time during each of the days I was there so hiking didn't make a lot of sense as in addition to the rain the mountains were fog shrouded so there was not much to be viewed.

Mei Tai Tuk is a residential village with no services or retail establishments other than some over priced restaurants offering Italian, Thai and Chinese. It is a destination for recreation: water sports centre, hiking and barbecueing. This is the first place I have seen BBQ Parks. These parks are solely for the purpose of BBQ's and very popular. On Sunday even as the rains poured down the parks were full of skewers over pits.

Mei Tai Tuk is 50 km from the airport and a 30 minute bus ride from Tai Po which is a sizable city and the end of the MTR line. Because Mei Tai Tuk had no coffee shops or fresh fruit stands I went into Tai Po a couple of times for my fix.

People BBQing

Another BBQ Park

I find it difficult finding vegan or vegetarian dishes in Hong Kong – it would probably be easier to 'make up a plate' if I spoke Chinese. I did find at a hole in the wall traditional Chinese restaurant behind Yesinn that had (hidden away in a drawer) a bilingual English-Chinese menu. It was one of those places where you select what you want by circling the respective item on an order slip of paper and then hand it in to a server. With the help of one of the staff through my finger pointing to the item on the menus and she circleing the matching item in Chinese on the order slip we managed ok. The first try I got 2 out of three items vegetarian. On my next visit I got three out of three. The standard

'set' is to order three items.

The easier, but more costly way is to get a hummus wrap from Starbucks.

On a walk to the Wellcome food store (on the Island) I was accompanied by a 63 year old Chicagoan living in Africa who had recently lost his job there and who was staying at Yesinn. I am going to buy some fruit and Tofu and we are talking about eating. He tells me he only eats at McDonalds and KFC because “at least you  know they are clean”. That said a lot and it also reminded me of the disease causing SAD (Standard American Diet) about which I had been reading a fair amount before leaving Canada. It all started with reading The China Study by T Colin Campbell which basically, from scientific research of nutrition and disease in population groups found that the major contributing causes of heart disease, cancer and most other so called degenerative diseases are animal food products – expecially animal protein and dairy products - but not plant protein.

Also I re-read Seniors Fitness by Ruth Heidrich which recommends a vegan diet and high level of physical activity. In this book she chronicles her passage from cancer diagnosis and treatment and her cessation of radiation and chemo, adaptation of vegan diet and recovery to become a world class senior triathlete. From Amazon:' Ruth Heidrich received her Ph.D. in Health Management in 1993 and is the author of A Race For Life and The Race For Life Cookbook. She is a certified fitness trainer and holds three world records for fitness for her age group at the renowned Cooper Clinic in Dallas, Texas. She still actively competes in marathons and triathlons, having won more than 800 trophies and medals since her diagnosis of breast cancer in 1982 at the age of 47...'

She went totally vegan after having consulted with Dr John McDougall, MD who's bio on Amazon says in part: ' is a medical maverick who challenges medical and pharmaceutical businesses when they prioritize profits over patients. For the past 30 years he has countered mainstream misinformation with the fad-free truth and nutrition and your health'.

These works lead me to Dr Caldwell Esseseltyn : Amazon on Reversing Heart Disease: Based on the groundbreaking results of his twenty-year nutritional study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn  illustrates that a plant-based, oil-free diet can not only prevent the progression of heart disease but can also reverse its effects.  Dr. Esselstyn is an internationally known surgeon, researcher and former clinician at the Cleveland Clinic and a featured expert in the acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives. Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease has helped thousands across the country, and is the book behind Bill Clinton’s life-changing vegan diet. (There are many You Tubes with Esselstyn if you are interested.)

Anyway being somewhat of a curious person all this led to having a look at some “official” food guides It is safe to say that all guides to healthy eating actually contribute to degenerative or fatal disease. Organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, American Medical Association, US Food and Drug Assoc., American Cancer Society and yes, even the Heart and Stroke Foundation continue to recommend animal based protein and dairy products Most give lip service and recognize vegetarian diets but clearly they are not emphasized. So for example the recommended diet by the Cancer Society for people having cancer treatment actually promotes the growth of cancer cells. Research has shown a strong relationship between dairy and breast cancer and prostate cancer and has also shown that meat protein acts as a promoter of cancer cell growth, but not plant protein.

So people go vegan, not just vegetarian, and increase your odds of dying healthy rather than having a final exit proceeded by years of drug treated heart disease, cancer or other 'age related' diseases.

Boats at Tai Mei Tuk

Village of Tai Mei Tuk

Water Sports Tai  Mei  Tuk