Merry Christmas from the Cold Press Index Team! Writing this short blog post from Osaka while the team is taking a one-week break. For 2022, we have helped at least a 1,000 people in Singapore live more vibrant lives and sold more than 10,000 bottles of cold pressed juices. I believe that exponent thinking is important. While 10,000 bottles is a small number in the entirety of the microcosm, the personal engagement with customers, sharing plant-based advice to the best of our abilities and the healing power of plant-based nutrition that I’ve seen is incredible. Recovering from high cholesterol and blood pressure after consuming green juices, lessening gastric pain, and customers transiting into vegans/vegetarians are some of the notes that I took down during my post-mortem for 2022.
Please ignore the first paragraph as my brain tends to go into overdrive and I love writing. This is my year end message.
1. How to eat better – Mediterranean diet. Complex carbohydrates, plenty of fruits and vegetables (eat the rainbow) – 5 servings, latest research in 2018 suggested 10 servings for added longevity. Good protein source, beans, legumes. Natural probiotics like fermented kombucha, kimchi.
2. Please don’t starve yourself. Intermittent fasting is in the most general sense false. The key to weight loss is caloric deficit/surplus.
3. Start making good decisions the first thing in the morning. This has been live changing. This morning I woke up to a beautiful morning in Osaka at 6am after leaving the club at 4am. Headed straight down to the breakfast buffet at the Hilton and I immediately started to look for complex carbohydrates, fruits/veggies, and lean protein. Things that I found – Whole Meal Bread, Boiled Broccoli/Cauliflower/Carrots, Melon, Fuji Apple, Grapefruit, Bananas. I couldn’t locate any lean protein in the buffet. It was all fat people food like bacon, sausages. I feel that I have control of the matrix – and it just sets up my day for better decision making.
Photo 1: Fake Juice at Hilton (carton)
Photo 2: Cruciferous veggies, some beans.
Photo 3: Raw Celery Juice - 100% organic celery from Japan. (11$ SGD at Haru Juice)
4. How do we get out 5 servings of fruits/veggies. It is tough. And I would say that 90% of Singaporeans do not get this. And I would say that this is a conservative estimate. One serving of fruit is around 150g while one serving of veggie is 75g. To simplify this – we need to consume roughly 4 footlong subway sandwiches (the veggies inside) to hit 300g of veggies. We can attain this by smoothies and cold pressed juices. Yes – I get it – cold pressed juices do not have soluble fiber & you prefer to eat the fruit. I could try to convince you intellectually by explaining insoluble fibre and the micronutrients that Cold Pressed Juices contain – but I shan’t be a mood killer. Give it a shot – and listen to your body.
5. I am extremely unlucky in the health department, two surgeries, one in the right lung and one in the upper airway. Your genetics account for less than 10% of your health issues. 90% of health issues are lifestyle related. The three killers are diabetes, cancer and heart attack. Overconsumption of sugar/salt, insufficient consumption of micronutrients and overconsumption of MAD (mad American diet) is making you die early. I want to be a centenarian.
6. Extreme accountability via understanding what food to eat and then consistently acting is key. My parents enjoy eating the classic Singaporean nasi lemak and char kway teow for breakfast – 6 days a week. Thankfully – they get 200ml of celery juice to cleanse their sins. There is no secret to high performance – it is hard work, working smart and consistency. Consistency is the most difficult.
7. There are five blue zones with the largest number of Centenarians (people above 100 years old). Sardinia and Okinawa are two of the blue zones if I recall correctly. Secrets to reaching 100 years old – regular movement, low stress, plant-based diet, community interaction, waking up early, sleeping after the sunsets and a glass or two of wine.
This took me exactly 54 minutes to type – cheers to 2023. I am exploring with this new style of writing – to be able to churn out more articles – with minimal editing. It is 24 December – Merry Christmas from the team once again. After feasting on Christmas and New Years – my challenge is to take up a 3-day juice cleanse. It could be beginners, or advanced. Especially for first timers. You’ll thank me later.
Love, Caleb