HPB: One fishball too many?

Long ago, when I was in hospital for an operation, I was one day served a bowl of soup with one fishball – and nothing else – floating in the middle. I laughed to myself at what a "poor thing" I was. Yet the joke went one step further when I scooped up the fishball to eat it. It turned out to be only half a fishball!

On New Year’s Day this year (2004), that cruel joke took on a bitter (or, should I say, fishy) twist. I read a newspaper forum letter from the Health Promotion Board (HPB) confirming that the miserly serving I had some 27 years ago was actually in line with its official recommendations for healthy eating.

The HPB did not specifically say we should eat half or one fishball per meal, but that we should eat just one or two servings of fish per week, pointing out that one serving equals 90 grams.

I popped by the supermarket and saw that a packet of 15 fishballs weighs 150 grams. That, according to the HPB, is near the upper limit of the amount of fish we should eat in one week. Divide by 21 meals, assuming three meals in a day, and you end up with less than one fishball per meal.

Is that all?

Yes. Confirmed. The HPB’s final pronouncement on the subject was, in fact, in response to this very same question.

Let me fill you in on the sequence of events:

1. There was a press report in December about the dangers of mercury poisoning from eating fish from polluted waters.

2. The HPB issued a statement saying it recommends one to two servings of fish per week and that any mercury found in such servings are well within safety limits.

3. A reader writes to the press asking, "Is that all?" and whether the HPB is suggesting that we ought to eat meat instead of fish most of the time.

4. The HPB confirms its recommendations.

The HPB did not say "at least" one or two servings of fish a week; it did not say it was okay to eat more. Instead, it suggested that the one or two servings could be spread out over several meals and that, at other times, we should eat meat, beans or bean products.

It would thus seem that most people in Singapore are eating far too much fish. Will our health improve if we switch to eating meat instead? If so, perhaps the HPB should organise an annual "Eat Less Fish" campaign!

Seeds and seaweed

And so the HPB continues to puzzle me. I use the word "continues" because this is my third puzzlement in recent months.

The second was at end-November / early-December, after Dr David Tio, an osteopath and natural health practitioner, wrote to the press suggesting that we should eat seeds, nuts and seaweed to prevent osteoporosis, since these foods contain a lot more calcium than milk.

Dr Tio, who happens to be my friend, noted that seeds, nuts and seaweed are rich in vitamins, minerals, good quality oils, fibre, etc. And, they do not cause the many health problems associated with milk intolerance.

In response, the HPB warned that seeds and nuts are high in fat and could cause obesity and that seaweed are high in sodium which could cause high blood pressure – when consumed in excess.

That is stating the obvious. Any food will be harmful when taken in excess. But Dr Tio never suggested eating large amounts of seeds, nuts and seaweeds. By pointing out that they are extremely rich in calcium and other nutrients, he was, in fact, suggesting that small amounts were enough.

The HPB’s warning made it seem as if seeds, nuts and seaweed are harmful foods whereas they are widely acknowledged as healthy foods.

One Harvard University scientist recently recommended that we eat 8oz (227 grams) of nuts daily – because of the very high quality oils and other nutrients that they contain.

Herbal teas

The other puzzlement came in September last year, when the HPB indirectly warned against bottled drinks produced by small companies, including herbal teas, water chestnut drink, barley water, and so on.

A press report on the growing popularity of such drinks noted that they are produced without artificial colouring, flavourings, preservatives or other harmful chemicals. From having drank some of them, I can testify that they do not contain inordinate amounts of sugar, nor controversial, potentially harmful, sugar substitutes like aspartame.

Yet the report quoted a HPB official saying we should take such drinks "in moderation" no more than once or twice a week. What should we drink the rest of the time? Coke, Pepsi and other carbonated drinks? Coffee and tea with plenty of sugar and condensed milk?

Organic

One more thing… While surfing the HPB’s website, I came across the following statement under the headline, Organic Foods Craze:

"… foods grown organically are no better or worse to our health as compared to conventionally grown products."

Is this a fact or a viewpoint? What is the scientific basis for such a statement? Has sufficient research been done?

Who am I to question the nutritionists, dieticians and other "health experts" at the HPB?

I lack their academic qualifications, but I consider myself well-qualified from having personally recovered my health. I grew up sickly and was going to the doctors every few weeks. By my early 20s, I had two operations done.

Since I changed my way of eating in 1985, however, I have not once visited the doctor; I have not taken even a single antibiotic or painkiller. I have also helped a number of people recover from life-threatening diseases through dietary changes.

The dietary changes that I made and recommend were NOT following the HPB’s guidelines but quite radically different – stop or minimise meat, milk, sugar and food chemicals, eat mainly whole grains, vegetables, beans, bean products and fish, with some seeds, nuts and seaweed thrown in.

And, if you like, more than half a fishball per meal.