There has been this disturbing trend lately of people having heart attacks while exercising. Add to this the fact that many of them are below 50 makes the problem even more worrisome. Clearly, something is wrong somewhere.
How do you measure the value of a book? If it’s a non-fiction book, its value may depend on how much it changed your life. When I read The Pioppi Diet, my views on health, nutrition, and exercise underwent tectonic level paradigm shift.
Before I go any further, here’s a disclaimer exactly 29,032.7 feet tall – one feet more than the Mount Everest. This is not medical advice. Please do not make any changes in your lifestyle without consulting your physician. Read the book, ask your physician to read it and have an open discussion. If you are in UK or visiting UK, you might want to get in touch with Dr. Aseem Malhotra, consultant cardiologist and co-author of The Pioppi Diet.
This is not a review; I do not have the qualifications to review a health related book. Instead, I will present some of the headlines in the hope that it will induce you to read the book. As for reviews, in the British Journal of General Practice, Dame Clare Mary Louise Francis Gerada, Lady Wessely (DBE, FRCP, FRCGP, FRCPsych), described the book as ‘one of the most jargon-free, informative, and game-changing books on health I have ever read.’ And Professor Dame Sue Bailey (DBE, FRCPsych), the Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, has described the book as a ‘must have for every household and a must read for every medical student and doctor.’
Diet means lifestyle
The word ‘diet’ in the title of the book may conjure up images of weighing your food portions and obsessing over calories. While food intake is a major part of the book, the word ‘diet’ has a broader meaning. It comes from the Greek word diaita that encompasses your whole lifestyle – your surroundings, environment, culture, life philosophy etc.
What is Pioppi
Pioppi is a small village in Italy that can be best described as ‘the village where people forget to die.’ It is believed that Earnest Hemingway was inspired to create the character of Santiago in Old Man and the Sea when he visited this region.
The catchy phrase above does not tell the whole truth. It’s not that people just forget to die in Pioppi, but they are physically active and mentally sharp in their eighties and nineties. The waiter who served the authors in the restaurant was 85 and one day they found him fixing his roof. This is normal in Pioppi where people work in the fields for eight hours every day. Longevity does not merely mean the number of years. Longevity has meaning only if you continue to be active, both physically and mentally.
Physical movement is the key
There are no gyms in Pioppi. While gyms can be great tools if used properly, they are no panacea for staying healthy. In fact, if body building is not one of your goals, you can never go the gym and stay healthy.
People walk everywhere in Pioppi. Walking, brisk and/or leisurely, is much better for your heart than jogging; jogging can hurt your knees if you jog on hard roads. A recent New York Times article says that just a few minutes of walking after meals was enough to significantly lower blood sugar. I love walking. It’s so amazing an activity that sometimes I find it hard to believe that it’s free.
Start walking whenever and wherever you can.
I started walking a month ago and I have reached Istanbul. Can I go home now?
You cannot outrun a bad diet
While physical activity is important, it’s secondary to what you eat. Poor diet contributes more to disease and death than lack of physical activity, smoking, and alcohol combined. Avoid processed foods and sweets as much as possible. Don’t drink a glass of orange juice, that will just give you a massive sugar spike. Eat an orange instead, the fibre is good for you.
Fasting is good for you
Our bodies cannot cope with intake of food 24/7. Think prehistoric. Our ancestors often had to skip meals if food was not available. In post-war Italy, this was the case in poor regions and men in Pioppi often had to go to work on an empty stomach.
- Top 10 Ways to Hunt A Deer
- How I Hunted 1 Lion, 8 Deers, and 12 Rabbits In One Week
- Why Drinking Fermented Berry Juice Before A Hunt Is Good For You
- How To Relieve Post-hunting Stress
- 7 Ways To Decompress After A Tiring Hunt
- 6 Warning Signs You Are A Hunting Addict aka Huntadict
- Is Growing Your Own Food A Viable Alternative To Hunting?
Some of the headlines in The Hunters Weekly, published on the cave walls every week.
Perhaps the biggest myth that we have been told is ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day.’ Contrary to the popular opinion, your energy levels will not crash if you skip breakfast, provided your overall diet is healthy1. When we fast, our body uses the excess glycogen and fat. In addition, it releases what is known as the Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Athletes use HGH for improving performance but when taken externally, it may have side effects. Instead, if you fast, you get HGH without the side effects. That’s the reason why fasting has been popular amongst the bodybuilding community.
Saturated fat does not clog the arteries
The claim that saturated fat from sources such as meat, butter, eggs, and cheese clogs the arteries is simply not true. The reason why a cheeseburger is bad is because of the refined carbohydrates, seed oil, and preservatives. Full grain bread and unprocessed cheese are healthy but commercial products do not use them. The authors provide numerous scientific studies that support this claim and it’s worth a read. Cooking in ghee, butter, coconut oil or olive oil is great for your heart.
I could go on listing the highlights of the book but I think these should suffice for those interested in the topic. The Pioppi Diet shatters the health myths that have been propagated for decades as gospels.
Healthy population in all ages is beneficial in more than one ways. You save on healthcare costs and healthy people contribute to society in a better manner and for longer periods. It is so inspiring to see Clint Eastwood making amazing movies at 92.
There are not many books that one can call life-changing. The Pioppi Diet is not just life-changing, it’s life-saving.
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I recently came across this documentary about junk food. It investigates how multinational food companies circumvent rules and regulations and stuff their products with excessive salt and sugar to make them addictive. They also target children from the age 6 onwards. Watch it and decide for yourself.
- I have tried this. I skip breakfast couple of times a week and there is no change in my energy levels. Instead, I find that I can think much more clearly. ↩︎
