Thanks for a wonderful column. It’s always packed with great ideas and tips. I hope you can answer my questions about cooking. I heard grilling food is a bad for you. How so? As long as we don’t use oil and butter, shouldn’t it still be healthy for us?

Do feta cheese and olive contribute to a healthy diet? Last but not least, one of my friends has just his bodyfat level and biological age tested. He’s only 42 years old, but his biological age is 53.
How can this be?

He doesn’t smoke and drinks plenty of water. His bodyfat is around 29 percent and he weighs 85 kilograms.
Thank you for taking time
to answer.

Fadhli
Bandung

 

Hi Fadhli,

Thanks for your questions. I will try to answer them as best I can.

I used to recommend grilling food. But once I realized it lead, to increased (lipid) oxidation including cholesterol, I started to reduce my consumption of grilled dishes. Grilling our food causes carcinogens (free radicals) to build up. Free-radicals are thought to be one of the major causes of degenerative diseases, like the hardening of arteries, cancer, and heart attacks. Anti-aging theorists also suggest free-radicals, also called oxidants, cause us to age faster than our calendar age.

You can still eat grilled food once in a while. I believe we can have everything in moderation (except heavy metals and poisons!).

There is an alternative way to grill food, which I’ve been using to hopefully reduce the carcinogen build-up and add more taste to my dishes. You can add a banana leaf between your food and the grill, which may slow down the formation of carcinogen while allowing the food to cook just as fast. You will end up with a healthier grilled dish, infused with a touch of aroma from the leaves. You can grill your patties, prawns, fish, chicken, tofu, tempeh this way.

As for your question about feta cheese. Most feta cheese on the market are quite high in fat, and can be quite acidic. Despite the cheese being rich in calcium and protein, we should only consume it occasionally. As for olives, I believe they are very good sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Just be careful with the way they are preserved as they usually contain a lot of sodium (salt).

Now, about your friend. The electronic device may provide a good indication of some key health indicators like bodyfat level, body mass index, biological age, and metabolic rate. Although there may be a small margin of error, knowing his body fat level is 29 percent, there is a good chance the device is right on the mark when it comes to his biological age.

If your friend is 85 kilograms, then his fat weight is around 24.65 kilograms. That’s almost one third of his bodyweight. With such high fat content, his body may have been deprived of oxygen (because at rest his body uses glucose – not fat, as primary energy source), and water. Our body must have at least 65-70 percent water in it. Now, with 29 percent bodyfat, there is only 71 percent left for water, muscles, organs, and bones. Some of the first signs or symptoms of aging are loss of muscles, bones, and water contents. His high daily consumption of water is most likely related to him subconsciously following his bodily needs. We can only survive 4 days without water, and four minutes without oxygen. So with your friend’s condition, I think the device has conveyed his health indicators quite accurately. Bear in mind I am voicing theories and my own hypothesis. But I believe they are acceptable truths and logics being presented here.

I have some exercise-related questions to ask you. Could you please elaborate on how I and fellow gym-members can exercise better. How much rest should we have between:

Warm-up sets? Should the length of rest between warm-up sets and core-sets be different?

One exercise to the other while working a certain bodypart?

One bodypart to the next within one workout session?

Exercising the same bodypart?

Thanks for your time.

Richard
Jakarta

Hi Richard,

Please keep in mind my answers are just general guidelines based on some research and my own experience. It is up to you to listen to your body and make some personal adjustments.

Rest between warm-up sets are usually 1 minute. Since the weights used are significantly lighter than the core sets, we are not taxing our system as much. Yet at the same time, the 1-minute rest for warm-up helps us build momentum and focus on our workout. Core sets are usually more taxing because we are working at higher intensity with greater loads applied to the targeted muscles. Exercise scientists have agreed that a 3-minute rest is ideal and allows for immediate phosphate recovery.

For rest needed to move onto another exercise that targets the same bodypart (for example from the last core set of barbell curls to the first set of concentration curls for biceps), I usually keep rest between 3 to 5 minutes. If I feel there is another need for a warm-up, then I would take a shorter rest. However if I am going straight into a core set, I will rest for a longer period of time. The same approach is used for moving from one bodypart to the next within one workout session.

If we have properly stimulated enough muscle-breakdown during our last workout, it may take a few days to one week before we can work the same bodypart again. Spacing your workout too close for the same bodypart will be counter-productive, because you will risk over-exercising some muscles while under-exercising others.


Allow me this opportunity to wish you all a safe and warm Idul Fitri 1 Syawal 1431H. Enjoy your holiday, and come back safely with stronger health resolutions.

Thank you for all the emails. I really appreciate your kind support and encouragement. Please keep them coming in at ask_aderai@yahoo.com.


Note

This article is for fitness information purpose only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent diseases. Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise or nutritional program. Views and suggestions provided are strictly individual and may not be suitable for individuals with similar conditions or profiles. Ade Rai and The Jakarta Post have exercised good faith in presenting the safest measures known at the time of writing.
The writer and/or The Post do not assume responsibility for any injury or loss from
applying the information presented in the column.

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