No, apple cider vinegar can’t keep kilos away
Experts bust five wellness myths that are popular on social media Claims about exercises that promise to increase one’s height are completely false
schoolboy to set up a sports science and injury rehab centre.
On a recent Monday, about 10 people had signed up for the morning class. Abeywardena, 40, seems to have the ability to do everything at once. I had just started a 500m race on the rowing machine, when I noticed the pedal strap on my right foot needed to be a little tighter. Before I could adjust it, Abeywardena had raced across from his personal training client to do it. He has a combustible, charismatic energy, shouting across the gym to one of the group trainers to load weights onto the thighs of someone doing a wall squat, while also keeping a watchful eye on the couple he is training.
Group exercise anywhere lends itself to high spirits. This was especially true of this class: It was languid one moment, ferocious the next, a boot camp with banter. During ‘Monday madness’ a month ago, after slamming ropes, rowing, yanking cables and flipping tyres, my 20 reps box jumps looked ragged, and Nathan said I should lower the level. Still high on adrenaline, I ignored the advice and tripped a few seconds later. (As Khan jokes, if one can’t keep up, there is a conveniently located cemetery right next door.) TASS could consider boot camp weeks for tourists, the way hotels promote spa retreats. I paid as little as ₹600 per session and plan to do their strength and injury prehab midweek sessions on my next visit.
High-intensity interval training takes you out of your comfort zone—just as travel should, on occasion. Cooling down on a Saturday, I found myself in the multi-religious Borella Cemetery, so well-tended and with such beautiful statuary and tranquil Christian and Buddhist chapels that it should double as a movie set. The first gravestone I encountered had as its inscription the words from the Bible used on my father’s tombstone. Until months before his death at 76, he continued with his daily, early morning commitment to tennis and to 5BX, a Canadian Air Force exercise drill favoured also by actor Helen Mirren, 78. That morning, the inscription on the gravestone – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” – seemed also a broader encouragement to keep going even when exercise takes you almost beyond your limits.
FT Weekend
During one of my recent doom-scroll sessions on the ’gram, I came across a fitness influencer who sticks “yoga teacher & nutritionist” against her name, has 236,000 followers, and in one of her videos was claiming to teach us how to ‘naturally’ increase height. Hanging from a bar is something I started doing as a kid and, firmly in my 40s now, I still do it. Since forty years of hanging from a bar have failed to do anything for my height, it got me thinking about how much of all this fitfluencer content is factual or scientific. While I’ll save the question of whether one should follow fitness, health and nutrition advice from someone with vague credentials for another day, for now let’s explore how much water some popular health myths hold.
A spoon of ghee/butter in coffee is good for health: This is a topic of debate in the health and wellness world, says Shalini Garwin Bliss, executive dietician at Manipal Hospital in Gurugram. She notes that proponents argue that the healthy fats in ghee or butter can provide a slow release of energy and promote satiety. However, Chandni Haldurai, the head nutritionist at Cult Fit, warns against this, no matter how delicious it sounds. “Although these fats can give you a brief energy boost, their highcalorie content quickly adds up,” Haldurai says.
Apple cider vinegar helps burn fat: This idea is big these days as even gym trainers and coaches support the idea of having daily doses of apple cider vinegar. “There is no magic bullet for weight loss. Simply consuming apple cider vinegar daily is unlikely to lead to significant weight loss without complementary lifestyle changes like following a balanced diet and an exercise routine,” says Bliss.
Jaggery and demerara sugar are safe: Next time you put that second spoon of jaggery or demerara sugar in your tea or coffee, remember that despite being less processed than refined sugar, both are still sugars and can have an impact on blood sugar levels. “Due to their low processing and trace nutrients, they might be marginally preferable solutions, but people with pre-diabetes or diabetes shouldn’t choose them,” warns Haldurai.
Freshly squeezed and cold-pressed juices are healthy :Itis true that fruit juices that have been freshly squeezed or coldpressed retain more nutrients than packaged juices, but they have little to no fibre. Whole fruits provide the most advantages due to their high fibre content, which helps slow down the absorption of sugar, says Haldurai. However, if you must have your fruits in liquid form, smoothies made with whole fruits, yogurt or vegetables are preferable.
Hanging leads to height gain: If hanging from bars actually led to height gain, many of us would have been giants.“It’s a myth that certain exercises or stretching techniques such as pull-ups and hanging from a rod can make you grow taller,” says Dr. Amite Pankaj Aggarwal, director and head of the department for orthopaedics in Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi. There’s no good evidence or study to support these claims, he concludes.