An Apple a Day
3A Greendale Avenue
Tel 8437-9310
www.anappleaday.com.sg
NATUROPATH Sigrid Grobys doesn't just tell you what you should and should not eat, she makes sure you have access to a gourmet chef who can whip up a week's meals for you.
That's the combined proposition of An Apple a Day, a health consultancy run by Ms Grobys and Valentine Laperle.
The duo were lab partners when they studied biochemistry in Canada a few years ago. They continued to keep in touch after Ms Grobys went on to study naturopathy and Ms Laperle decided to don a chef's hat.
'We would constantly say how great it would be if we combined our strengths to do something,' says Ms Grobys, who often had patients who needed to change their dietary habits.
When Ms Laperle's husband was posted to Singapore, and Ms Grobys' husband decided to study for an MBA, they saw the opportunity to do something together here. So An Apple a Day - 'where gourmet food meets healthy living' - was set up.
People who want to change their lifestyle for health reasons go through their diet history with Ms Grobys.
'Most of my patients are women who have weight problems due to menopause, have just given birth and are breast-feeding or have hypo-thyroid problems,' she says.
She gets to know their eating habits from a 'diet diary' in which they jot down what they eat and when, and how they feel afterwards.
Hormones are a big culprit in weight gain - the main one being insulin. With our modern diets high in refined carbohydrates and sugar, insulin - not just calories or fat - is thought to be the main cause of weight gain these days.
'It's all about the quality of calories and finding the right quantity for your body,' says Ms Grobys, adding that the low-calorie, low-fat message of the 1980s has clearly been shown not to work.
If patients opt for a month-long Healthy Living package at $1,780, that will cover three consultations with Ms Grobys (the consultations normally cost $140 for the first visit and $90 for subsequent visits) and four personal chef visits.
Ms Laperle will go to their home to cook them meals to last a week, according to their nutritional plans.
'The idea is to get people started on a healthy regime and get them motivated,' Ms Grobys explains.
An Apple a Day also conducts workshops, at $110 a person, and personalised cooking workshops for $550 for a group of up to 10 people.
But the 'danger' is that some clients get so used to the convenience of a personal chef that they continue to engage Ms Laperle's gourmet services once a week, even after they have completed their package.
'The fact is, trying to lose weight isn't easy, so a lot of people have to be hand-held and kept motivated through the process,' says Ms Grobys.
The Xndo Centre for Proactive Health Care
176 Orchard Road #03-25 Centrepoint
Tel 6235 5257
TAKING a pill to block carbohydrates in the food you eat sounds like a no-brainer way to diet, doesn't it? However, what works in theory doesn't mean it's going to work in real life.
If you've ever tried popping those pills, you could well find yourself eating more, in fact, precisely because you think: 'Oh, I've popped a pill to block the bad stuff.'
Not that the blockers themselves don't do what they say they do, but because we think of it as a magic pill.
It is short-term measures such as this which led Lars Brittsjo to rethink his company strategy. Having set up Reborne in 2003, with main products such as Xndo Block and Burn, Mr Brittsjo saw his company being sucked into the slimming industry.
'I had set up the company with a desire to make an impact on people's lives, and I personally don't like the slimming market. But there we were, making more and more slimming products but I didn't like what I was doing.'
He agrees that there are misconceptions about slimming products and that many consumers didn't really understand how to use them.
Some soul-searching and meeting the right scientists eventually led to the company's new and present approach to weight management. 'We began to realise that we can do more to help people manage their weight - and overall health - by giving them easy but healthy food options and not just supplements,' says Mr Brittsjo, who was an optometrist before he ventured into the health supplement industry. His ventures included founding a company which produced Imedeen in 2001.
Weight is just one aspect of what Reborne tackles these days, as per its original vision. 'The thing about obesity is that it leads to other diseases like diabetes and cholesterol, so it's really important to manage weight these days, and not just for the sake of looks alone,' he notes.
So a big part of Reborne's strategy is to provide low-calorie, high-protein meals and make them readily available at outlets such as 7-Eleven. These healthy soups, meals and even cola aren't meal substitutes, insists Mr Brittsjo. 'They are meals,' he adds, which comprise 50 to 60 per cent protein, 30-35 per cent complex carbohydrates and 10-15 per cent good fats, besides added vitamins and minerals. Each meal chocks up just 200 to 400 calories and costs from $5 to $8.20, and a quick tasting showed them to be rather tasty, if a bit gummy.
Besides that, it's also putting more importance on its 'proactive health' centre at Centrepoint which gives consultations and provides health plans for customers who sign up.
'Weight loss diets don't work, but people can change their lifestyles, and we want to help them,' says Natalia Black, Reborne's senior business manager.
The centre has advisers who will help tailor weight management programmes for customers and Ms Black has seen customers have their blood sugar levels lowered, besides losing weight. The typical programme might subscribe one Xndo meal a day, besides a healthier eating regime, as well as the use of other dietary supplements such as carbo blockers.
Customers also have their weight, body fat, cholesterol and blood sugar levels measured, adds Ms Black. 'In fact, we have a money-back guarantee if you don't see results in one month.'
Xndo Centre's individualised health management programmes start from $450, which includes 60 Xndo meals and soups.
