KFC: Exposed, And What To Eat There

I've just finished the most physically and mentally demanding task: finishing a portfolio case following a bad case of fever. To celebrate that, lets talk about food.



KFC has now made available the nutrinional value of their menu to the public. It's up on their website and can be found here. Although I do hope they have it in block letters, displayed smack in the middle of their menu board.

I've done a simple observation. Here is the consensus.


Original Recipe is healthier than Hot & Spicy. Drumstick is the healthiest choice of chicken parts. Hot & Spicy thigh meat is the unhealthiest.

People normally eat their chicken by the pieces. So if you have to eat KFC (I'm not implying that you must), pick O.R. Drumstick. it's the healthiest choice. And stop at one, please.


KFC Burgers are not healthy. It's probably the mayonaise. So don't bother ordering them.


Don't let the size fool you. A small pack of KFC Popcorn Chicken is slightly bigger than a matchbox, but packs 180 kcal. Get something else for the kids.


This is my favourite item on the menu. KFC whipped potato. 60 kcal for a scoop of potato.

Ok. The next item on the menu will BLOW YOUR MIND!

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

So you think vegetable is healthy?


Check this out. Tangy Coleslaw. A whopping 150 kcal for a single scoop!! And 14g of fat! That's more fat packed than in a piece of chicken. It's the mayonaise people! We should ban mayonaise!!


In contrast, the KFC Garden Salad is by far the healthiest item on the menu. 30 kcal and 0g (!!) fat, without the Popcorn Chicken bits, without dressing.

So, if you really have to eat in KFC, here's what I suggest you eat:

1 piece of O.R. Drumstick.
1 scoop of Whipped Potato.
1 bowl of Garden Salad, hold the Popcorn Chicken and dressing.
Plain water.

Anything more will land you in the National Heart Institute before you could say artherosclerosis.

VO2 Max Explained

Since I'm tied up with ward work and class (and starting with obs & gynae posting isn't the most pleasant thing in the world), I better write something that is more related with what's occupying my conscious mind. Having said that, I foresee no running or cycling for the next month. I have enough reasons.

Anyways, lets discuss about VO2 Max. Something that all athletes are trying to push higher and higher.

Starring in this play are:



To make this discussion simple, I'm using the absolute definition of VO2 Max as it is simpler and easier to understand. You can read about the other definition when you understand more about it. Also I'm omitting a lot of details as I'm trying to make this as simple as possible.

So, what is VO2 Max?

To simply put it, VO2 Max is the amount of oxygen brought to and used by the muscle in a minute. Since oxygen is used in the metabolism of energy, it can be (directly or indirectly) translated to capability of the muscle producing energy. Loosely used, the higher your VO2 Max is, the more power you produce, the longer you last (hihi).



The picture above illustrates VO2 Max in a well-trained person, like Awea. They could reach numbers up to 8L/min!!

In a normally functioning, untrained, triathlete-wannabe person, the usual VO2 Max level is around 3.5L/min. Like this person down here.



Generally, there are 3 ways for the wannabe to improve his VO2 Max.

1. Optimize muscle condition to utilize oxygen better (train the muscle).
Like people, muscle behaves in various ways. There are lazy muscles, there are hardworking muscles. Lazy muscles need a lot of whipping to get the work done, kinda like me during school days. So they require a lot more oxygen to produce enough energy. Hardworking muscle is different. Because these kind of muscles are used to hard work, they require less oxygen to produce the same amount of energy, thus increasing efficiency.

2. Improve blood circulation (have a good heart i.e. training).
The heart is a natural pump in the body. A weak heart response poorly to exercise. That is why if you try to run 5 km after a month of Manjalara-marathon in front of the TV, you feel your heart is pumping too fast. A well-worked heart adapts better with exercise, thus maintaining adequate circulation of blood throughout the body during physical activity.

3. Improve the capacity of blood to carry oxygen (more training, specifically high-altitude training).
About 42% of blood is made up of red blood cells. Red blood cells contain haemoglobin, a substance that is responsible in making your blood red and carrying oxygen. If you increase the amount of red blood cells in blood, you will also increase the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. However, this is difficult to achieve naturally.

Now, when comparing these 2 types of muscle in terms of VO2 Max, it will look something like this:



The limit for trained muscle is the oxygen carrying capacity. This happen because the muscle is now optimized a.k.a. turned to a lean, mean oxygen-burning machine. On its own, it can burn virtually limitless amount of oxygen. The only limit from it doing so is the supply of oxygen itself.

The limit for untrained muscle is the muscle itself. Since weak muscle can't utilize oxygen optimally, there is a lot of 'oxygen waste'. Even if you're able to supply the muscle with maximum amount of oxygen, the muscle simply can't use them, because it's too weak.

Since we're in the topic of improvement, lets further our discussion to doping (illegal improvement). Haha. I like this topic.

Since we've identified the 2 limits in increasing VO2 Max as muscle condition and oxygen transport, intervention in these 2 areas has caused a boom in the doping world.



Small muscle can be made bigger by using anabolic steroids. This rapidly 'matures' the muscle, turning it from Peewee Herman to Rocky Balboa. But this method is losing its popularity because achieving optimal muscle condition is relatively easier. Read: RELATIVELY EASIER. Not easy.



A more popular way of doping now is blood doping. Blood doping (be it EPO, straight blood doping) significantly increases your capability of blood to carry oxygen. Because now you have more red blood cells, you have more power, you last longer (hihi).

The reason why these methods are banned is simply because it's cheating. More than that, you're playing tag with the Grim Reaper. Anabolic steroids can screw up your hormones harmonics (wow, did I just coin the term?). Which is why body builders who take anabolic steroids have small 'prunes'. So Triple H can brag about his big nose and biceps, but I satisfy a woman better than he can.

Same goes to blood doping. Put in too many red blood cells, and you have a condition that is called polycythemia. This multiplies the risk of getting clogged blood vessels. Think stroke, heart attack and pulmonary embolism.

Doping is not as simple as getting caught and get thrown out of Tour de France. It affects a person even deeper. Fans become disappointed. Then they forget you. You become depressed. Alcohol and cocaine quickly become your best buddy. One day, you invite too many of your new 'friends' and then die in their laughter.

So remember. Don't do drugs. Just train harder.

(Those who know who am I talking about in the last paragraph, tell me about him in the comment box.)

The Coronary Drama

Having my practical attachment done in the National Heart Institute (IJN), it'd be a crime if I don't share what I've learn there for the past 3 weeks. Seriously, I've learnt a lot, and mostly it is about how my future is likely to be.

Looking at the middle-age men and women, some as young as 41 years old, and the older men and women, some as old as 78 years old, coming in and out of the cardiology clinic, lining up at the dispensary, sleeping in bed in ICU, lying on the fluoroscope table while a doctor pushes a wire into an artery through a hole on their groin and goes straight to their heart with the doctor's eyes fixed on a TV in front of her - phew - made me realize how awfully morbid and mortal coronary heart disease is. I mean, it could be me lying on the table in 25 years to come!

So to do justice to the guilt and fear a feel, I am doing my part to educate the general public on how coronary heart disease begin and ways to protect yourself from this life-sucking disease.

To make it interesting, I shall present it in a form of drama. And it shall be named:



And I have substituted the medical-jargon characters with something closer to us...



So the drama begins...



One fine day, in the happy land of Karut-nary, there was a Road that heads staright to the Used Car Store. Along the road is a straigt row of Cars that are moving in a rather rhythmic, orchestratic and undisturbed fashion to the Used Car Store. The Used Car Store manager is very happy, as constant supply of cars made sure his business runs smooth.



Another fine day, someone opened a KFC restaurant next to The Road. With its doors open, few Michelin Kid gathered in the restaurant. For the time being, The Road is not blocked and all of The Cars can still move to the Used Car Store freely. The manager is still happy. The medical name for this state is called The Fatty Streak.



However, more and more Michelin Kids flock The KFC. At one moment, there were too many Michelin Kids in and around The KFC, and the comotion partially blocked The Road. The Cars became congested before the block, slowing them down, and fewer cars reach the Used Car Store. It affected the business in the store so much, that the cost of buying cars are exceeding the profit of cars sold. So there is a deficit in supply. The Used Car manager is furious, angry and unhappy, but at least he is still alive. The medical name for this state is ischaemia.



One unfortunate day, the Michelin Kids flocked The KFC one person too much, and the restaurant exploded, completely blocking the road with debris and Michelin Kids body parts. Now no cars can go through. Without Cars coming in, the Used Car manager had to close his business, and fearing that loan sharks might go after him, he torched himself and succumbed. Poor guy. The medical name for this state is infarction (heart attack lah).


So that was how the town of Karut-nary fell apart. THE END.

Pretty sad isn't it. Now, let's study the characters. Who are the bad guys in this drama? Obviously, The KFC and The Michelin Kid. So if we can turn back time, how do we prevent the town of Karut-nary from falling apart? Simple. We get rid of the bad guys.

Numero uno, get rid of The KFC.

There are several ways of avoiding The KFC. The famous ones are:

1. Prevent high blood pressure: High blood pressure literally means the pressure in your blood vessel is higher than normal. This high pressure strains the vessel wall, making the vessel susceptible for injury. Once the injury is there, there is a good chance fatty streak ensuing. So exercise and take less salt. Get your blood pressure checked regularly, once in 3 months at least. Once in 2 months is ok. Once a month, your just sinking your doctor's heart.

2. Stop smoking: Smoking makes the blood vessel more fragile and injury-prone. And don't go saying "I only smoke 2 cigarette a day. It won't happen to me." Smoking 1 or 40 cigarettes a day don't make a difference as far as vessel injury is concerned. Of course some backward-thinking moron will take this statement differently by saying "Hey if smoking 1 is just as bad as smoking 40, let's just then smoke 40." But then again, they're morons.


Numero due, get rid of The Michelin Kid

Simple math. No cholesterol, no cholesterol deposit.

1. Take low-fat diet: Cholesterol comes from 2 sources. The one that our body makes by itself and the one you eat. But those you put into your mouth are the ones that matters. Try using less fat in your food. Boil it, steam it, barbeque it, grill it, eat it raw. Just hold the butter/oil/fat aside.

2. If you have to take fat, take the healthier ones: Yes, there are such thing as healthy fat. Polyunsaturated fat is healthy. Trans fat is not. As a matter of fact, trans fat is evil. What's trans fat you ask? Well, Planta, Dorina, Crisco, Daisy are trans fat. Simple test, if the margarine doesn't melt and remain in firm-to-soft consistency in room temperature, there's a high chance it's trans fat. So throw those in the dustbin. Use vegetable oil, olive oil or even palm oil instead.

3. The only way to lower down your LDL (Life Destructing Lipoprotein) cholesterol is by exercie (of course you can use statins, but those are for sick people. Cool people don't pop pills). So exercise your way to a wide open coronary vessel. An adequate health-preserving exercise should total 150 minutes a week. That is either 3 days a week 50 minutes a day, or every day for 25 minutes. Make sure you sweat when you exercise. Sweating indicates you are working above resting metaboism. Walk on the park while smelling roses ain't gonna work.

So now, are you looking for a group to run with? Join the pipot primates weekly Saturday run. Info is available here http://www.swimbikerunmalaysia.com/

THE REAL END

Thank you.