Why you should sign up for this summer session

Atmantan, a wellness destination spa has lined up some interesting activities kicking off this week till  April 8. On the agenda are workshops and activities that will be hosted by Brazilian chef and  nutritionist Ronaldo Fulieri. Seminars and interactive talks on nutrition and particular foods, which have disease healing qualities such as cardio-vascular problems and diabetes will be held. There will also be a cook-out where Ronaldo will curate delicious dishes and share recipes of interesting and fascinating health foods. We caught up with him to find out more.

What can people expect to take back from the activities lined up?

One of the biggest lessons people will get from my activities at Atmantan is — ancient wisdom. In my presentations, I introduce people to a world of knowledge about food and techniques to make food as medicinal as possible, of course with a lot of flavour too.

One of the topics that is part of the activities is foods which can help heal diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Could you elaborate on how food can heal these medical conditions? 

Food is thy medicine — this is an ancient truth nobody can deny. The challenge with food nowadays is that it has become more of a poison than a medicine. Processing of food and industrialisation have taken away many of the medicinal benefits of the foods we eat. In my nutrition and cooking classes, I teach people how to bring health back using wholefoods. The benefits of using integral ingredients is that they can act as powerful healing tools and help the body regenerate and cure itself. By providing the right nutrients to the body we can practically reverse or at least stop many of the common diseases from developing further. In my 10 years in this profession, I have helped many patients to cure themselves from diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and other common lifestyle diseases  

A lot of people recommend you avoid fruit juices for their calories. What is your take on this? Also, do you believe that eliminating carbs from a diet is adviseable?

I don’t recommend anyone to eliminate fruits from the diet. In fact, I encourage them to eat it every day. The challenge is consuming too many fruits can also cause complications, especially if the person has diabetes or obesity. In this case, I teach them to moderate the intake of it and also make them aware of what are the best fruits and best times to ingest those fruits. As far as carbs go, I don’t think they should be eliminated from one’s diet. There are both good and bad carbs, and some can actually shelp you lose weight.

What’s your weight loss mantra?

My weight loss mantra is “Don’t diet”. From the moment, you tell yourself you are dieting and restricting yourself, you will start to crave the exact foods you are trying to eliminate. I teach the mantra, “I’m healthy because I chose to eat good foods for me and my body”. By programming your mind to believe you are not dieting but you are becoming healthy is the best way to lose weight and stay health and on track of your goals. 

To sign up, log onto www.atmantan.com

RONALDO’S GREEN SMOOTHIE

He recommends this as a weight loss fix to be consumed first thing in the morning.

Ingredients
• 1 handful of organic spinach or rockets (if you like peppery) 
• ½ cup of cucumber cut in chunks 
• 1 half of avocado 
• ½ green or red apple cut in half 
• 2-3 mint leaves 
• 1/2 cup of water
• ½ lime or lemon  
• 1 pinch of salt
• 4 ice cubes

Method: Blend all of the above ingredients to make a delicious, weight-loss smoothie.