The Nutritional Way to Health

The adage “You are what you eat” was explored in greater detail at a special lecture given by Dr Ang Poon Liat at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) on Friday, 20 August 2021.

A paediatrician with over 45 years of clinical practice, Dr Ang has a special interest in nutrition and its impact on childhood development, health, behavioural disorders and ageing. He has written two books – The Wonders of Nutrition, which details how genes and our dynamic bodies respond to food and lifestyle, as well as Roadmaps to Recovery, which explains how correct and balanced nutrition plays a pivotal role in healing chronic degenerative diseases. In 2020, he also made possible the Dr Ang Poon Liat Bursary at SIT to support undergraduates at SIT who are pursuing a degree programme in Dietetics and Nutrition or Nursing.

Along with faculty, more than 20 students from both degree programmes attended the lecture which focused on the effects of rapid ageing, and how food and lifestyle can help reduce the effects of chronic degenerative diseases. They also received copies of Dr Ang’s books. This lecture is the first part of a six-lecture series with the theme “Food for Health” that Dr Ang gives publicly.

Among those who attended the lecture was Ms Stephanie Tan, a Year 2 Dietetics and Nutrition student. She said, “The highlight for me was definitely the Question & Answer portion as my classmates and I had similar questions – for example if a keto diet was sustainable. After the lecture, we also continued talking to Dr Ang further clarify our thoughts. My biggest takeaway was definitely to keep an open mind in learning.”

Said Dr Ang, “I very much enjoyed interacting with the students through this lecture. After they graduate, these Nursing as well as Dietetics and Nutrition students from SIT will help drive patient care in Singapore, and I hope they have gained some knowledge or ideas today that will prove useful in their future work.”