Speaking about 'The Power of Food' @ Good Gifts City Church - Reflections of The Food Doctor

Someone called me The Food Doctor recently and got me wondering if that accurately described what I do and who I am. Because a 'Heart Doctor' treats the heart, a 'Eye Doctor' treats the eyes or even a 'Tree Doctor' treats the trees but I don't treat 'Food', rather I treat my patients through 'Food', I run classes to teach people about Food, the power of food, not just to heal but also to destroy, about the power of Food to cause or reverse diseases, I even run and cook in a restaurant that encourages people to try healthier options and learn more about the power of food.

I do not think that makes me a 'Food Doctor', because I do not treat 'Food' but rather I treat patients through 'Food', so maybe calling me a 'Food Obsessed Doctor' would be more accurate. My conclusion was that it did not matter and I do not really care what names people give me, all I want to do is to wake people up to the power of food to heal but also more critically the power of food to destroy our bodies.

A few weeks ago I received an invitation from Good Gifts City Church, they wanted me to give a talk about food & health to their church members. I was delighted, it had always bothered me why Christians do not guard as zealously what they put into their bodies as they would guard what they allow into their spirit or soul and I saw this talk as a precious & privileged platform for me to wake my fellow Christians up to the power of food to destroy and also to challenge them to honour God by guarding against food that will destroy our God given bodies.

The talk was well attended and went well although as expected, I overran the time that I was allocated and by the time I finished speaking, It was almost 10pm. Despite the late hour, quite a number of people gathered around me after the talk to ask questions or speak with me. Amongst this group of people 'bombarding' me with questions I noticed a gentleman who seemed to want to tell me something but was waiting patiently for others to finish. He finally found a 'window' to speak and what he said to me struck me deeply, Below is what he said to me, Not 100% word for word verbatim but based on my best effort in recalling, this was the essence of what he said to me,

"I've been a diabetic for more than 10 years and recently I was also diagnosed to have coronary heart disease. After hearing what you shared tonight about the power of food and its serious impact on our bodies, how I wished someone told me all these 10 years ago when I was first diagnosed with diabetes with the conviction that you did tonight but now it might be a little too late for me. But nonetheless, I want to encourage you, you really must continue to do what you are doing because more people need to hear this. God bless you ."

When I heard what he said, I was so touched that I almost teared and all I found myself saying to him was just a sincere "Thank you" from my heart and as I extended my hand to give him a firm handshake, he gave me a hug.

It is encounters like these that give me the encouragement to press on with what I do despite all the challenges. It is for people like this man that I became the 'Food Obsessed Doctor' that I am today.
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Talking about 'Food Obsessed Doctor' most Singaporeans would more likely think of the other 'Food Obsessed Doctor' in Singapore, my doctor friend Dr Leslie Tay of the 'ieatishootipost' fame who 'Gai Siow' or share 'lobangs' about where to find good eats in Singapore instead of this 'Food Obsessed Doctor', me Dr Chan Tat Hon who tells them what not to eat! At the end of the talk that evening, I jokingly shared with my audience at Good Gifts City Church that I have an ambition, I want to reach as many Singaporeans with my 'Power of Food - to heal or destroy' message as Leslie Tay can reach with his 'where to find good eats' message, starting with aiming to have as many facebook followers as he has on his 'ieatishootipost' facebook, so if they think more Singaporeans should hear my message, they can, on top of praying for me, for God to open doors to more opportunities & platforms for me to reach as many Singaporeans as possible, telling and waking them up to the power of food to heal and destroy our bodies, they can also like and share my 'WhatsCookingDoc' facebook page which at last count, at 1309 Likes has ONLY 239715 more likes to go to catch up to Leslie's 'Ieatishootipost' facebook page..

Whilst I know that most people prefer to know where to find good eats & good food deals than to hear advice about having to give up some of the local food that they have grown to love for the sake of the health and wellness of themselves and their loved ones. I am however always crazy enough to aim for the seemingly impossible,

So if you think more Singaporeans should hear my 'Power of Food - to heal or destroy' message, you can also help LIKE and SHARE my WhatsCookingDoc facebook page. I only got 239715 more likes to my target of catching up with the other 'food obsessed doctor', my friend ieatishootipost's Leslie Tay!

What's Cooking Doc?