Nutrition expert draws the crowds at Organic Show

Holford, who founded the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in 1984, has written 29 books on nutrition, published in 30 countries and 15 different languages and selling more than a million copies worldwide.

Covering themes from 'Is food you eat making you ill?' to 'The best way to lose weight', he captivated his Dubai audience with his recommendations on nutrition, dietary habits, and total health transformation.

And with Eid, Christmas, and New Year celebrations high on many people's agendas, Holford outlined a simple plan to cope, citing habits to make and break.

Those to cultivate are:
* Drink eight glasses of water a day. Have a glass of water when you wake up and one with each meal. Always have a glass of water with a coffee.
* Load up on fruit and vegetables. The ideal is seven servings a day - a piece of fruit with breakfast, two as snacks, plus two servings twice a day with main meals.
* Load up on super foods. These include berries, broccoli, asparagus, plums, oily fish such as salmon, and pumpkin seeds.
* Take supplements every day. The basics everyone needs are an optimum nutrition multivitamin and mineral, plus extra vitamin C and essential fats.
* Exercise. Even a brisk walk gets metabolism going. Exercise every other day to help burn fat and detoxify the body.

Those to ditch are:
* Less caffeine - max one coffee a day. Switch to green tea or herb teas.
* Less wheat - oats and brown rice are much better for your digestion and weight as they make you feel fuller for longer.
* Less dairy products - many people are allergic. Try alternatives such as soya and rice milk.
*Less fried and processed foods - avoid anything with 'hydrogenated' fat in it, or deep fried foods.

Holford was among more than 300 exhibitors from 30 countries taking part in MENOP, underlining the event's status as the exclusive focal point for the region's specialist businesses in the organic and natural products sector.

The show occupied two halls in DWTC covering 8,000 square metres of exhibition space compared to 5,000 square metres last year, with eight national pavilions from Indonesia, Italy (two), Greece, USA, New Zealand, Australia, and Korea.

Leading organisations such as Conex, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), Greentrade, Korea Health Supplement Association (KHSA), Organic-bio, Italian Village, OPR, and many others were also represented.