Time for Hong Kongers to Stop Feeling Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

This morning, like every morning for the past four years, I downed two pints of homemade, frothy green juice. It’s usually the same recipe: a red apple, a green apple, a lemon, a banana, a fistful of kale (or spinach), and some flax seed. I don’t do this on doctor’s orders. In fact my blood tests always come back in that perfect middle range that infuriates my more health conscious wife when she sees me eating a sleeve of Oreos sometime after dinner and before dessert. Needless to say, my morning smoothie will be my healthiest decision today. [caption id="attachment_28434" align="alignright" width="200"] Joe Cross of Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.[/caption] Like many people who started ripping the juice out of fruit and veggies or blending them all together in a smoothie over the past few years I can trace my inspiration to a documentary, Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. The film chronicles the journey of Joe Cross, an amiable Kiwi with health issues and over 300 pounds of heft who decides to go on a juice fast for 60 days and ends up reinventing his wellbeing along with his lifestyle. Fast forward to this moment, and I’m sitting next to Cross as well Ann Cha and Angela Cheng, owners of Punch Detox conducting one of the most tranquil interviews I’ve ever done, thanks to being poolside at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental spa. But that peaceful atmosphere is shattered by my overuse of the word juicing in my first few questions. You see, Cross hates the word. He prefers “micronutrient water”. I can’t say it’s as catchy and I’m pretty sure it won’t make it through most marketing test groups, but he has good reason for being particular. Cross correctly assumes that many of us hear the word juice and immediately conjure up images of glasses of orange juice or sugary mixes from concentrate. Hence “micronutrient water”. Yeah, it’s still not doing it for me either. But that’s neither here nor there when it comes to the message that Cha, Cheng, and Cross are bringing to Hong Kong. In celebration of Punch Detox’s five year anniversary, the business partners brought Cross to Hong Kong to screen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 2, which focuses on continuing the healthy lifestyle after the detox messaging of his cult classic production. And that’s no misnomer. Cross estimates that about 22 million people have seen his first film since it was released in 2011. It’s earned him bragging rights as giving the juicing, I mean micronutrient water, trend a kick-start. Cha and Cheng even launched their business amidst the craze back when Hong Kong only had one other juice service. Five years later and Punch Detox is a thriving business delivering bottles of fresh juices across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Many of Cha and Cheng’s clients are converts following a 3-day cleanse when they discovered that replacing unhealthy foods with juice made them feel better. That’s not to say they only drink the bottle elixirs sent to their homes or offices. Now it’s two bottles a day instead of the six that you receive during a detox. The best result of a detox, Cheng points out, is not weight loss, it’s starting a path to a healthier lifestyle one food choice at a time. When asked where residents can find quality fresh vegetables and unpolluted fruits (Punch Detox sources globally), Cheng and Cha agree to worry about that down the road, now is the time to put down the sleeve of Oreos and reach for an apple. You can watch Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead 2 on iTunes (trailer below). Cross’s team has also produced a nifty app that allows you to find recipes for juices based on what you have in your home. To find out more about Punch Detox you can visit their website or Facebook page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfQbigRlJY

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