Dr. Pierre Clero, doctor of medicine and cosmetic surgeon, remembers when he turned 40, “When I reached 40, I started to gain weight. My blood pressure and my LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol were too high. For the first time in my life, I had to take medicines.”
In time, his LDL cholesterol was back to normal and his blood pressure was perfect. But he had to deal with the side effects of the medicines. “I was feeling terrible, exhausted after a few hours of work, unable to concentrate,” he relates. “I thought I have to do something to recover my life. I have to find a real solution, smarter than only relying on medicines. So I started my research on diet and anti-aging.”
Dr. Clero learned that there were two places in the world where the population lived longer than others. This was the Greek island of Crete and Okinawa in Japan. “I found out that they had a low prevalence of heart disease. They live longer and healthier than most people from all over the world. My research brought me to the fundamental and basic principles of medicine,” Dr. Clero asserts.
It was Hippocrates who said, “We are what we eat.” Dr. Clero developed the Cretasian (coined from Crete and Asia) diet and lifestyle. “I immediately experimented on myself, associated with my age management program. After five months, I was able to stop my medicines. I lost 15 pounds and felt at 200 percent of my potential.”
Dr. Clero, now 58, shares his age management program in his book titled Stop the Clock with the Clero Clinic Plan. He is working on his second book, which he expects to be published in 2009, on the Cretasian diet and lifestyle. Here, he expounds on the Cretasian food guide pyramid which he developed. We are familiar with the iconic food pyramid created by the US Department of Agriculture decades ago, which was taught in school. The simple illustration showed the elements of a healthy diet, with cereals, bread, rice, and pastas occupying the wide base, while fats, oils, and sweets, occupy the tip of the pyramid. Other types of food pyramids have evolved since. Combining the best from the Asian diet pyramid and the Mediterranean diet pyramid, Dr. Clero built the Cretasian food pyramid which, unlike a typical Egyptian pyramid, took the shape of pyramids from the Incas of Peru, with its tip “chopped” off. From the base to the flat top, you will find at the bottom layer the recommendation of at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. “Exercise is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle,” says Dr. Clero.
The next layer suggests whole wheat bread, pasta, brown rice, other whole grains, and sweet potatoes, to be taken daily. “The body needs good carbohydrates which serve as fuel,” Dr. Clero explains.
Next, fruits, legume seeds and nuts, and vegetables, daily. Then, olive oil and vegetable oil, daily. Optional for daily consumption are fish and shellfish, as found on the third to the top layer of the pyramid. Second to the top are eggs and poultry, to be taken weekly. And at the top layer are cheese and yogurt, taken weekly.
“We removed the two top levels found in the other pyramids,” Dr. Clero points out. This is the tip of the pyramid which has been “chopped” off and eliminated, namely, sweets and meat.
Dr. Clero is the first to practice what he preaches. “It’s never too late to start,” he says. “The more you wait, the more difficult it gets.” He eats chicken, fish, and vegetables. Being married to a Filipina, Faith Ocampo, a former model with whom he has a two-year-old daughter, he also eats rice, but it has to be brown rice. “White rice has no value,” he says. “It’s like eating a brick of sugar.”
At first, he found the texture of tofu not too pleasant. “But now, I have it almost every day.” It’s all about developing the habit.
Last year, Dr. Clero introduced his wellness vacation cruise packages. The seven to 10-day program on board a cruise ship includes lectures on wellness, healthy diet, weight loss, and arresting the aging process.
Dr. Clero’s clients come from all over the world. In Asia, the cruise includes Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. In the US, there is one that goes from Los Angeles to Mexico and another from Miami to the Bahamas.
Dr. Clero, who is originally from Paris, has chosen to live in the Philippines since six years ago. His clinic in Makati, where he has two well-equipped modern operating rooms, enjoys an elite clientele whose privacy Dr. Clero jealously protects. The list of services includes body contouring, liposuction, breast implants, facelifts, and rhinoplasty, as well as weight and age management with hormone replacement therapy.
“Age management and weight management go together,” Dr. Clero stresses.“Overweight will get you in trouble. Watch what you buy at the grocery. Chances are, what you put in your fridge goes in your mouth.”
Confucius says: “Our health sits on the laps of our cook.”
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The Clero Clinic is located at 219 N. Garcia (formerly Reposo St.), Bel Air, Makati City, with telephone numbers 00632-8974122 and 897-4123, and cell phone number 09188885544. Fax at 895-9317 E-mail cleroclinic@gmail.com.