Shanthini Naidoo discovers that Patrick Holford has an answer for everything - and it comes in a large capsule Patrick Holford is unlikely to offer someone a cup of coffee. Moringa tea, sweetened with sugar substitute, xylitol, is more up his alley."I get an energy boost from moringa, I can feel the effect in 10 or 15 minutes. It isn't as immediate as caffeine and we don't know why it works, except that it is packed with vitamins," says the nutrition and health guru, during a visit to Johannesburg ahead of seminars he is presenting in South Africa in April.Trendy, with a tinge of ageing rock star, Holford wears blue-tinted sunglasses, jeans and an eagle on a huge belt buckle.He pours the pungent but pleasant moringa tea. The Asian plant is one of the latest superfoods to be bagged, tagged and branded with his name - and his assurance that it gives natural lift without the negative effects of caffeine.And if it has the Holford endorsement, people will buy it. Because Holford, founder of UK charity groups the Institute for Optimum Nutrition and the Food for the Brain Foundation, is all about maximising life.And who doesn't want that?"The end goal is to have a great life, a purposeful life, to have fun. Studies show that in the UK, the average woman at the end of her life cannot walk more than seven steps, if at all. It is not necessary for our bodies to deteriorate like that," he says.story_article_left1With the lingering smile of an intrinsically happy person, Holford explains his basic recommendations for "optimum living": moderate exercise, mindfulness, meditation, and optimum eating. For the latter, he promotes a low-GL (glycaemic load) diet.He explains this on his website: "The glycaemic index tells you whether the carbohydrate in a food is fast or slow releasing (fast is bad, slow is good). What it doesn't tell you is exactly how much of the food is carbohydrate. Glycaemic load, on the other hand, tells you both the type and amount of carbohydrate in the food and what that particular carbohydrate does to your blood sugar."Oh, and don't forget vigorous supplementation.Holford is accused of being the vitamin illuminati. Critics claim he conned the UK health system into recommending vitamin supplements as part of a healthy diet.Criticism bounces right off his taut 58-year-old skin. He is bored by it, he says. "I believe in studies, facts." He uses the phrase "studies show" a lot. In each of his 36 books, he cites about 500 studies to back up his recommendations.He rejects the common idea that supplements make expensive urine. "It is impossible for the body to pass anything through its cells without processing it, toxins and vitamins alike. The cells metabolise and benefit from, or deteriorate from, whatever we put in to the body. It is rudimentary chemistry. Nothing is excreted in urine if it isn't absorbed into the blood, which circulates nutrients to cells."Take the controversial 1000mg of vitamin C daily supplement that he recommends. No really, take it and you'll never get a cold, he says.Some say this is too much for the body to process. Holford says: "It is a fact that animals who produce vitamin C naturally, never get colds. Human beings and primates don't produce vitamin C, but primates can eat up to 22 oranges a day. We can't do that, and so we must supplement." He smiles. He hasn't had a cold in 35 years.At the least, Holford sells hope.And consumers buy it, despite the disclaimer on the bottles that supplements are not a cure for disease.At R500, a box of his basic essentials - vitamin C, antioxidant, omega oils and a multivitamin - is not cheap. "That's about R15 a day ... how much is a coffee in South Africa?"An answer for everything, and it comes in large capsules.His extensive range of specific vitamins are tailored for various ailments and afflictions. Gamma-amino butyric acid for anxiety, magnesium for metabolism, B vitamins for cell growth, CoQ for muscle repair.story_article_right2Holford has been on the vitamin buzz since the late '70s. He was an overweight teenager with skin like a "lunar landscape" before he read about supplements, which were not available in the UK. He imported them from the US and they transformed him "in 10 days".After studying psychology, Holford says he "bumped into nutrition on the way". He had heard about a psychiatrist in Canada who reversed schizophrenia in his patients through nutrition.He has spent much of his life working on the theory that many illnesses, mental and physical, can be treated without drugs. "There is simply not enough education about nutrition," he says.Holford leans towards Eastern philosophies, and avidly practises yoga and meditation. He'd been lying on the floor for 20 minutes before our interview, in stillness.As a teenager he had an "extraordinary experience" which led him to believe in the power of mindfulness. While planning a trip to India after completing his A levels, he went to get a hepatitis jab. "I got home and lay down and suddenly had this experience of infinity, and love, a pulsating light. I didn't go to India, it came to me."His HeartMath breathing technique focuses on positive experiences while breathing into the heart, for stress reversal. He clips a monitor onto my ear and makes me try it. After five minutes, an iPhone app shows my stress level drop from orange to a calm green."I think for a lot of South Africans, and in the world, life has speeded up so much. The last 15 years of digitalisation, non-stop e-mails and texts, have us permanently running on a state of raised adrenalin. We are in fight-or-flight mode all the time."The effect of this is that digestion shuts down. Being in that state steers the body away from repair. The immune system gets weak. We age faster," he says."In South Africa, there seems to be more stress reaction. And sugar consumption is higher. You are way behind the trend of reducing sugar. Consequently, diabetes is through the roof. It is a perfect storm."But Holford believes we can fix it, starting with a handful of supplements and a cup of moringa tea.story_article_left3Ever wonder what the handfuls of capsules you're swallowing are made of?They are not little bits of plastic that collect in your stomach, nor are they the intestinal linings of tiny animals. Capsules are, in fact, commonly made of fish or bovine gelatine.Veggie caps, made from plant material, are the more popular (and more appetising) option.The contents of capsules and tablets are combined with flowing and binding agents, like cellulose, to make them edible."None of the fillers, binders or coatings are harmful in any way, even in high doses. Usually they make up less than 5% of a supplement," says Holford.And don't worry if you have ever felt full after popping your pills. There is no significant calorie content in any supplement, and even if you are supplementing heavily, you should not be taking them by the kilo."Most vitamins and minerals are absorbed into the blood, circulated in the body, then excreted within six hours. It is best to take supplements at least twice a day and ideally during the daytime when your metabolism is most active," Holford says.Holford is presenting Zest4life, a health and weight-loss programme in Cape Town, PE, Durban and Joburg in April. Visit Holforddirect.co.za for bookings...