Share with us your story on what made you transition to eating more vegetables.

I once thought I was in control of my health and I thought was doing pretty well, until I was diagnosed with stroke and suspected sclerosis.

As I stepped in to MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Machine) for diagnosis alone, I lay on the table like a guinea pig, then I suddenly burst into tears. Being a strong man like me, I used to think that I was in control. I thought that I owned everything - a good family, a good career and a good body. But I had to rethink about my body.

I now knew that my body was something that I had ignored, and was ignorant about. If I were to be granted a little bit more of time, I would learn how to talk to my body. You know, being a strong man like me, I still wanted to be in control of things, even as I lay in the MRI machine like a guinea pig (grin).

After that episode, I survived, with an important lesson learned.

What are some tips you will offer people around you?

Health is the most important possession in life. If I were to put a number to it, I would make 1 = health, 0 = money. No matter how much money or 'zeros' you get, without the health or 'one' in front...your life would STILL BE ZERO! You can't enjoy your money without good health!

As I lay in hospital, this thought struck me: If I had any chance to use money to buy my health...by all means, I'd just go for it!

So don't wait until the moment when you’ve collected 'enough' money but you can no longer buy any health…then everything is too late.

What is your motivation to start this hydroponic GrowEatWell business?

I want to enable everyone to grow their own vegetables safely. Every household can do-it-yourself (DIY), be self-sustained by the vegetable produced and produce enough to feed themselves and their families.

More importantly, as people grow their vegetables, they will know every stage and process of it. So their vegetables will not be something so processed that people will question what happened between growing, production and distribution. People will feel safe in consuming their own home-grown vegetables.

How do you think GrowEatWell can help people?

This set is cheapest way to grow your own vegetables because you won’t need to invest a BIG smart greenhouse. A large greenhouse will require a large piece of land and that is way too expensive! For household consumption, there is no need to for any land investment.

On the other hand, growing your own vegetables is made so much simpler with the hydroponic kit! With proper guidance and a little bit of care, everyone can be a good farmer for your own family!

Share with us on your journey to including more vegetables in your diet.

I had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (Cancer) in 2014 and a relapse in 2016. After my second encounter with cancer (where I nearly died during treatment), I realized that I needed to be serious in changing my diet. My wife made me salad to bring to work every day, but after the first week I just didn’t enjoy the taste and worse – to me, it was a waste of time - chewing the raw vegetables for 15 minutes at each meal!

I’m a practical person, so I looked for the fastest way to eat vegetables. My best friend bought me a Vitamix and I loved the idea of blending each salad bowl so I could gulp it down in 2 minutes!

Initially, to increase the quantity of vegetables (in my diet) was tough, as I always enjoyed my roti canai, char kueh teow and fast food. By blending vegetables and fruits, I found that I could consume my greens very quickly and get most of the benefits of the increased vegetable intake.

After some time, the taste of blended raw vegetables became more appealing and I eventually shifted my diet to have 50% vegetables and 25% carbohydrates and 25% meat. In fact, I travel with a mini blender and try to blend my salad often.

What advice will you offer people?

Don’t neglect your body, there is no way to replace it with any “spare parts”. I remember the time I was in hospital for (cancer) treatment, and I was unable to celebrate my son’s 6th birthday. He came to me with his new Lego set, asking me to fix it but I had to go for cancer treatment for 6 hours. When I came back to my hospital room, he was gone and the room was empty. I told myself I would never want to miss any of my children’s important milestones in their life.

That’s why it’s very important to take care of our health. Not only can we experience all the joys of life – when others are sick, we are able to help them.

So we need to watch our diet and eat healthily to enjoy life. If you don’t like the taste of vegetables, add some fruits like oranges or pineapples to make the taste of your blend more palatable.

What was your motivation to start GrowEatWell as a business?

One concern I had was how much insecticides was being used in the vegetables I was consuming. I wanted to be in control of the vegetables I was eating, thus the beginning of GrowEatWell was to allow people to have the ability to grow vegetables on their own in a controlled environment.

How do you think the GrowEatWell Kits can help people?

The joy and pride of growing your own vegetables is very rewarding. There is also great satisfaction in harvesting your vegetables and directly put it into your salad bowl or your sandwich!

I want people to know and grow their own vegetables and experience the health benefits of consuming more vegetables. After all, to experience life, we must have great health!