Business
The LifeCo: The business of healing

PHUKET: One doesn’t have to look far to find a spa in Phuket, but recent years have seen a marked shift in this trend, as new and established business are looking to cash in on wellness, as opposed to opulence and luxury.
The LifeCo Phuket Well-Being Center based in Thalang is the first for the company outside of Turkey, and the center’s largest yet. Launched in Phuket in October last year, The LifeCo brings ten years of wellness experience to the island. The company offers not only detox for the body, but rejuvenation for the mind, with special mental wellness programs that are geared toward helping with stress, depression and anxiety-related disorders.
The LifeCo offers aim at providing the encouragement and know-how for creating a sustainable, healthy lifestyle, as opposed to a quick-fix weight loss.
“It’s a little scary for people to come to a detox retreat,” said Anjeza Aksu, The LifeCo Phuket’s health program manager. “But now detox retreats have changed. It’s not just a camp where you go and lock yourself in; it’s more relaxing.”
Six dietary options have been carefully planned according to the center’s programs and will be chosen specifically for each client after an initial evaluation.
“On the first day we get the first measurements – body weight, blood sugar, blood pressure and talk one-on-one with the person to find out what his or her expectations are,” Ms Aksu said. “We try to figure out why they joined the program – whether to lose weight, to feel younger, or if they have a health condition.”
On offer are two different juice cleanses aimed at cleaning the digestive tract and promoting a chemically balanced body.
However, also offered is a Green Salad Diet consisting of healthy salads and nuts; a Low Calorie Diet, with a 1200 calorie intake per day, which includes three meals and a snack; The Anti-aging Diet, which includes intermittent fasting, with six hours a day to eat and 18 hours to sleep, exercise, and drink juices and teas; and the ketogenic diet, geared toward people with chronic disease, which includes 70% healthy plant-based fats and 20-25% protein, with the remainder consisting of complex carbs.
Each program consists of an organic, raw, vegan diet with additional vitamin, mineral and enzyme supplements – such as the plant-based protein spirulina, to ensure your body gets the necessary nutrients, becomes more alkaline and is able to heal itself.
But it is not just all salad and juices. The LifeCo makes it easy with organic ‘pasta’ made from zucchini and even vegan, organic lasagna and desserts.
Each meal is especially prepared for individual clients, who have a choice to partake in the program at the 40-room, 20-private-villa and 14-luxury room estate, or from the comfort of their own home.
“We provide everything here, so there is no need to find anything outside,” said Ms Aksu. “If they are living outside of the center, we pack everything, we write down the time they need to eat, we give a copy of their program to them and we are always remain in contact.”
To make the program sustainable, The LifeCo offers lectures on supplements and nutrition, provides information through health-related documentaries and offers food workshops, such as how to prepare almond milk smoothies and meals.
However, diet is just one aspect of what The LifeCo offers its clients.
Included in clients’ personally mapped-out program schedules are daily massage therapy, body wraps to help during the detox process, encourage weight loss and to firm the muscles, as well as time in steam and infrared saunas.
Daily yoga classes are on offer, as well as morning walks, three pools, a trampoline and an inversion table. The center may even eventually include different classes, such as Thai boxing, that can be taken in a group or individual setting.
Clinically, the retreat includes mineral injections and hormone testing from on-staff nurses and doctors, and self administered colon cleansing.
When walking through the vast, yet intimate complex of The LifeCo, it is easy to see what has made the company so successful – integrating relaxation and knowledge while promoting a healthy lifestyle.
“When you go through these types of programs, losing weight is our secondary goal,” said Ms Aksu. “Detox is not about losing weight, it’s about bringing your body to a healthy point where you can lose weight in a healthier way and have a higher quality of life in the coming year.”
— Katie P Arnold
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Business
Governments & old media versus social media – who will win? | VIDEO

We look at the recent changes made by the Australian and Indian governments to except control over the world’s biggest social media platforms. India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social. There is now an open battle between the rise of social media platforms and the governments and ‘old’ media that have been able to maintain a certain level of control over the ‘message’ for the last century. Who will win?
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told. The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
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Business
The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”
India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.
The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.
The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.
They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”
The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.
The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.
At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.
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Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.
Business
Turbulence ahead for Thailand’s aviation industry | VIDEO

When the airlines, in particular, were asking the government to put their hands in their pockets for some relief funding in August last year, it was genuinely thought that international tourists would be coming back for the high season in December and January. At the very least local tourists and expats would head back to the skies over the traditional holiday break. And surely the Chinese would be back for Chinese New Year?
As we know now, none of that happened. A resurge in cases started just south of Bangkok on December 20 last year, just before Christmas, kicking off another round of restrictions, pretty much killing off any possibility of a high season ‘bump’ for the tourist industry. Airlines slashed flights from their schedule, and hotels, which had dusted off their reception desks for the surge of tourists, shut their doors again.
Domestically, the hotel business saw 6 million room nights in the government’s latest stimulus campaign fully redeemed. But the air ticket quota of 2 million seats still has over 1.3 million seats unused. Local tourists mostly skipped flights and opted for destinations within driving distance of their homes.
As for international tourism… well that still seems months or years away, even now.
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