The conflicting nutritional messages from experts, bloggers and the food industry are prolific and not easy to disassemble or critically analyse, for this reason I would like to share some observations on a few of these mind shifters. In addition I hope that I can give you a few solutions and some real insights on how to make your diet your fountain of youth!
1. Firstly, you can find a research paper and sometimes numerous studies to back up most theories e.g. saturated fat is bad, saturated fat is good or protein is good for you to protein is bad. However in any study it is difficult to avoid bias (anything preventing the outcome/results being watertight), which can occur at any time of the study, from the design, selecting participants to analysing data. Therefore to fully review scientific literature, generally speaking the whole document must be read and understood. Herein lies problem one, as many media stories pick up on a specific line from a particular study and report it, often missing out huge chunks of the findings and on many occasions relaying the incorrect results. I was often shocked by nutrition media stories as I learned the skill of reading scientific papers as part of my degree. I really couldn't get my head around the misinformation in the media. There is no surprise we are completely confused as a nation, though we certainly cannot argue that sensational news sells!
Solution: Stop reading papers and watching the news, or stop believing everything you hear/read.
2. Weight loss and health is a big money spinner for the industries involved. People want a quick fix, we seek guidance to feel good and be slim. We think that we will be happy once we are slim and if an author can promise us an easy way to lose weight, and employs the best marketing tactics (backed up by some science of course), then we want to buy it. I am not saying any of these have not been successful albeit a short time, nonetheless the conflicting advice can confuse.
Solution: By all means buy a diet book if it looks like it can provide you with informative advice, just try to take things gradually, eat to feel good for you and form healthy habits for life. Be careful of any diet that suggests you overhaul your diet in a few weeks and remember weight loss is best as a side effect to eating well and feeling healthy and energised.
3. The food industry is extremely powerful. We are talking about influence and wealth with thousands of scientific studies being subsidised by the industry. As I write this post, the sugar, meat and dairy industries come to mind. This is not always a problem as many research projects would not go ahead without funding from the food industry, all the same you can see where there may be concerns, when for example an energy drink manufacturer funds an investigation into the consumption of the very product they sell.
Solution: Eat as clean as possible, by this I mean avoid processed foods as a general rule and eat what makes you feel good, provides you with stable energy levels and supports a healthy weight. Choose not to be bamboozled!
Now to make your diet a fountain of youth
1. Eat more plants!
Free radical damage may be the biggest causation of ageing. These unstable molecules scavenge and cause cell damage from the process of oxidation. This damage can lead to ageing, illness and cancer. Therefore flooding your body with antioxidants will neutralise free radicals and lower your risk of cancer and support prevention of premature ageing. Eating more vegetables and fruit will also provide you with more fibre, which keeps you full and supports your digestive system.
2. Eat less animal protein
The western diet brings with it a whole host of problems inclusive of heart disease, cancers and diabetes type 2. Protein is such a controversial subject in the nutrition world, however it cannot be argued that it is very difficult to find a plant based vegan with diabetes type 2. It is a myth that plant based diets are protein or iron deficient, in fact there is a strong correlation between high animal protein diets and higher rates of cancer and heart disease. If we think about eating like our ancestors, I am quite certain that we would not have had meat everyday. If you do eat meat, fish or dairy with every meal, try eating a few meat free meals per week. There is no doubt this will significantly benefit your health and the environment.
Live well, enjoy your food and keep experimenting with healthy ingredients! Eat organic when possible and enjoy salads, stir fry, veggie chilli and curry using lemons, cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, chilli, garlic, tamari sauce and miso for a range of flavours (see the blog recipes for inspiration).
I hope you have enjoyed the post, please get in touch if we can help you with any nutrition or lifestyle questions.
Love
Kelly x
If you would like to know more about these steps have a look at the following information sources:
http://www.vegfest.co.uk
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