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Healthy Eating
I would add organic Dairy to the above list. I eat butter rather than hydrogenated palm oil full of trans fats, masquerading as margarine. Also oat cereals, but keep low on the deep fried mars bars. Although a little of what you fancy does you good. A big Mac once a month isn't going to harm you. Three times a week it will.
I consider healthy eating is to eat a wide variety of food that generally has been cooked from basic ingredients. If you look at the ingredients list of some of the processed foods, you need a science degree to even half way understand them. They are there to extend the shelf life, or add flavour to something that would just be flavourless mush without it.
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As fidget said, "no processed food".
Lots of greens, peppers, fresh fruit, fish, free range chicken, free range eggs. Home made soups.
A weekly indulgence of something naughty and delicious.
Same as Joyce and fidget minus the dairy (that plays me old bones up!) I never used processed food only fresh and as much organic stuff as I can afford on our budget. I think the key to "healthy eating" is keep it fresh, in season and stay away from processed foods with a little of what you fancy thrown in every now and then for good measure!
Sorry to disappoint Hortico, but I eat what I like, when I like, but then I also smoke and am 5 stone overweight.
As a doctor, much more of a do as I say, not what I do.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I agree with Hortico's philosophy, I simply work on the basis of all things in moderation. About the only thing I won't eat is duck eggs, and that's because I'm allergic to them. If I want to stuff a cream cake in my face I will do, along with the occasional bacon butty (not generally both at the same time). I can't remember the last time we had anything deep fried at home, but I do have chips when I'm out.
OH has been getting migraines so our diet this year has been dominated by trying to find and eliminate triggers. We think we've finally sussed the main culprit - soya. When you start looking for it, it's in more or less all processed food. We already generally avoided processed stuff but as others have said, we always thought the odd cake or biscuit wouldn't be a problem. Seems that may have been wrong. It'll have to be homemade cakes and mince pies for Christmas.
My mother had cancer 20 years ago and her oncologist told her to avoid eating 'new' foods like margarine and highly processed things. He said "there's no proof any of it causes cancer but there is evidence that suggests it at least makes you more susceptible to other causes." Safer to avoid it, was his view.
Oh and the other general rule I try to follow; it doesn't matter what you eat and drink between Christmas and New Year. It's what you eat between New Year and Christmas you have to be careful with.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
The other problem with soya is that most of it is GM modified so they can use glyphosate before harvesting to clear the weeds. There is some residual in the soya beans, and it is suspected to be a hormone disrupter, which could lead to cancer in susceptible people. Soya is in lots of things, even bread, where it is said to be an "improver".
I started down the route of avoiding additives when I found that Smokey Bacon crisps make my joints swell. I can eat plain salted. I avoid buffets where everything is dipped in bright orange breadcrumbs.
I have a stomach problem (allergies, the tendency for it to randomly want to turn itself inside out) so am very careful with what I can and can't eat as the results can be... well horrendous.
Food is responsible for
- my hair falling out
- my migraines (full blown left side blindness, projectile vomiting migraines)
- a headache I had that lasted several years
- my bad teeth (not helped by the vomiting)
- my immune system being badly weakend
- the fact that after years of trying to "make the best of it" my body is stuck in survival mode. It is not used to being able to absorb nutrition... which means it hangs on to every last bit of fat et al that it can. We don't seem to be able to do anything to loose weight.
- the fact that I really should have shares in toilet roll we used to get through so much (I'll let your imagination work that one out)
- Possible fertility problems that aren't a problem yet. But may be in the future.
- Blood sugar concerns (ever had a nurse try and ram an entire bottle of lucozade down your throat because you really shouldn't be sat up talking with blood sugar that low? Oh my goodness those bubbles came out through my nose for hours after).
So yes. Back to the original question: healthy eating. Because of the above there are many foods I don't eat. Many foods I shouldn't eat. But the rest of them? I try to buy the freshiest, try to take the time to make sure I prepare the food myself rather than rely on a packet. But that doesn't stop me from putting the tuna steak back in the freezer because what I fancy tonight is steak and chips!
Everything in moderation. Everything in sensible proportions. And when, especially over Christmas, you know you've eaten far too much, a few extra laps around the fields with the dog to try and keep the trouser button from popping off.
Healthy eating for me and hubby is to eat lots of fruit and veg, low consumption of red meat,chicken twice a week,1 or 2eggs a week. Bacon once a fortnight. Hubby has 3 sausages a week,i don't. People have to take things in perspective,eat things minimumly and it will be alright.we do have marg because hubby doesn't like butter, but not a lot. We don't have it every day. In the early 80s I bought a book called the F plan diet. Mainly because I wanted to lose weight, I was fed up doing the yo yo diet. It was quite a eye opener. Now I eat a lot of fibre and managed to keep my weight down.
For me it's home cooked food. Nothing processed apart from the odd pizza. Fresh veg and fruit, fat, butter, Sunday lard, olive oil and no supermarket ready meals. It's the way I was brought up, and the Mrs and we have 3 huge 6ft plus boys who are all healthy and we rarely see a doctor. We don't have much sugar though, a bag lasts 2 weeks, but the Mrs bakes weekly so she does use caster, but what she bakes lasts us a week. Everything in moderation as well.