News

Our monthly nutritional news letter with the latest research and thinking.

The Eatwell plate

The funny thing about writing your own news letter is deciding what is and what isn’t ‘news worthy’. There’s certainly no shortage of news in the world of nutrition but the majority of it is enough to send even me to sleep so I try my hardest not to pass that on to you. The biggest benefit is that every now and again I get to have an editor-less rant about something that makes me mad. I’ll leave it up to you to let me know if I’m getting it right or wrong.

The Eatwell plate

Some of you who have heard me talk recently will know that I feel rather passionately about the Governments Eatwell plate seen here.

According to the most comprehensive review of health during the 13 years since the Labour government came to power, obesity and alcohol have blighted their record. I didn’t need to read the report. One look at the Eatwell plate is all I need to know that the government has no interest whatsoever in confronting this issue. I should add that the review only considered the Labour government but I’m sure it wouldn’t have been any different for any of the other major parties.
The small, carefully colour coded purple section at the bottom says ‘foods high in sugar and fat’. And in some ways it is right to limit these ‘treat’ foods to around 10%. But this conveniently ignores almost everything to the right of the plate in yellow and blue that is…………….high in sugar and fat and salt.
The most worrying thing about this is that it’s an institutional document designed to advise our nation, it’s schools and hospitals. After years of ‘battling’ obesity, this is the very best our Government and their ‘chief scientists’ can come up with. The very best information they can give you, and most worryingly your children, on what to eat each day includes cornflakes, wheatabix, sunflower oil, an abundance of cheese, white bread, pasta and (although I still can’t believe it) a can of cola. When I first saw it I checked to see if it was April fools day and then figured that someone had hacked the Food (non)Standards Agency web site. Whatever happened to water? What about olive oil? And did humans really evolve eating a diet of 33% starchy foods like processed grains. Well those that lived in the Nestle forest may have done.
Almost every piece of genuinely good research into nutrition and public health leads us to believe that a modified Mediterranean diet is the way to go. I’ve talked about it in more detail here. I wrote the Mediterranean article without ever looking at the Eatwell plate but now having seen ‘the plate’ I’m compelled to share my own ‘eat well’ principles with you again. It’s an evolving theory so there are one or two changes since the last one.

• Walk to and from the shops. It’s good exercise and encourages you to buy locally
• Buy only free ranging, grass fed meat and dairy products (including butter). They are higher in the health giving essential fatty acids like omega 3
• Use extra virgin olive oil in cooking and food preparation, and use it liberally
• Avoid buying processed foods, especially margarines, baked goods, breakfast cereals, meats and ready meals. They’re laden with salt, sugar and saturated fats
• Ensure half of your plate/serving contains a wide variety of non-starchy vegetables
• Experiment using plenty of herbs and spices in your cooking. These add flavour and improve digestion
• Take plenty of time to enjoy your food with friends and family and chew properly. Eating in a relaxed environment improves digestion
• Drink approximately 1.5 litres of water a day. If you can afford it, a home reverse osmosis re mineralising system is the very best option (more about water in another newsletter
• Avoid fizzy drinks and any foods containing corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup

St Lukes Medical Centre Stroud

Thursday May 6th was the first of what will hopefully be many happy Thursdays working at St Lukes. I’ll also be doing a number of talks and workshops there so watch this space for more information.

That’s it for now. Happy eating to all of you.

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist