Food fads and conflicting health advice

FOOD FADS

There's been a recent trend in the so called "celebrity" world towards a vegan diet. It's the same with gluten, suddenly they are all cutting it from their diets.

We had the juice diet, the paleo diet, sugar free and the raw food diet. Each one advertised as a weight loss diet,the most healthy way to eat or made promises to detox your body.


CONFLICTING HEALTH ADVICE

To make things even more confusing, there are regular reports in the media about the latest scientific research. We are now being told we need to eat 10 fruit and veg a day and not 5.( BBC News) That this reduces are chances of getting cancer and other health conditions. It will also increase are chances of living longer.

However this advice really irritates me, due to my IBS I can not eat that much veg as it has a negative effect on me. This type of report can leave people feeling anxious. If we take this report, I'm more likely to develop cancer, heart illness and I'm going to die young!

I agree that we all need to take ownership about what we eat, but it's been proved that as long as we follow a 80% good and 20% bad eating plan. Plus get 150 Min's of moderate aerobic activity, we should maintain good health.

(Aerobic activity - can include housework and walking)

MORE THAN HEALTH

What we chose to eat is not just about living a healthy life. There are a lot of illnesses that can be managed by your diet. Celiac and Diabetic have no choice as being on the wrong food plan can have dire consequences.

Being a vegetarian or vegan is not just about eating healthy.  It's connected to animal welfare.  There are also people who chose what food they eat for ethical or environmental reasons.  Food is central to many religions, guiding them on what they should eat.  For example Buddhism and many ancient Indian religions.

VEGAN

Being a Vegan is different from just following a vegan diet. People eating a vegan diet are doing so for health reasons. Hoping to improve their health and lose weight. Or in response to being diagnosed with a health problem. 

Vegan Society

“to seek an end to the use of animals by man for food, commodities, work, hunting, vivisection, and by all other uses involving exploitation 

of animal life by man”.

VEGETARIAN
In the same way following a vegetarian diet is different from being a vegetarian. Along with health reasons, some people do not like the texture or feel of meat or poultry. Or may follow the diet for religious reasons. They are not vegetarians, as though they eat vegetarian food they may still wear fur or leather.

FLEXITARIAN
Are people who mostly follow a vegetarian diet but occasionally eat meat. This is usually for health reasons, based on medical researched.  Which has proven that eating too much meat is not great for your health.

GLUTEN FREE
In the case of Gluten, celiacs do not have a choice. It's a serious illness of the autoimmune system. It's long term and has no cure. Dermatitis Herpetiformis is a skin manifestation of Celiac disease. There are also people who are intolerant, there lucky it's not harmful. However it cause discomfort and pain to their digest system.

PESCATARIAN
Are people who follow a vegetarian diet, but also eat fish

Personally I'm a lactose intolerant pescatarian, I also follow a Low Fodmap diet. I do not eat meat or poultry they are not great for my IBS. I don't miss then, as I never did eat a lot of them.

Sounds complicated, and it is. It's what I have to do to manage my IBS symptoms. A low fodmap diet suggests cutting out gluten as well, along with certain vegetables. The ones that to put it politely, cause your body to produce gas. I discovered following the low fodmap plan helps me manage my IBS symptoms.  I excluded these foods for 3 months, to see if cutting them out would help. I then tried introducing small amounts. If they had a negative effect, then I knew for certain I shouldn't eat them.

I follow this diet for my health and well being. Researching food has been eye opening for me, showing me how much all my health conditions were affected by what I ate.   Never cut I food from your diet, if you do not have a reason for doing.  

HOLISTIC

Personally I follow a holistic approach to food and listen to my body. Since my mental health problems can impact on my IBS, they are all connected. I have learnt what I need to eat and when I need to eat. This helps me manage my condition.  I am a comfort eater so when I put on weight, it's a sign that my mental health isn't so good. 

When I've had a bad IBS episode, I've know I need to eat a bland diet for a few days.  More importantly listening to my body, helped discover which foods I need to avoid.

Obesity is a high concern in the medical community, however being constantly bombarded with new health research that contradicts each other is really not helpful.

Ignore the latest celebrity diets, research or talk to your Doctor if you want to change the way you eat.  Do research as it provides valuable advice on eating the right balance of foods in your chosen food plan.

Take media headlines on the latest health advice with a pinch of salt.  Look at the research for yourself.  Is it appropriate to you?  Again if you have a family history of a certain illness, talk to your doctor about your concern.  Listen to your own body and decide what's best for you.  

Leave food fads for attention seeking celebrities.