EDITOR’S LETTER

A HAPPY LIFE IS A HEALTHY ONE. SO TUCK IN

For a good while, the working title of this edition was “The Nutrition Issue”. But then we figured that would be pretty boring. Yes, food is a major player on the Men’s Health roster and offering sound nutritional advice is at the bedrock of what we do. But then, so is muscle growth – and it’s highly unlikely we would ever try to sell you “The Hypertrophy Issue”.

While everything in these pages is rooted in science – proper, peer-reviewed science – the reason we bury our heads in studies and do all this time-consuming research is that we want you to enjoy the fruits of our labour. Nutrition is the dry, nerdy stuff we mug up on so you can devour, say, an unctuous plate of slowroasted bone marrow on toast from Hawksmoor, knowing that not only is it a good source of minerals such as calcium and magnesium, but it also contains the protein hormone adiponectin, which helps to break down fat. (Really – see page 74). We scrutinise the rules so you can break them and lick your lips while doing so.

We decided on “The Eat Healthyish Issue” instead. Because, in truth, isn’t that how we all want to eat, most of the time? Sure, eating dirty is fun every once in a while, but feeling the need to take a postprandial shower every time you gorge on a beast burger very quickly becomes tiresome. As for eating clean, well, I think we’ve made our feelings quite clear about that particularly joyless, clueless approach to nourishment. Eating healthyish means not squandering calories without at least gleaning some benefit in return, and not pursuing nutritional targets at the expense of taste or enjoyment. It means understanding that food serves two purposes – to sustain and to indulge – and that these needn’t be mutually exclusive. In short, it simply means eating smart.

So, within these pages, you’ll find our A-Z of Macros (and How to Make Them Exciting), a useful compendium of fitness nutrition know-how with a liberal sprinkling of gourmet fun to help the medicine go down. There’s a fascinating piece on the rise of vegan dude food, too, plus a photo portfolio of the mavericks revolutionising what and how we eat. Meanwhile, Anthony Warner – AKA the Angry Chef – puts bogus dietitians first against the wall, as we assemble the very best meal in the UK. And guess what? This issue is a wholly kale-free zone. Because that’s not healthyish, it’s just miserable.

66 Staying nutritionally balanced needn’t be a chore. Follow our alternative guide to hitting your macros

Feast your eyes on the UK’S finest meal. Every dish is packed with both flavour and goodness

90 Our egg recipes will transform your go-to protein into a gourmet show-stopper

86 Health-conscious Britons are deserting the meat aisles for tempeh, quorn and seitan – but are fake meats any better for you?

92 A new wave of prison fitness programmes is giving inmates a second chance. MH went behind bars to investigate

72 Are diet fads just fake news? MH debunks food myths with the writer Anthony Warner, AKA the Angry Chef

78 From a subterranean farmer to a holistic gym-shake maker, meet the disrupters changing the way we eat and drink