Official dietary advice is not for me

LATEST government proposals on diet may well be guided by a recent report which suggests doctors should be able to prescribe fruit and vegetables. It is being implied that a diet including fresh fruit and vegetables is more expensive than ‘junk food’.

It suits me to follow a middle course. Local supermarkets sell fresh fruit and veg at very low prices. They also sell packages of assorted vegetables suitable for casserole, stew or stir fry, which cost slightly more than unprepared veg but give a better selection.

As a man living alone, I find that fresh vegetables come in too large packs, while prepared veg can be frozen and eaten over several days, presumably without loss of nutritional value.

With some fresh meat added, which costs about 80p a portion, and half a pack of stir fry vegetables, which I usually steam rather than fry, I get a good meal for under £2. Half the price of a small burger in a bun from any well-known burger bar. The biggest enemy of my diet has been advice from doctors.

Some years ago, I was diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome, cause unknown, but believed to be related to my diet. The consultant, from India, explained that in his country a high fibre diet was normal but incidence of irritable bowel syndrome roughly similar. So amount of fibre likely to be irrelevant.

Advice from GP prior to consultant appointment was to take more fibre. I was therefore eating a portion of muesli for breakfast. On leaving consultant appointment, nurse again advised that I should take more fibre.

My life partner pointed out that no one had asked how much fibre I usually ate. On the muesli box the makers suggested that a portion should be 100 grams.

We weighed out one hundred grams. I had been eating about 250 grams. Irritable bowel disappeared until I again followed government/ medical advice and included plenty of salad with meals. I told the doctor I could not understand why irritable bowel had reappeared as I was eating plenty of salad. He groaned and covered eyes but said nothing. I cut back dramatically on salad.

There was an upside though... in three months I had shed three-anda-half stone (about 23 kilos).

Mike Baker

by email