Herald on Sunday

INTHE NATION’S PRAYERS from the chaff

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will be obese.

3. We’re getting sicker. Along with the weight increase comes a health decline. Type 2 Diabetes rates have steadily climbed in 15 years, rising by more than 100,000. It’s estimated one in four of us has pre-diabetes, many of us without knowing it.

4. We have more food issues. Fifteen years ago, gluten was something most people had never heard of. Now, gluten-free food is commonplac­e, along with food catering to allergies and intoleranc­es. Diagnosis — both medical and self — has vastly increased.

5. Nuances in fat and sugar. Evidence and understand­ing about fat and its role in health has emerged. HFG ditched its “low fat” recipe badge and (hopefully) we all know now it’s not about how much fat we eat, but the type of fat. Sugar, ditto: we’ve had lots of confusion, but hopefully we all know that lollies are bad, fruit is not.

6. Gut health is great. The research into the gut, its bacteria and what they do has exploded. We now know the health of our gut affects the health of almost every other system in the body, and there’s a huge range of foods aimed at boosting our gut bugs.

7. Plants rule. If there’s one thing that’s been consistent in the past 15 years, it’s the importance of plant foods — vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, grains and legumes — to human health.

8. Whole is good. Again, a thing

Ueveryone can agree on: foods that are fresh and whole are better than foods that are highly processed.

9. Booze is bad. Fifteen years ago we were hanging on to the notion that red wine was healthy for the heart. Now, not so much. Not drinking is much better for most of us.

10. People and planet are inextricab­ly linked. We can’t separate sustainabi­lity issues from health issues any more.

11. Everyone’s an expert. It’s hard to overstate the effect social media has had on how healthy eating informatio­n is spread. Anyone can publish anything — accurate or not — about nutrition, and publish they do. Often with a narrative that “they” — meaning the scientific establishm­ent — don’t want you to know about this, and ‘they’ are really behind the times.

12. Nutritiona­l kookyness abounds. In 2004, it was viral emails bearing dire warnings about the dangers of microwavin­g, and that margarine is “just one molecule away from plastic”. Now it’s raw juice fasts, anti-seed oil rants and essential oil nonsense on Facebook.

13. We don’t trust science. Closely related to the above point. It feels like now we’d rather trust an Instagram influencer, a seller of supplement­s or a friend-of-a-friend on Facebook for our nutrition advice than a body of actual scientific evidence.

14. We still mostly ignore expert advice. We all actually know, pretty much, what and how to eat for health, despite all the noise. Humans are contrary creatures, though, so most of us don’t do it.

Food is emotional; it’s tied up with family, community and self-image.

15. Nutrition is complex! And so are humans. Food is not just fuel. It’s emotional; it’s tied up with family and community and self-image. What and how we eat is meaningful and personal. One size, still, definitely does not fit all.

● Last week’s column was in reference to a Mail on Sunday report that I Quit Sugar author Sarah Wilson now eats sugar. Wilson says the report was wrong and she is taking “action” against the Mail on Sunday.

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 ??  ?? Niki Bezzant is editor-at-large for Healthy Food Guide
Niki Bezzant is editor-at-large for Healthy Food Guide

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