Savour the good things, says Nigella
LONDON: Her books contain recipes for some of the most indulgent cakes and puddings.
So it is no surprise that Nigella Lawson takes a dim view of so-called “clean eating”.
The celebrity cook has spoken out against the trend – which involves shunning processed foods – and says that fad diets can be used to mask serious conditions such as eating disorders.
She believes the problem with “clean eating” is that it makes other ways of eating seem dirty or shameful.
“People are using certain diets as a way to hide an eating disorder or a great sense of unhappiness with their own body,” she told the JW3 Speaker Series in London this week.
“There is a way in which food is used to either self-congratulate – you’re a better person because you’re eating like that – or to self-persecute, because you’ll not allow yourself to eat what you want.”
The 55-year-old, whose new book is called Simply Nigella, believes that telling women they have lost weight should not be seen as a compliment.
In another interview on Ireland’s The Late Late Show last Friday, Lawson said: “When women say ‘you have lost weight’, that is not a good thing. What is important is that you are healthy and embracing life. If you are naturally thin that’s fantastic – but if you have to starve yourself, it is not good.”
And she revealed that she only realised her mother had an eating disorder after she died from cancer in 1985.
“I knew she had a thing about thinness but I worked out later... When she was dying she allowed herself to eat. To wait until you have a terminal disease to enjoy eating is awful.”
The mother of two insisted that key to eating well was keeping everything in balance.
“There are times when you need a slice of cake... You have to savour the good things.”