When less is best

We know we should keep sugar and saturated fat levels low but there are surprising ways where the ‘less is more’ mantra can bring health benefits, says Kim Jones

The fewer ingredients in a packaged food, the better it might be for you. So think “less is more” when reading a food label, suggests nutritionist Rob Hobson, author of Unprocess Your Life.

“UPFS are industrial formulations typically containing lots of ingredients, many of which you wouldn’t find in an everyday kitchen,” says Rob.

“Examples are soft drinks, packaged snacks, processed meats, and ready meals – look on the label for additives such as artificial colours, sweeteners, flavour enhancers, preservatives, and emulsifiers.

“Higher intakes of UPFS are associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel conditions, depression, poor bone and muscle strength, dementia and certain cancers.”

Avoid foods like this as far as you can, and try replacing some UPF meals you cook on a regular basis with your own homemade versions, like fishcakes, or curry.

“Also, make easy swaps like replacing fizzy drinks with carbonated water infused with fruit, choose sourdough or homemade wholemeal bread over mass-produced packaged bread and replace sugary breakfast cereals with homemade granola,” he adds

The same can be said for supplements – fewer ingredients on the label can be better.

“Additives like fillers, e-numbers, glues, lubricants and colours are routinely added to many commercial supplements,” says Aimee Benbow, head nutritionist at Viridian Nutrition (viridian-nutrition.com).

“These substances have no benefits for the body but they make manufacturing easier, so mass production is quicker and cheaper.”

What’s more, some of these additives might actually be harmful. Look out for things like magnesium stearate, which might cause a laxative effect and inhibit the absorption of the content of the supplement. And titanium dioxide, a compound that gives tablets and capsules a uniform colour and which is also used in paint, says Aimee.

“European authorities no longer consider titanium dioxide a safe food additive because of its genotoxic effect,” she explains. This means it can damage DNA which can cause mutations that may lead to cancer.

Being given the chance to make your own decisions is typically thought to be a good thing. But a study in the Journal of

Personality and Social Psychology found having too many can be mentally exhausting.

It could explain why trawling the shops and choosing between competing brands and deals means we end up feeling bushed after filling our baskets.

Try going on a deliberate limited choice diet to simplify your life. For food shopping, write a list, have a weekly meal-planner plus a set budget and stick to it.

And whittle TV streaming services down to one or two.

The average person has 80 apps installed on their phone and a stream of texts, emails, messages, social media – and influencers – to keep up with. The trouble is that many of us feel unable to switch off for fear of missing out, which can be stress-inducing.

Overuse of tech and social sites has been linked to difficulty focusing and depression and though we can’t completely remove or detach ourselves from our digital world, we can be more selective says Tanya Goodin, a digital detox expert and author of My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open. “In some areas like reading, preserving memories and connecting with friends, analogue methods might work better,” she says.

“So try things like reading a real book at bedtime. A study in the peer-reviewed journal Clocks & Sleep found that nighttime production of melatonin (a hormone that induces sleep) was elevated after reading printed material like a real book.

“Reading on light-emitting electronic devices like tablets has the opposite effect – stimulating blue light can disrupt sleep, interfere with your production of melatonin and REM sleep. And if you need to remember something, write it down with a pen. Research has shown that physically writing information down enhances memory retention compared with typing it into your phone or laptop.”

Research has long shown that too much sitting still and TV watching has been linked to heart disease.

But a study using data from the UK Biobank has also recently indicated those who watched the most television daily – more than four hours – were 24% more likely to develop dementia.

Interestingly, the study showed that computer use had the opposite effect.

People who used computers interactively – not passively streaming – for more than one hour a day were 15% less likely to develop dementia.

The fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) is a five-day diet high in unsaturated fats and low in overall calories, protein, and carbohydrates. It’s designed to mimic the effects of a water-only fast while still