Part one The great British diet
The eat local, lose weight plan Plus Signs you’re suffering from parental burnout
Which country has the healthiest diet in the world? The “Mediterranean” diet, enriched with healthy fats, omega-3s, proteins coming primarily from seafood, and lots of fruits and vegetables, has long been considered an ideal way to eat. Scandinavians are celebrated for the wholegrain cereals, root vegetables, ferments, berries, fatty fish and lean meats that form the basis of a traditional Nordic dietary pattern (which studies suggest fosters weight loss and lower blood pressure). Meanwhile, the Japanese island of Okinawa is thought to have one of the highest life expectancies in the world because those who live there eat an abundance of unrefined carbs (predominantly sweet potato), bitter greens, high levels of soy and very small amounts of fish and meat.
What all these diets really come down to though, is eating fresh, real food, and mostly plants and grains. So we, in Britain, can get all the same nutrients, vitamins and minerals hailed as being the key to a long, healthy life – and we only need to look to our own shores to supply the goods.
Today, the Telegraph begins a four-week series celebrating the Great British Diet. Together with the bestselling author and nutritional therapist Amelia Freer, we’ll be showing how eating locally and seasonally, and shortening the journey from field to fork, can help you lose weight, feel better and live longer.
The basics of eating well
In 2021, with our infamously high rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, the Great British Diet might sound like a contradiction in terms. But it wasn’t so long ago that the way we ate was the backbone of a healthy, hardy population. Fourteen years of rationing changed the eating habits of a generation. A careful reduction in meat, a drop in sugar and an increased focus on fruits, vegetables and wholegrains meant our health improved dramatically during what was otherwise one of the most perilous moments in our history.
While few would advocate a return to the wartime larder, to know the best diet for a healthy mind and body we can look to the past.
“In our quest for the new, it seems we may have rather forgotten about the fundamentals,” says Freer. “We have forgotten the moderation and common sense that many of our grandparents lived by (often from necessity). The key to eating well – the very unmarketable secret – is to simply ensure that the majority of our meals are made from fresh, seasonal, minimally processed whole foods and to vary what we eat. Do this consistently and the results speak for themselves. And a great way to start is to look to the produce that is on our doorstep.”
Aim for a variety of different colours of fresh and frozen-from-fresh fruits and vegetables, a source of protein with each meal, and some healthy fats, she says. There’s no need to exclude anything, though processed foods and sugar should be avoided, and healthy fats and proteins from British fish, nuts, pulses and eggs should be the name of the game. If we choose to eat meat and dairy it should be in small amounts, and of a high quality.
“It’s about eating a wide variety of ingredients so that we can get the diversity we need for feeding our microbiome, improving our gut health and getting all the different nutrients that we need to prosper.”
And today more than ever it’s vital that we narrow the divide between farm and plate by enjoying food when it’s in season, and grown in this country. Do this, and you are ensuring freshness – and with freshness comes nutrition.
Food at its best
Ultimately, Freer believes our health “starts with farmers and producers”. “It’s a continual journey from sun, soil and crops along to the food on our plates and eventually into our own bodies and our biology. It’s a continuous spectrum.”
Once something has been farmed, it’s then about eating those ingredients in a state that is “as close as possible to how they would be found in nature”. Whole foods, which haven’t been processed or preserved in order to travel long distances and last longer, tend to have more nutritional value. “They’re higher in fibre, protein, micronutrients and crucial phytonutrients – which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits – per unit of energy than their highly processed or preserved alternatives,” says Freer.
Seasonal eating can also bring real joy to our plates and palates. “It means variety, and variety of produce means a variety of nutrients. It is this mixture that can help to protect us against the risk of nutritional deficiency or overload.”
Alex White, nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, says the amount of certain vitamins within food “can reduce over time postharvest”, which is why freezing can be a great solution to ensuring we can eat nutrient-filled produce all year round. “If the food is frozen rapidly after harvest, as is the case with the frozen vegetables, this can help preserve the nutrients,” he says.
Rise of the ‘climatarian’
Diet fads, from keto to paleo to plantbased, continue to come and go. You might find the pounds drop off at first, but it’s unlikely to be sustainable, either for you or for the planet. Increasingly, a more holistic approach is becoming increasingly popular. Many have predicted that this year’s big trend will be “climatarianism” – choosing what you eat based on a lower carbon footprint. In other words, it’s eating locally, seasonally and organically, having less red meat and dairy, and reducing food waste. This January, another buzzword jostled against the hordes shouting about #veganuary on social media. #Regenuary, which focuses on the provenance of food and encourages people to buy local, seasonal produce, was the surprise trend of the month. The idea behind Regenuary is to ask people to spend the month committing to sourcing food more responsibly and buying meat farmed using regenerative agriculture – a method designed to improve biodiversity in our soil, as healthy soil stores carbon and helps protect against flooding.
The Ethical Butcher, founders of Regenuary, received more than a million clicks on a social media post about the idea, and a movement is now growing, backed by farmers, chefs and suppliers who believe meat consumption is part of a sustainable future. Regenuary addresses our buying habits, with the hope that this approach will yield a more sustainable lifestyle change – a by-product of which is a boost to our health.
As concerns grow around farming standards overseas in the wake of Brexit, provenance and ethical farming have never mattered more. Waitrose recently reported a spike in British seafood sales, with mineral-rich clams, cockles, mussels and oysters proving particularly popular. Meanwhile, in lockdown, enterprising farmers set up websites and sold their wares direct from their farms when supermarket deliveries and lorries from overseas ground to a halt. Families found that buying produce straight from suppliers – often at wholesale prices – was cheaper than supermarkets.
‘Being inventive and making meat go further was how it used to be done’
Getting started
Policymakers and supermarket chains have a lot to answer for. If it was cheaper to buy British prawns than unethically caught Indonesian ones, we’d buy them. And most people would rather eat broccoli that has been driven a couple of hundred miles from Norfolk than that shipped in from Kenya. But until it is made more possible for everyone to buy British and eat seasonally on a budget, there are some small changes many of us can make.
Much of the thinking behind the Great British Diet is a case of oldfashioned home economics. It’s about making small amounts of meat last for a few meals, and letting wholegrains and veg take centre stage. “Meat was traditionally the most expensive item on the grocery list,” says Freer, “so being inventive and making it go further was simply the way things were done in the past.”
Freer advises eating less meat – she has red meat twice a month – and buying the absolute best quality you can afford. Grass-fed meat contains significantly more nutrients and less saturated fats than grain-fed.
“Stretch meat out with vegetables and pulses. Add lentils to mince mix, pack stews with veg and stretch out a chicken for at least three meals.
“And vary what fish you buy (fishing just one species can lead to depletions and offers us just one nutritional profile, so check the MSC website for what fish is currently considered sustainable) and for a cheaper option buy fish that is frozen from fresh – it’ll still be packed with nutrients.”
Over the next four weeks, we will be guiding you through the Great British Diet, with tips on how to make balanced meals that will support your health in a way that feels joyful and sustainable.
NEXT MONDAY IN THE TELEGRAPH
Great British Diet Part Two: Delicious ways to cook and eat British fruit and veg in season.