Tag Archives: nutrition

Why there is nothing wrong with being fat

February 27, 2017 By in Love your body Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Little over 3 generations ago, women could not succeed in business, politics or academia.

Little over 2 generations ago, we may have finally realised there is nothing that makes women incapable, but black people were still not deserving of the vote.

Little over 1 generation ago, we may have finally realised there is nothing wrong with being black, but homosexuality was still both a mental disorder and a crime.

Today, we may have finally realised there is nothing wrong with someone’s sexuality, but there is still something wrong with being fat.

And yet…

  • In today’s obesogenic environment, the most potent predictor of fatness is actually one’s genes.
  • There is minimal scientific evidence that diet results in substantial weight loss in the long-term (greater than 2 years).
  • Being fat and being healthy are not mutually exclusive events. Your eating and physical activity habits are (far) more important predictors of your health than a number on the scales.
  • Since we live in a time that says our body is an important part of who we are, believing or promoting this idea that fatness is bad is a recipe for body shame and emotional stress – two potent risk factors for overeating, fad dieting, mental illness, suicide and chronic disease.
  • Helping fat people to practice body and self-acceptance has been proven to enhance physical and mental health more so than dieting does. And no, self-acceptance does not make people eat ‘worse’ – research demonstrates the very opposite is actually true.

The idea that who we are is equal and enough may just be the most powerful tool we have invented to improve the health and wellbeing of our society as a whole.

And this time, the wellbeing of future generations falls on us.

[Note: This post originally claimed, “There is zero scientific evidence that diet and exercise results in significant weight loss in the long-term.” This was an exaggeration of the evidence and thus has been edited accordingly.]

Getting nutrition facts and judgements confused

December 19, 2016 By in Quit the dieting Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments

This is what nutrition science can tell us:

  • The average nutrient content of a particular food, and the average effect a food or nutrient has on particular health biomarkers for a group of people under experimental conditions.

This is what nutrition science can’t tell us:

  • That a food or nutrient is good or bad.
  • How you should and shouldn’t be eating.
  • That you can’t eat a particular food or nutrient if you want to.
  • That not eating a certain way means you have failed or are wrong.
  • That physical health must be your most important life value.
  • That a lower body weight is superior to a heavier body weight.

[Note: Overeating, food cravings, meal skipping, eating disorders and feelings of stress around food often start to resolve, once we stop confusing the two.]

Appreciating the complexity in nutrition

December 12, 2016 By in Nutrition that works Tags: , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

I was cleaning out my study the other day when I came across a dated nutrition book. Flicking through the pages, its central theme was one you have surely heard of: eating less fat will help you to lose weight and find better health.

It may vary between fat, sugar, carbohydrate or fructose, but my experience is that most popular nutrition books are based on this idea.

Important to understand, then, that nutrition is never actually linear, and always far more complex. For example, our current understanding of the relationship between fat, weight gain and health changes according to numerous variables. Here are just a few:

  • There are many different types of fatty acids, some which have vastly different health effects from others.
  • The quantity of fat that is consumed changes the health effect; consuming some fat is healthier than avoiding it entirely or consuming it in excess.
  • Foods contain much more than just fat, and some high-fat foods can be rich (or poor) sources of health-promoting nutrients like dietary fibre and antioxidants.
  • Eating less fat typically means that we will eat more of something else, and the health consequences of eating less fat are very dependant on what that something else is.
  • Fat consumption can improve the absorption of other essential nutrients, and the health consequence of this depends on your current intake of these nutrients.
  • Believing a low-fat diet is ‘good’ can actually increase our consumption of low-fat cookies and other low-fat discretionary foods.
  • How fat is cooked can change its chemical nature and subsequent health effect.
  • There is a wide variation in the metabolic response between individuals, even after digestion of the very same food. What works for one individual may not work for another.
  • Telling people to avoid the foods they enjoy can make them crave and overeat them even more.
  • Our beliefs about the health effects of what we eat likely affect their actual health outcome.

We live in a complex world, and it’s human nature to try and simplify it. To remove the many moving variables at play so that it fits into our current level of understanding. I think that’s why we mostly look at nutrition through a linear lens, arguing that the solution lies in avoiding fat, sugar, starch, salt, grains, dairy, soft drink or bread.

In reality, though, the better solution exists at the higher levels of thinking.

Thinking that considers the wider variables, understands their interconnectedness, recognises the ambiguity and appreciates the complex.

2 ways to overcome a problem

November 28, 2016 By in Change your thinking Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

One is to learn. The other is to grow.

We learn when we look at our problem with our existing perspective, but develop our knowledge and skills to overcome it.

“I want to lose weight for my wedding day, so I’m reading the newest detox diet book to find out how.”

We grow, on the other hand, when we reach an entirely new perspective in order for a better solution to be found.

“How much I weigh at my wedding will not actually influence my experience, as I see that, 1) I am so much more than my body, and 2) the possible judgements of others do not define who I am.”

Sometimes, of course, learning is exactly what is required.

But much of the time, the universe is full of wondrous things that are patiently waiting for our minds to grow, in order for us to see them.

4 protein swaps that will improve your health

November 15, 2016 By in Nutrition that works Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

1. Swap processed red meats (such as sausages, bacon, ham and salami) for unprocessed red meats (such as beef, lamb and pork) and reduce your intake of preservatives, salt and nitrates, improve heart and metabolic health, and prolong your life.

2. Swap unprocessed red meats for poultry or eggs and reduce your intake of heme iron, and improve bowel and heart health.

3. Swap poultry or eggs for seafood (particularly oily fish) and increase your intake of iodine, selenium and omega-3, and improve heart health.

4. Swap seafood for legumes (such as baked beans, chickpeas, red kidney beans and lentils) and increase your intake of plant protein and dietary fibre, improve heart and metabolic health, and prolong your life.

Yes, protein can promote fullness, increase metabolic rate, stimulate the growth of muscle, and support weight management.

But food, of course, is much more than just protein.

3 things you should know about dairy

October 5, 2016 By in Nutrition that works Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

To understand how dairy foods (milk, yoghurt and cheese) affect health, consider these 3 nutrition principles:

1. Foods are much more than negative nutrients.

Yes, dairy foods are typically rich in saturated fat. But consider recent scientific research:

The health benefits of dairy, including lower and higher fat ones, makes sense: dairy foods can contain magnesium, calcium, protein, riboflavin, Vitamin B12, conjugated linoleic acid, and fermentation by-products, including probiotics, prebiotics and bioactive peptides, too.

2. Moderation in all things.

The relationship between dairy and health changes according to the amount that is consumed. Consider:

  • The relationship between cheese and heart health appears to be somewhat curvilinear, with the healthiest intake around 40 grams.
  • Large quantities of dairy may slightly increase the risk of prostate cancer.

3. There is no perfect diet.

Instead, there are many different ways to eat healthily, and no ‘best’ recommendation with regards to dairy. Consider:

  • Our body adapts according to what we eat: it has long been known that the absorption of numerous minerals is improved when their intake is low.
  • Nutrients are typically found in array of different foods, and dairy is not required for adequate calcium intake (just consume other calcium rich foods), nor is milk required for optimal bone health.
  • Dairy is not an essential food group, and the health benefits associated with its consumption can be found from eating a variety of other foods, particularly minimally processed plants.

I’ve heard advice not to eat full cream dairy (it’s high in fat!), not to eat low-fat dairy (it’s high in sugar!), not to eat cheese (it’s high in calories!), not to have cow’s milk (it’s not fermented!), and not to eat any dairy at all (it’s not natural!).

Yet my interpretation of the nutrition research is that all can be compatible with good health; yet none are essential for it.

Eat more from what you do enjoy, and enjoy more from what you do eat.

7 questions to ask if you’re struggling with your weight

September 20, 2016 By in Get motivated Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Q1. What would weight loss make more possible?

It might be body satisfaction, better health or more happiness. It is different for everyone, so list whatever it would truly make possible for you.

Q2. What would achieving these things make more possible?

It might be more confidence, more energy, or even being a better parent. Again, list whatever it would make possible for you.

Q3. What would achieving these things make more possible?

And keep on asking this same question until it no longer makes sense, you can’t answer it after considered thought, or you start repeating what you’ve already said. The purpose here is to thoroughly explore the energy that is sitting behind your weight loss goal.

Q4. Now, of all the things you’ve written (body satisfaction, more energy, being a better parent, etc, etc.) which is the deal-breaker or deal-breakers?

Which one or ones pull on your heart, and make you feel that you cannot live without? Be selective here. Which is truly most important to you?

Q5. For this chosen item or items, brainstorm: how else could you achieve this, if weight loss wasn’t an option?

What are all the other ways you can improve your body satisfaction, get more energy or be a better parent, for example, if you couldn’t lose weight?

Q6. Out of all of these new strategies, which one jumps out at you?

What new strategy excites you and really helps you to achieve what you selected?

Q7. What action steps are required to achieve this newly chosen strategy?

Be specific here, and put a timeline in place stating when you will complete it.

Then start.

When you have the willingness to turn your struggles upside down, you’ll likely discover a greater sense of purpose, motivation and hope. 

As all of a sudden, you see more clearly what it is that you are actually struggling with.

[PS. i) Yes, you can still have a weight loss goal, if it is helpful, as part of this new bigger picture. ii) You can also try asking these 7 questions for just about any other goal you’ve been struggling with. Their usefulness certainly exceed weight loss.]

Why a calorie is not always a calorie

September 5, 2016 By in Nutrition that works Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

A calorie rich food is not always fattening, and a lower calorie food is not always less fattening. 

To demonstrate, consider these scientific findings:

  • Adding some calorie rich foods to your diet, such as nuts or olive oil, decreases waist circumference over several years.
  • Some other calorie rich foods, such as cheese, do not appear to be linked to weight gain over time. Yet some lower calorie foods, such as refined grains and potato, do.
  • Full-cream milk may actually reduce weight gain, whilst low-fat milk may not.
  • Diets high in calorie-rich foods can be better for body weight management than diets low in calorie-rich foods.

To understand this, consider the many ways a food can affect your energy balance, other than its calorie content. These include:

  • The amount of it you eat.
  • The other foods you might consume with it.
  • The foods from your diet it might displace.
  • How satisfied you feel during, and immediately after, eating it.
  • How full you feel several hours after eating it, and
  • The many ways it affects your bodies’ metabolic response, such as the resulting increase in your metabolic rate, the type and amount of hormones released to digest it, and how much your gut bacteria is fed by it.

In the short-term, weight loss is achieved by reducing calories, irrespective of food or diet.

But in the long-term, the regulation of body weight is far more complex. Some of the most calorie rich foods are among the healthiest foods that we can eat, and their consumption does not increase body weight in any way.

Much better than avoiding calorie rich foods, is to ask how you can consume more of your calories from health-promoting foods.

What is more important than sugar, saturated fat, carbohydrates and calories?

July 26, 2016 By in Nutrition that works Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

A banana is 13% sugar, and has a greater percentage of sugar than soft drink.

Yet the banana also contains potassium, magnesium, dietary fibre, Vitamin C and (when partially unripe) is one of the richest sources of resistant starch. It’s consumption, as part of a diet that contains a variety of other fruits, helps to protect you from heart disease and stroke, weight gain, and helps to prolong your life.

Cheese is typically rich in saturated fat, and has a very similar fatty acid content to butter.

Yet cheese also contains calcium, protein, magnesium, Vitamin B2 and Vitamin B12. It’s consumption lowers cholesterol when eaten in replace of butter, is not actually associated with weight gain, and may (slightly) help to protect you from cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

Extra-virgin olive oil and nuts are both extremely rich sources of calories and fat, and provide a denser source of both than a doughnut.

Yet both extra-virgin olive oil and nuts are very rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, phenols and other antioxidants. The liberal addition of these foods to the diet protects against both cardiovascular disease and Type 2 Diabetes (substantially), whilst also appearing to potentially reduce body weight and waist circumference.

Wholemeal bread is rich in rapidly-digested carbohydrates, and results in a greater spike to blood sugar than table sugar does.

Yet wholemeal bread also contains dietary fibre, Vitamin B1, Vitamin E, folate, various minerals and phytochemicals, particularly phenolic antioxidants. It’s consumption, as part of a diet containing a variety of other whole or fibrous grains, helps to protect you from Type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bowel cancer, weight gain, and helps to prolong your life, too.

Why do we believe the presence of a ‘negative’ nutrient – whether it is sugar, saturated fat, carbohydrates or calories – means a food is unhealthy or fattening?

Much more important, is to look for the abundance of positive nutrients found in minimally processed foods, instead.

Relearning food and nutrition

June 13, 2016 By in Quit the dieting Tags: , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Instead of learning about the right and wrong foods to eat, let’s learn instead about the many different foods and diets each compatible with healthy living.

Instead of learning to change what we eat according to a new diet, let’s learn instead to modify what we eat according to our internal hunger.

Instead of learning to stop eating the foods we love, let’s learn instead to eat them in the amounts that provide us with long-term enjoyment and satisfaction.

Instead of learning to eat by following all of these rules and restrictions, let’s learn instead how to eat with freedom and by following our intuition.

Instead of learning that eating is a practice done primarily to lose weight, let’s learn instead that it is a practice done primarily to nourish the billions of cells that contribute to the optimal functioning of our mind and body.

Relearning food and nutrition matters.

It matters because eating within the context of diets, judgements, rules and restrictions is highly stressful. This stress is not just damaging short-term, it too has long-term impacts on our hormonal, neurological and digestive systems.

Eating in a stressful state can:

When we approach food and nutrition with a different mindset, we can help to undo these physiological effects. Research shows that eating more mindfully and with self-compassion – being aware and attentive to our eating, without judgement – promotes healthy weight management.

Indeed, our eating mindset is proposed as a better predictor of weight management than any specific combination of foods or nutrients is.

The most common question I get asked as a nutritionist is, “Is this food healthy?”

My most common answer is, “That depends, largely, on how you eat it.”

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