Roxanne Fisher investigates the different meanings of 'health' in the media and how it can affect your diet...
Most of us are aware of the government guidelines for eating for optimum health: each meal should be a balanced percentage of the five main food groups; snack should be healthy; we should get our five a day at all costs, etc etc.
Sounds easy enough, certainly advice the majority of us could benefit from, and probably, already follow to varying degrees. A balanced diet is always going to beat a quick-fix-fad hands down. What about those of us who want to go beyond the basics though? We have constantly bombarded with the latest health craze/scare and much of the expert advice is wildly contradictory.
One example that has made health headlines in recent years is the claim that we should be eating not five but eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day to prevent heart disease by up to 22%. The revelation has been met with varied reactions - some nutritionists even stepping out and saying the whole notion of a healthy diet needing to be heavy with fruit and veg is a myth.
So who and what do we believe if even our government guidelines on healthy eating are proposed to be inadequate?
Comments on the NHS health website highlight the confusion and dissatisfaction many people feel about the advice on offer. Conflicting professional guidance about fats, carbs, and proteins seem to drive people further away from a sensible diet - what's the point in trying to eat well if no one can agree on what's healthy?
Photo by google.com
Most of us are aware of the government guidelines for eating for optimum health: each meal should be a balanced percentage of the five main food groups; snack should be healthy; we should get our five a day at all costs, etc etc.
Sounds easy enough, certainly advice the majority of us could benefit from, and probably, already follow to varying degrees. A balanced diet is always going to beat a quick-fix-fad hands down. What about those of us who want to go beyond the basics though? We have constantly bombarded with the latest health craze/scare and much of the expert advice is wildly contradictory.
So who and what do we believe if even our government guidelines on healthy eating are proposed to be inadequate?
Comments on the NHS health website highlight the confusion and dissatisfaction many people feel about the advice on offer. Conflicting professional guidance about fats, carbs, and proteins seem to drive people further away from a sensible diet - what's the point in trying to eat well if no one can agree on what's healthy?
Photo by google.com
