It is one of life's mysteries but it seems that if a "celebrity " claims that his or her diet will produce good health and a trim body a vast number of people will slavishly follow that advice - and ask no questions about the qualifications involved.
It seems that this year carbohydrates are the enemy of good health and the Australian Grain and Legumes Nutritional council has discovered that carbohydrate consumption has fallen thirty percent in the past three years. In the majority of cases, our whole grain intake has been replaced by what are termed the "white stuff " - cake and biscuits containing a very unhealthy content of salt and sugar.
It seems that seventy percent of the Australian population are not meeting the Australian dietary guidelines and this is because an overwhelmingly complex number of diets are on offer - and many people adopt a "mix and match " strategy, taking what suits them from several diets and ending up with eating habits that make no dietary sense. The other mistake many people make it to replace the benefits contained in a mix of foods with dietary supplements - from a bottle sold by the health food shops.
The human body is a very complex structure. Just as we need to know what type of fuel to buy when we fill the tank of whatever make of car we drive, food is the fuel for the human engine and we need to cover a wide spectrum of food types to deliver optimum performance. Tinkering with the food intake can be deadly - as evidenced by those who suffer from Anorexia Nervosa.
Perhaps the best way to solve the dieting mystery is to first see a doctor and get tested for any genuine food allergies. This usually involves both a blood test and a series of skin tests that reveal allergies for certain types of nuts or lactose intolerance. Once these are accounted for, the whole wide world of food is available as a human fuel - in moderation !
A century ago the human life span was a lot shorter than it is today. In some countries the average person lives little longer than fifty years and malnutrition is a scourge that stunts the growth of children. Longevity in the western world has increased because food is plentiful - and cheap, and there have been great advances in medical science. Vaccinations have eliminated many diseases that ravaged society and we have a health system with wide public access.
In recent times a lot of people have become both rich and famous from promoting diets - and in many cases the entire thinking behind those diets is what is termed a "fad ". The purpose of the diet is to achieve a single outcome, and in so doing it ignores a whole lot of unintended consequences by restricting essentials not included in that particular dieting regimen.
The average person would probably be better off junking all those diet books and adopting a cuisine that covers all food groups - in moderation. A degree of exercise is necessary to burn off excess calories and common sense - and regular weight checks - will be the best guidelines. A little mental discipline will keep the portions on the dinner plate within reason and make sure we adhere to our exercise schedule.
The only real basic to healthy living by way of healthy eating - is personal discipline. Knowing when to push that plate away and when to go for a daily walk, despite inclement weather. When we take up a diet we summon the resolve to faithfully follow directions - and we lose some weight - but in the vast majority of cases the diet ends - and we immediately pack on the weight lost over a very short period.
This present "fad " is a case in point. Some guru has convinced us to stay clear of carbohydrates and now the human gut is craving the dietary fibre it needs for good health. We will achieve better health by embracing the entire food spectrum - and simply applying a reasonable limit to meal sizes.
The key to good health resides in the decisions we make at meal time - and not in a diet book !
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