Towards a Healthy Diet

(Written 25\6\2012 in Yorkshire as a blog for Triond initially)

Last week I had my first over the limit blood-sugar reading. This led me to consider a healthier diet...

I am not a doctor. Or even a scientist. But recent developments have led me to start some scientific thinking. Now that I’ve hit 60 they’ve started to give me all sorts of medical tests. And last week I “failed” the blood sugar test. Have had a second test and await any results. No news is good news.

Not long since I also heard about someone cutting out white bread to control their sugar. So, I Googled these matters.

Sure enough, I read that the first step for lowering blood-sugar is to stop eating “white” processed food: bread, rice, granulated sugar and the like. So, no more teatime sandwiches for me. More obviously, in my case, no more evening almond and lemon slices (cakes).

I kept reading. That led me onto Low Glycaemic Index Diets. Basically these are all about eating foods that release sugar slowly into your bloodstream. Many healthy vegetables, fruits, nuts and meats are listed as “good”. Potatoes are “bad” (GI 56 boiled but 75 as chips). My breakfast favourites “Shredded Wheat” (69) and “Weetabix” (77) are quite high too however. I thought they would be lower as they seem to contain plenty of roughage. Those other sugary cereals are even higher of course.

So I decided to stick with those cereals for their vitamins and fibre, but drop the chips. And the bread. Then I got worried I might faint or something through lack of carbs. And I Googled again.

First thing I saw was a “Primal Blueprint Diet” based on a high fat, high protein intake. Further exploration uncovered all variety of diet: high protein such as “Atkins”, high carb, “Ketogenic” (High fat, some protein, low carb), and so on. One site declared that Carbs are the best, another Fats, another Proteins.... Many conflicting schools of thought. Then there is Calorie Counting, GI... Oh my.

On balance I like the look of the Low GI diets best. But that’s because they seem to be the “healthiest” overall. They include nutritious foods such as leafy vegetables, fruit, nuts, oily fish, and so forth.

Seems all we can do is “cherry pick” (pardon the pun) the best of all the diets. Eat “Good Fat” like that fish I mentioned, rather than “bad fat” such as dripping. Plenty of fruit and vegetables. Lots of nuts. Avoid processed food. Go for brown rice and bread, rather than white. Wholegrain bread is better. Alcohol should be consumed in moderation.

In short, I think our diets should be varied and balanced. Extreme diets are not the way to go, in my view. For each food you consider, you have to weigh up the pros and cons. And let’s face it: we all have a good idea which foods are healthy: fresh fibrous ones packed with vitamins rather than calories. Sure, it’s worth checking them out on various lists if in doubt. And if you still aren’t sure, check with a professional dietician or doctor.

Paul Butters

Tags:      healthy eating, right diet, Google, GI, Primal Blueprint, Atkins, low carb