To be annoyed by NHS healthy choices quiz

[Notmycircusnotmyotter]

This seems to be on radio / tv adverts on repeat, featuring a seriously irritating hamster.

what's really annoyed me is the crap advice that you should choosing low fat versions of food (specifically yoghurt) rather than whole foods and full fat versions. AIBU to think this is outdated bad advice?

It's annoying, isn't it. For quite a few people, choosing low fat alternatives is appropriate, but it isn't a universal imperative. I prioritise eating low carb, minimally processed food. Reduced fat versions of foods are often higher in carbs and more heavily UPF.

The hamster is annoying too. Is the implication meant to be that we should all just nibble on fuit and veg, etc.? Or perhaps it is that we should store large amounts of food in the side of our mouths.

Totally outdated. I was talking to my GP about diet and she said a lot of health practitioners were really out of date with their dietary advice, especially for diabetes and obesity. I’m not obese but wanted to lower my cholesterol and lose a bit of weight and she recommended a low carb diet that was higher in fats.

It's hugely outdated. I have avoided low fat versions of things for years (apart from coke zero to my shame). It's taken me a long time to find that feel best with a high protein/low carb diet. Don't get me wrong, I fuck that up all the time, I had a lovely carbonara with garlic bread last night, but I aim for it on the whole at least.

I think they should be highlighting eating unprocessed food as much as possible.

I think it’s mostly aimed at people who probably don’t have the skill to find out for themselves which is sadly many.

I’m coeliac. So I have bloods done with a dietician every 18 months or so to check vitiamin levels.

I don’t eat anything low fat, I eat lots of animal fats etc. I don’t eat any processed food as gluten free food (bread etc) is just filled with crap, the ingredients list is a long as my arm on some products.

we always have a quick chat when she calls with my blood results. Despite everything being good, she’s always telling me that I should be eating low fat versions of things (I eat natural Greek yogurt everyday, I should swap it for the 0% fat, why?!), that I should be eating bread and cereals over meat, veg and nuts, if I have milk, it should be skimmed instead of full fat.

It’s also carb, carb carb. Why don’t I eat bread and cereals, I need to. I do eat veg like sweet potatoes and aubergines. But no, I should be eating over processed bread.

It’s absolutely crazy.

Maybe, but isn’t the NHS one of the sources people are generally told to look at regarding health or diet? It is generally the first place I start regarding health issues. I might look at other sites at well, but there is also a lot of rubbish out there and it can be hard to filter.

Over 60% of the population is overweight or obese. We need to drastically reduce calorie intake.

The argument is, lots of people are overweight due to being told to replace real food (meat, animal fats, nuts, full fat dairy), which fills you up and gives you real nutrients, with over processed, low fat, chemical filled versions of food, stuffed with wheat and empty carbs.

Sounds like very bad advice. I've been eating in the same way for 20 years now : avoiding all UPF foods (food with additives), cooking from scratch, full fat versions of everything, butter instead of marg, full fat milk. I eat carbs like quinoa, brown rice, brown bread. A small amount of fruit. No fizzy drinks, no supermarket puddings. Plain dark chocolate only, no flavourings. I don't restrict my appetite. IThree square meals a day to keep blood sugar even. I couldn't be happier with my body at 40. I've never been overweight and I'm fit and healthy.

I'm convinced that UPFs (including almost anything labelled 'low fat') and fizzy drinks are the big problem and should be avoided at all costs. My best piece of advice is to look at the ingredients labels of everything you buy. If it contains ingredients that sound like chemicals then don't buy it!

I could have written this word for word (except it’s Diet Coke for me! Shame of it!)

And i 100% agree about UPF. There should be more education around that.

Yes but encouraging Greek yoghurt, for example, as a full fat food, won’t help. It’s hugely high in calories. You can easily make a breakfast that’s 500 calories. When the population is overweight, big changes need to be made.

Most people aren’t eating many vegetables and nuts, and if they are, they’re honey roasted!

Most people are far out consuming the calorie intake they should be. Most people are eating too many takeaways, too many coffees on the go, too much crap.

If you’re overweight as the majority of people now are, the priority is on losing weight and reducing the risk of future disease. So the priority is to reduce calories and saturated fats. Nuts can come later once they have a grasp on their weight.

Calories are often a really unhelpful way to lose weight. There's no guarantee that a low calorie diet is a healthy one. Unfortunately it's been so drilled into us, that people (like my mother's generation) can't accept that anything but carbs = healthy and fat = worst thing ever, will give you a heart attack etc. neither is true for a lot of people, arguably most people.

Cholesterol is caused by high blood sugar for example, something that no one seems to realise!

It's a well known problem that doctor training has very very little dietary learning, like a week or two. So they just repeat back what has been taught for decades. It's only recently that we have been looking at alternative models as our current approach obviously isn't working. individuals experiencing on themselves to find methods that actually work, scientists and governments challenging conventional wisdom that we are making progress back to where we should be.

Ancel Keys has a lot to answer for.......

No, they’re not. The only way to lose weight is to eat less than you burn. It’s basic human nature.

Exactly this. We need to shed pounds as a nation, not worry about nuts

I just did the quiz on the back of this thread and thought it was pretty good.

@SunnySideDeepDownthats outdated advice. Adding in healthy foods, but by bit, helps everyone (Zoe). It’s good food habit stacking.

That bit is outdated- low fat alternatives. But I don't think they should be encouraging high protein low carb either. They should be encouraging higher fibre, which they do. And for some people not having huge amounts of full fat cola and having a one calorie version instead will make a start- you probably don't understand just how bad some people's diets are.

I get annoyed by the NHS guidance on the importance of sleep. Yes, yes, we know. But there are huge swathes of people – basically all parents, especially mothers – who cannot get good quality sleep no matter how much they want it. And no it isn’t just for the short lived baby days. It can go on for years. I wish they could address that aspect alongside what tip top sleep should look like and what horrible afflictions lie in your future if you don’t.

That's how I eat but I was overweight for nearly 20 years because I was eating too much to lose weight. I put on weight in pregnancy and then comfort eating with stress when I returned to a stressful job. The amount you eat is vastly important, it's not "just eat healthily".

I always did loads of exercise and always have, and was very slender throughout my 20s and before I had kids. People who have never been overweight just seem to think fat people are stuffing their faces with cake the whole time. I have PCOS and endometriosis and am now a healthy weight at 50 but it requires constant vigilance not to regain the weight. It's not just "Well, if you just cooked from scratch and ate whole foods..."

Eat a massive bowl of Greek yogurt with a handful of almonds. I guarantee you won’t be hungry for ages. So those 500 calories will enable you to eat 2 meals a day, rather than 3 and snacks.

Cut out processed food and sugar for a month, you will no longer crave it. Don’t eat chocolate or sweets for a month and then have a banana. It will be unbearably sweet.

Not many people want to do that.

I didn’t. I was once 26 stone. But I had a horrific wake up call with my health.

I was once 26 stone. I kind of know what I’m talking about.

I went in for all the low fat alternative, sliming word bollocks at first. It was awful, I felt awful.

I can guarantee I will.

But a mix of full fat and 0 fat? With some fruit, and maybe a bit of honey? I’ll be fuller for longer because the 0 fat is so high in protein.

They can and do. I had help from Sleepstation when I had chronic insomnia, and I paid for it but some get it from on NHS.

Just done it - scored low because I'm a smoker. It also told me I need to eat more fruit and veg - unfortunately I have a gastric issue that limits how much fruit and veg I can get down without it coming back up, so that wasn't much use. It directed me to a BMI checker, but I know my BMI anyway and it's well within the healthy range.

I'm not quitting smoking because I'm hoping a smoking-related illness will kill me before I succumb to dementia. All my healthy, non-smoking family have maintained great physical health into their 80s but lost their minds before that. I don't want that. I need to pop my clogs by 75, latest.