Which diet advice is to be believed?

[TheDeadlyDonkey]

I've started reading John Briffa's Escape the Diet Trap. It makes for very interesting reading, but has made me question the usual run of the mill low fat type diet advice.
If Briffa is to be believed, low fat diets are unsustainable and can contribute to ongoing obesity issues and increasing the risk of diabetes.

I've also recently heard that if milk is to be drunk, full fat milk is better, as the majority of vitamins and minerals are in the fat.

I'm also hearing varying reports on cholesterol, and how it maybe isn't playing the dangerous role that many drs are telling us.

So, after DH's stroke (which wasn't in any way a lifestyle issue) he has been advised to be cautious and cut down on fat and use benecol spread and yoghurt drink (I have read that these aren't good for you, but can't remember where, could have been on here)

So when there is so much conflicting advice, who do you trust? What do you believe?

John Briffa's book is really convincing, quotes trials, uses scientific charts etc, and makes sense.
I myself have struggled with low fat diets, and failed more times than I care to admit.
I am in no way qualified to interpret scientific trial data (along with the majority of the population) and am growing more and more confused about the conflicting advice that is out there.

I'm not really sure what I'm expecting from this thread, but I'm interested to see what others think about this, and who you trust when it comes to diet advice?

Agree that every McDo is full at lunchtimes in France. But I think food is more democratic in France - people who go to McDo for lunch now and then are still pretty likely to eat 'proper' meals at other times. Plus the French rarely snack in my experience.

I have a couple of questions, if anyone can help.

I compared full fat milk against semi-skimmed and saw that semi skimmed has more carbohydrate in. Why would that be?

I make jam quite often and was given a book which, in an effort to make jam "healthier" advocates using fruit juice rather than sugar and water. Would this actually make the slightest bit of difference? Disclaimer, I know jam is inherently unhealthy, but I like it and I like making it.

Regarding GM foods, the jury is still out for me. I've read lately that the concentration of nutrients in our veg is vastly reduced from what it was in, say, 1930. IIRC you would have to eat eight oranges now, to get the same levels you'd have got from one orange in 1930. There are suggestions that this is due to depletion of nutrients in the soil, because crops have been bred to be disease resistant, and as large as possible. I've only got this information from TV and from Google, so am happy to be corrected if anyone here knows about such things. (It goes without saying that even our less nutritious veg is still better for you than lard sandwiches.)

Semi-skimmed will have more carbohydrate in it because it has less fat.

Re the jam, all I can see that would be different would be the taste, i.e. you will get different flavour from the fruit juice. You won't be adding any of the fibre of the fruit - it's just sugar in another form, surely?

Don't know about the soil/GM foods issue, but it's one reason for avoiding GM at all costs and also for considering organic veg.

mrsPenny DH eats the Fr. St Dalfour jam which has "just' unsweetened grape juice concentrate it tastes much nicer than the usual 'pile' of sugar jam. I s'pose if you don't have too much of it it's ok but is probably not much healthier .

The lack of nutrients in the soil is due to oil based fertilisers being used because the goodness is not replaced with proper compost (i've always wondered why; it can't cost much to make compost whereas the artificial fertilisers must cost more. )

We try to eat organic or non sprayed carefully grown food (we ask the growers) and it tastes soo much better.

We're not eating jam now?
Good grief!

Just leave marmalade alone ok?

I make jam using a special setting agent that reacts with calcium to set the jam rather than sugar. So you can make sugar free jam - without resorting to concentrated fruit juice. I'm still experimenting with texture and flavour though.

Interesting thoughts on addition - my life would be infinitely poorer without chilli peppers, I miss it terribly if we visit a country/people that doesn't celebrate it's existence, we often travel with it...in fact I've just packed some for our weekend away. The thought of never having it slightly fills me with panic.

My tastebuds have changed remarkably.....I'm forever exploring new foods and flavours, not always enjoying them at first but developing a deep love for them eventually.

Emily I don't eat jam or marmalade on toast because it gives me arthritis Sorry

Well you are forgiven p
That can't be nice.

It's when it 's with the toast i can eat it on its own or with tofu yoghurt!

Given 60% of UK people are overweight and mostly eating loads of processed rubbish, as long as you switch mostly to healthy whole foods whether they are organic or not you will make a major good change. However it is true about veg etc today. Indeed fruits are much sweeter than they are as they have been bred to be a lot sweeter so they will not even taste the same as they used to do unless you have an ancient orchard with old varieties I suppose.

Thanks for the responses about jam. BIWI pretty much summed up what I was thinking, you're just swapping one kind of sugar for another.

Snow what is the setting agent you use? Is it a naturally occurring substance, or a chemically produced one? The whole reason I make it myself is so that I know what's going into it - fruit, sugar, and sometimes lemon juice. I'd be reluctant to start adding chemicals, although I can see that it would be an option if you need to reduce sugar but don't want to stop making / eating jam. (Or marmalade.)

Btw, I made sweet chilli sauce with home grown chillies this week - yum, and also wow! Hot! I would be sad if I had to go without chillies.

Fructose, which is the sugar found naturally in fruit is different from sucrose, which is also known as table sugar. They are both sugars, yes, but the react with your body differently. In fact fructose has an incredibly low glycemic index. Sucrose is the sugar that is commonly linked with obesity.

Sugar is used to help thicken jam, not really sweeten it. If you pick fruits high in pectin, you can thicken jams without the addition of sugar. Cranberries are an excellent example, you can boil a pan of cranberries until they have popped, put it in the bowl and refridgerate. Once cold the cranberries come out in a solid block, much like jelly because of all the pectin. You can experience mixing and matching fruits to get the right thickness and flavor. I've always thought you'd also be able to mix fruit with gelatin to make jam, but have yet to experiment.

Twas I love wholewheat cous cous, it cooks in five minutes and all you have to do is pop it into the bowl your going to serve, boil the kettle, add the boiled water, cover and it's done in five minutes! Much easier than wholewheat pasta, in my opinion.

Forgot to say that if you use slightly under ripe fruit, it will contain more pectin than perfectly ripe fruit.

Sugar (sucrose) is half fructose and half glucose. And both fructose and sucrose are linked with obesity. Even if fructose has a low GI.

see here

I think I'll stick to making my many kg of blackcurrants into jam with the support of some nice, sticky sugar. The sugar free alternative doesn't bear thinking about [puckered face emoticon]

Here's the link to the calcium activated pectin, judge for yourself whether you are happy with it.

As for the fructose debate - yes it has a low GI but that is not necessarily a cause cause for celebration because given the frustose cannot be processed in the normal way through using insulin, it is consequently processed in the liver - think non-alcohol fatty liver decease and you're getting close - google "Dr Ludvig truth about sugar" for more info, if you are interested in uncovering why fructose is not as innocent as it initially seems. Agave syrup is wolf in sheep's clothing.

Disease

A lot of people do not think a lot of jam (and indeed too much fruit) is that good for people. Jam is basically sugar. By all means enjoy it particularly if you don't have sugar addict tendencies and eat a lot of other good things but I think it's a shame that a food like jam has ended up a discussion on what you should eat thread.

How much fruit is too much fruit? I'm trying to put more fruit and veg in my diet and don't want to go overboard. I really have lost sight of things that should be 'obvious'.

I think I was like the people on secret eaters. I've only watched it once but it was a reality check. I assumed I wasn't 'that' type of person but the truth was I was!

Day 4 of eating clean(er) and loving it so far but appreciating the advice. I think I must have halved what I was eating but eating differently and thinking about it more is helping me make the change without craving. So far. I suspect it will get difficult at some point.

I'm not suggesting jam is a health food! I make it for my ds who is active and skinny, likes big spoonfuls of jam with extra thick double cream on his porridge. Which imo is quite a lot healthier than eating processed junky cereals - which are almost as far away from real food as you will find!

Twasbrillig I always eat fruit when I'm hungry before a meal (i hardly ever have it with yoghurt as I said upthread. You get the benefits of the vitamins that way. (the Hay diet says to wait four hours between eating fruit and a meal but I don't find that is nec.) Since doing this I've lost weight and stopped having stomach pains, heartburn etc. I've lost nearly 3 stone recently and am maintaining AND I'VE NEVER STOPPED EATING FRUIT!!

Twas - that's a really difficult question to answer because it depends entirely on what kind of plan you're following! Personally I rarely eat fruit because I don't like it very much it is simply sugar as far as I'm concerned - which means sugar. And as I eat a low carb diet, it rules most of it out.

But if you're simply cutting calories or fat, then fruit is obviously perfectly acceptable.

Just bear in mind that too much fruit is also not great from a dental health perspective. As well as the sugar content, the acidity of the fruit lowers pH levels in the mouth, which increases plaque as well as causing enamel erosion.

Sorry - should preview more

it is simply sugar as far as I'm concerned - which means carbs

I'm sorry you're not happy about the jam comments Xenia I only asked a question, which I believe is allowed, is it not? I did state that I know jam isn't "healthy." I think it is relevant however, as the thread has discussed "real food" vs that which is made of unpronouncable chemicals. If fruit foraged from hedgerows or grown organically in my garden is not "real" then I don't know what is.

I don't think a bit of jam now and again should be ruled out, as part of a balanced diet. You might enjoy steamed veg for every meal, but some of us like other things. I'm not overweight, I'm not addicted to sugar, I don't have digestive problems, so I guess my diet is ok for me.

I think home made jam is better than what most people eat!

I'm not low carbing -just trying to cut out as much processed food as I can and eat real food. Got to change for life as I'm obese, rather than a 'diet' so while I'm at it I want to make it healthy and sustainable.

I'm thinking of adding linseed to my porridge and trying to eat some seeds and walnuts and seeds for an afternoon snack occasionally. I'm having to relearn portion size to.

I've been reading a bit online about 'clean' eating. Really I just want to eat 'healthily' hence trying to follow this thread as I kept reading different things.