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?

Also eat lots of fish, eggs and salad so not too meat heavy.

you know the hardest place? Hospital. The food they serve there is unbelievable shite. Having been in myself and recently had ds been in 10 days with serious surgery I couldnt believe the rubbish that was served. We'll overlook that it was cold but it was carby sugary crap. They couldnt manage ds's medical ketogenic diet and the couple of days I was bored enough to check out the hospital cafeteria when a friend visited (I took in all my own food but it was a faff at 6am) the food was appalling. Acres of crisps and chocolate. The hot food was chips n chips n chips or lasagne or overpriced sandwhiches or pasta salads.
You could see why the parents whose kids had been there months (it was a neurosurgery/burns unit) had started putting on weight/getting sick. From the stress and lack of time for shopping and preparing food so they were eating this shit day after day. After 10 days I was down to nuts and fruit as I didnt have time to shop as I was there 8am till 9pm while dh did 24 hours without a break. And seeing the food the kids who ate by mouth get (ds doesnt) I'm afarid I judged my knickers off.

My kids all grew up drinking water. Until university. Now its beer. ho hum.

I lost 5st on weight watchers about eight years ago. I've kept almost all of it off - 2st crept back on very slowly. But overall, it changed my life so I'm reluctant to put it down.

Having said that, I just couldn't spend the rest of my life pointing everything. I got sick of it and later attempts to follow the plan were a failure. It's also a fact that low-fat stuff just doesn't taste as good, and I was sick of getting tomato pasta every time I went out for a meal (am veggie).

I've lost the 2st again and some star. At first it was through just being healthy and sensible - it cam off slowly, but it came off. Then I watched the 5:2 diet programme and decided to try it. I'm really glad I did as it has really helped my weight loss and I don't feel bloated any more.

I think the key thing now is that I can enjoy food. I love food. It's hard to enjoy it on a low-fat diet. I don't feel deprived any more, and there's no guilt. I go out to restaurants often and I still lose weight. Love it!

Rockerrock - I get shocked at the threads on here of people's diets or meal planning: people's weekly menus are meat pie, spag bol, cottage pie, pizza, fish and chips. Heavy, stodgy stuff lacking in goodness.

I am only partway through the thread but had to question this statement. It seems that most people on the thread are agreed that chemical-laden, low fat substitutes are bad, and that real food is good. So taking spag bol for example, mine includes: A bit of olive oil, lean mince, tinned tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, red peppers, and herbs, and served with pasta. Why is this bad? In fact I would say that most of the things on that list, if home made and in suitably sized portions, are ok. (I am prepared to be corrected, this is a genuine question.) The only thing on that list I wouldn't make at home is fish and chips, which we have as an occasional treat.

Incidentally, I am not overweight but DH is, so have been reading this thread trying to get answers to questions that have been bothering me for a while. Mayonnaise for example - very high in fat, but if you go for the low fat one it has bizarre ingredients that would not be thought of as "food". (Obviously the full fat one has some too, but not as many.) Is the answer just to stop eating mayonnaise? (Or make it at home, but that's not going to happen, I'd rather go without.)

Something else I've read: how come milk isn't ok, but yoghurt is fine?

Every time I read a post, I think "5:2! That's it!", then next minute "Paleo, that's the one for me!" :o

Infamous - I completely agree about hospital food. The few times I've been in (after cs, the odd times with a dc) the food has been terrible. I ended up having salads for lunch and tea, and was told off by the mw for not eating properly. The childrens meals were all fish fingers and chicken nuggets - fine once in a while, but it did make me wonder what would happen if my child needed to stay in hospital for longer, it's hardly a diet that promotes healing

Mrspenny the problem with spag. bol. is the mixing of the wheat which a lot of people are intolerant to (it exhausts dh and makes him bad tempered too!!) with protein.

Most people find it hard to digest, it stops my digestion dead. If you served your bolognaise sauce with rice pasta or quinoa that would be easier to digest or grated courgettes or spahgetti squash which is lovely and even bettter I know you'll say well Mcdonalds bases its culinary world on protein and carbs. served together well its one of the reasons for obesity IMO and E.

You know I'll say that? That's a pretty massive assumption. I don't eat Mcdonalds and haven't in ten years, but even if I did, I'd hardly hold them up as a paragon of delicious nutritious fare!

So the answer to my question is that it's the mixing of protein and carbs? Interesting. Neither DH nor I have digestive problems, but it's worth noting. I'd love it if DH would eat quinoa...

Seems to me that eating healthily is common sense for the average educated person and that any advice that comes in the form of a diet or eating plan that gets published in a book is best avoided. Most of it is a money making ploy from people who take a pseudo- scientific approach and try to convince you they have re-invented the wheel. They haven't but you can bet they made a lot of money from desperate people trying to lose weight without any effort. If only life were that easy.

Escape the Fat Trap for Life by Judith Wills is pretty good at rating all the faddy diets over the years, including some she says she is ashamed to have written herself in the 80's. of course as it was written in 2010 it is already out of date. There will always be a new craze come along.

THis is such an interesting thread. ppeatfruit, what's spaghetti squash? I'm assuming butternut squash, but how do you make it into spaghetti? I really don't like quinoa, but would like to replace the pasta in our meals with something!

don't believe any diet that suggests cutting out any major food groups.
our local hospital has wonderful food. We are very fortunate

If pasta is such a crap food there must be loads of obese Italians.
Oh wait, there aren't.

Pasta is great for the dc. Post-dc I don't need it like they do.

relieved to find there are sensible people out there in among all the fad dieters.

as to who you trust; trust science. You know what nutrients your body needs and roughly how many calories. All else is bollocks to get money from the gullible.

infamous - our hospital's food is delish. maybe I was biased by being ravenous after giving birth, but it was sooo good!

avon Spaghetti squash is a squash when cooked that looks like spaghetti. It is not butternut squash. I have never seen it in the store where I live, though there isn't much vareity.

fatlazymummy - was just thinking that in France where I live bread, pastry, potatoes, wine etc are all very much staples and there are markedly fewer overweight people than in the UK, at least going on what I see out and about. I believe I have also read that obesity rates are low compared to other developed countries.

I think in my experience the French tend to avoid snacking, eat three meals a day and tend to eat consciously and appreciate and respect food a lot. People have massive blow outs for celebratory occasions, but its not the regular way of eating. And people go to McDo, eat burgers etc but its not regarded as 'real' food, just an occasional convenience.

I think certain cancer rates are high mostly due to the prevalence of smoking...

fatlazymummy italians eat a small amount of pasta, the quantity of a 'serving' here would shock them.

TheDeadlyDonkey - I completely understand what you are saying/asking. It's hard to know who to believe isn't it?! All I can do it tell you that after having tried pretty much everything known to mankind, low carbing is what suits me best - I get good results and I feel better :)

Have you finished reading Briffa yet? In January I had a bit of a health shock, I have read a lot in the past few months & out of all of them I really rate his book & his knowledge. I'm a vegetarian who doesn't eat eggs, so I do eat some soya & quorn (which he doesn't agree with) but on the whole I follow his advice. I have lost 32lb since the end of Jan, I'm not hungry and I'm happy. BIWI's Bootcamp threads have really helped as it has been good to chat to others doing the same and the 'rules' are pretty much what Briffa says.

We can live without processed carbs - it is not eliminating a food group (for those that are concerned) and low carbing is about adequate protein and adequate fat not high fat & high protein. Low carb is not No carb :)

Anyone who spouts 'Eat less and move more' as the answer just needs shooting.

itsonlysubterfuge - thank you! I shall look out for that.

Haven't read the whole thread but I like this quote (can't remember who said it):

Eat food. Not too much. Mainly plants.

I don't avoid any food group. I eat full-fat everything. I eat lots of fruit and veg and cook from scratch every day. Bake my own bread. I drink water or green tea. Hardly any alcohol. Processed food is very rarely in the house. I'm a healthy person with BMI of 21.

Yes, eat food, not too much. mainly plants is good. So not processed rubbish but real food, just as someone 30,000 years ago might be eating. Eat a variety too. Some groups of people ate 800 things although I think 750 of those were insects!

If you want to eat healthily you certainly do not need to give up any food group at all but the bottom line is most British people most of who have very large bottoms indeed eat an awful lot of bread, pasta, cakes, biscuits and that is not a very varied diet and their idea of a normal quantity has gone off the scale. In the US in the hotel we were served per person what would be the quantity three people would eat.

When i went to the US on holiday we saved money as my daughter and I shared a meal almost all the time!

Sorry, eat less and move more IS the answer. All diets are actually restricting calories, however faddy or not faddy they are.

amothersplace
I bet restaurants got funny about it : the US is weird like that.

Holiday in Crete, when we said we were having a light lunch and ordered two things they automatically brought four plates - a happy place

In New York we got grief for ordering children's desserts as the adult ones were just too huge : and the smell of rotting thrown out food as we walked home from dinner was overpowering.