Nutrition

My name‿ is Helen. Two years‿ ago a doctor‿ advised me to cut down‿ on sugar,│ an(d) the mos(t) difficul(t) par(t) was not hunger but the sheer volume‿ of contradictory advice‿ I encountered the moment‿ I began reading.

Fat was the enemy,│ then sugar was;│ eggs were dangerous,│ then‿ exemplary. What the evidence‿ is consistent‿ about‿ is far less dramatic than the headlines:│ processed food with long‿ ingredien(t) lists correlates with‿ obesity,│ an(d) portion sizes have grown‿ everywhere. Labels‿ are designed to reassure rather than to inform,│ an(d) to conflate‿ a health claim with‿ an‿ ingredien(t) list‿ is to fall for the marketing. So I read the ingredients now,│ and‿ if there‿ are more than five,│ it usually goes back‿ on the shelf.

I am no longer restrictive. I cook four times‿ a week,│ I eat vegetables with‿ every meal,│ and‿ I do not believe‿ a single pizza can compensate for‿ a month‿ of sensible‿ eating^ea-ding,│ or‿ undo it. Crash diets fail│ because they are‿ unsustainable,│ an(d) my appetite‿ is not‿ a moral defect. The premise‿ of mos(t) diet‿ advice,│ that‿ a body is‿ a projec(t) to be corrected,│ seems to me both‿ unkind‿ and‿ ineffective. Whatever‿ I change has to^hasta survive‿ a birthday party^par-dy and‿ an‿ appalling week‿ at work,│ or‿ it‿ is not‿ a change‿ at all^adall.