Beware those sexy diet quick fixes, moderation is the way to go – how to achieve it, and five obstacles to success
With new research suggesting a diet rich in fruit, vegetables and beans and comprising about 45 per cent carbohydrates, 35 per cent total fat and 20 per cent protein is best for you, we examine the obstacles to moderation
When it comes to nutrition, moderation simply isn’t sexy. What grabs our attention and our clicks are headlines like “The poison lurking in your kitchen,” as if we’re one bite away from death, and “Why you must eat this exotic superfood,” as if we’re one bite away from a miracle.
Unfortunately, these alluring-but-false promises distract us from a more moderate, and ultimately more successful, path to better health. A balanced eating plan that offers both nutrition and pleasure can help you be your best while actually allowing you to enjoy your food – no extremism required. What’s sexier – or saner – than that?
Moderation in most aspects of diet is to be preferred, as opposed to very low or very high intakes of most nutrients
It was interesting to see the reaction to the September publication of two research papers that reinforced the wisdom of moderation. The PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology) study looked at the habits and health of 135,000 people in 18 countries on five continents. Researchers found that the healthiest individuals ate diets rich in fruit, vegetables and beans, and low in refined carbohydrates and sugar.
Other than the somewhat surprising finding that the health benefits of vegetables topped out at three to four servings per day, all of this is in line with a moderate diet as defined by the US Dietary Guidelines.
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Headlines about the research painted a different picture, stating that the study “casts doubt” on the conventional wisdom about fats, carbs, fruits and vegetables and that it was “shaking up” the field of nutrition. Even the accompanying commentary that ran in The Lancet, the journal that published the findings, said, “PURE study challenges the definition of a healthy diet”.