Stop pitting diets against each other. You’re missing the whole point.

We will probably be arguing about what and how we should eat for years to come. The over-riding factors seem to be a combination of uncertainty over what we think we know, and people’s desire to make money (and maybe help people). As an example, the “diet” book industry is worth millions of pounds, driven by confused people who are desperate to lose weight and (hopefully) be healthier. This confusion is amplified by the conflicting information churned out via social media. On top of that, people are inclined to promote and defend whatever dietary strategy got them their results. Though we may never have all the answers, what we are told often completely lacks (or flies in the face of) scientific evidence.

Beat high blood pressure! I have been asked several times about approaches aimed at reducing high blood pressure without resorting to drugs. One of the best ways to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is to prevent (or reverse) hypertension (high blood pressure).  Importantly, there are many lifestyle changes that can improve blood pressure at least as well as drugs can, but with the added benefits of also preventing a number of other chronic diseases.

This is the second and final part of a series on what controls our food intake. Below, I’ll look at why we overeat, and how this increases our risk of obesity.

If you haven’t read the first part of this series, it is well worth your time, as I will build on information about hormones and the way we control food intake, which I introduced in that article.

One of the most interesting scientific papers to have been published recently has managed to fly under the popular media radar, despite throwing up a very important thought:

You are probably not in control of your food choices.

Calorie counting doesn’t work. So just stop it. Now.
For many people, this may not be new. The internet is full of stories about how “a calorie is not a calorie”, and how inaccurate “counting calories” can be when trying to lose weight. However, we STILL get nonsense like this article in a magazine that claims to be for the benefit of women’s health.

It starts by telling you how your calorie counting probably isn’t getting you the fat loss you want, and how to count calories “better”. Elsewhere they even give us the great news of some cakes “under 200 calories”, and how many minutes we should spend on the treadmill to “burn off” various meals.

Last week, Horizon aired a documentary entitled “Should I Eat Meat? – The Big Health Dilemma”. In the programme, Dr. Michael Mosley (health journalist and broadcaster, and author of The Fast Diet), asks whether eating meat is bad for our health. And he’s not messing around – Dr. Mosley speaks to some of the top names in the field along the way.

Despite a slight anti-meat message, it was a surprisingly balanced documentary with a fairly sensible conclusion. However, some of the issues are poorly explained or represented; the studies were not evaluated properly; some important information is omitted; and, Dr Mosley’s “high meat diet” self-experiment was badly executed, and therefore entirely misleading.