Over the course of my career as a doctor patients would frequently ask me about diet. I’m a great believer in the uniqueness of every individual human being and I’ve no doubt that just as we all have our own taste preferences, so we each have certain foodstuffs, or whole food groups, which suit us best (or certainly which disagree with us the most).
I’m not that keen on the word “diet” because it seems to be used most frequently for a pattern of eating which the person really doesn’t want to follow for the rest of their lives. Isn’t it much better to find a way to eat well for you? Not just for a week, a month, or even a year, but all the time?
The most important practice to follow is the combination of awareness and reflection. Then you can make your choices. Notice what you eat, when you eat and how you eat. Notice how you feel before, during and after eating certain foods. What are your real preferences? Which foods seem to give you a boost, or make you feel well? Which foods upset your system, make you tired, or unwell?
Not only are you likely to find that you are not the same as other people, but you are likely to find that you will change over time. When you are a child you may well handle food differently from when you are an adult in your 30s, 40s, or older. However, by practising awareness and reflection, you can alter your choices if need be.
I do think there are other basic principles however. I’m quite a fan of Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules” – “Eat food. Mainly plants. Not too much.” And time and time again the “Mediterranean diet” is found to be associated with good health. But if there is one single principle I would highlight it is about quality of food, and it seems to me that the shorter the distance from land to table the better.
That applies not just physically, as with this photo of a selection of what is growing in our garden just now on its way to our lunch table. But it also applies to the number of stages of preparation.
The more processed and transported a food, the more I prefer to avoid it.
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