Forbidden food
“There’s no forbidden food in a healthy diet. It’s about what you eat, how much, and how often.”
Unhealthy fixation
It’s incredibly important for me to be able to sneak into a cafe and enjoy a tasty treat like scones with fruit and nuts, or a slice of cake with a nice cup of coffee. This little break can do wonders, and for me it’s an important part of my life and lifestyle. Eating healthily is about finding a long-term and sustainable lifestyle that’s not something temporary. It’s also about establishing a food culture that contributes to happiness, togetherness, and good health. All too often, the emphasis on diets, trends, and methods is so great that thinking about and planning food can start to dominate life. And this often involves having to exclude certain foods that you’re not allowed to eat. My view is that this can result in an unhealthy fixation on food, especially on foods that have to be excluded. If you’re told not to think about something, you’ll do the exact opposite. It works the same way with food, and the risk is that you’ll fail and then feel bad about it. A healthy lifestyle is built around several different elements, such as sleep, physical activity, food and a good social life, as well as taking the time to do things you enjoy and that help you to relax and feel good. If you’re to find time for all of these aspects, you mustn’t focus too heavily on just one of them. In addition, a healthy lifestyle is a basis for a life that includes so much else and where the focus is not on oneself. Something close to my heart is that the younger generation should be given the foundation for a healthy food culture and the sense of togetherness that goes with it.
“Be happy and focus on what you’re doing well instead of the other way around.”
Eat the right food
My best advice is to take it easy and gradually establish a food culture that’s healthy, sustainable, and based on modern research. There’s no forbidden food in a healthy diet, as otherwise you run the risk of establishing an unhealthy fixation. My recipe for success is to focus on and take pleasure from what’s good and gradually add good habits. Add any new habits gradually and focus on finding ways to replace things that aren’t so healthy with better options. Choosing the right food and eating at regular times helps to fill you up, gives you energy, and helps you to feel good. Forget trends, cures, diets, and diet foods. I get worried when I hear about a healthy person who doesn’t want to eat a piece of fruit like a banana, for example, because it would elevate their blood sugar levels, and instead they eat a protein bar. Fruit contains important nutrients and only natural substances. If you look at the ingredients list on a protein bar, you’ll often see lots of different ingredients, several of which are unnatural chemicals. Powders of various kinds can be heavily processed, while gluten-free products can contain a lot of unnecessary chemicals. In my opinion, it’s not wise to avoid white sugar by regularly eating products with sweeteners if you’re not diabetic. Studies are underway to see whether sweeteners increase our hunger and our appetite for sweet things, and whether artificial sweeteners have an adverse effect on good intestinal bacteria and pose a risk of weight gain. Consequently, it’s better to choose regular sugar but to find products without hidden sugar and with sugar in smaller quantities.
“My focus is on the right foods that fill you up and do the body good, as well as eating at regular times. By taking this approach, there’s room for the things you like and which maybe aren’t considered healthy but which can be enjoyed as a special treat.”
Let yourself enjoy the things you like
There’s strong scientific evidence that a plant-based diet rich in fruit, vegetables, and berries, together with wholegrain products, healthy fats, oily fish, and chicken, contributes to better health and well-being. By taking this approach, there’s room to occasionally eat the things that aren’t so healthy. You should eat some foods more sparingly, including red meat, charcuterie products, fatty dairy products, and sweets. But you don’t have to exclude these foods completely if you really enjoy them. They can still have an important place in your diet, even if it’s not very big. I don’t deny myself any food, but I do choose when I can enjoy it. I don’t think there’s any food that you need to say no to when it comes to celebrations, which are often associated with good food memories, socialising, and togetherness. On the whole, these occasions aren’t everyday occurrences. It’s absolutely fine to enjoy the things you love the most. This makes any changes easier and less traumatic to make. For example, the kids in my family are allowed a milkshake on a Friday night, while we adults enjoy a smaller glass for the sense of togetherness. Desserts that aren’t based on fruit or berries belong to the weekend. We let ourselves choose something we love, and we make breakfast and lunch a little healthier instead with extra fruit and veg. And if we want a treat for breakfast, then we make lunch and dinner a little healthier, maybe with a fruit salad for dessert.
Some common things to look at:
Gluten-free products – No scientific evidence currently supports the idea that people who are not gluten intolerant or sensitive to gluten gain anything health-wise from excluding gluten from their diets. Instead, they risk getting too little fibre from wholegrain products and consuming too many artificial substances from gluten-free products. There’s one person in my family with a latent gluten intolerance. I get worried when I look at the nutritional content and ingredients of many gluten-free products.
White sugar – Everyone should avoid unnecessary hidden sugar. However, ordinary white sugar isn’t harmful if eaten in small quantities. An Australian study has shown that only excessive sugar intake over a long period of time is harmful. The authors conclude by saying that a teaspoon of sugar in coffee does not create a sugar addiction. Personally, I’d choose a little less regular sugar rather than using artificial sweeteners. Honey and maple syrup are other options to consider. With regard to sweeteners, discussions are underway which are examining whether there’s a risk that they have an adverse effect on our good intestinal bacteria. So, it may not be such a good idea to drink large quantities of diet drinks because they contain fewer calories. In my experience, people focus too heavily on calories and weight rather than on health as a whole.
Red meat – For the sake of our planet and our health, we shouldn’t eat too much red meat. For many people, a little red meat is an important source of certain nutrients, such as iron, especially for growing children. Choose a couple of days a week to have dishes with your favourite meat if you really enjoy it, and try to find alternatives such as vegetarian options, fish, or chicken on the other days.
My advice:
Aim to establish a long-term healthy food culture that your body feels good about and in which all foods are allowed, but in the right quantities. Try to choose special occasions to eat the things you really enjoy but which aren’t so healthy. Be picky and choose quality over quantity. This helps you to truly enjoy these special occasions and turn them into a positive experience for your overall well-being. Feelings of guilt about food have no place in a healthy lifestyle.
