Food/Nutrition/Health

Food: My Story

Many years ago, I was obsessed with bodybuilding — or at least that’s what I called it back then.

I had female friends who travelled to huge events to take part in aerobics classes, while I was part of a small group of people who enjoyed going jogging. Looking back, it’s interesting to see just how much our attitudes towards exercise, food and health have changed.

Growing Up Without the Internet

When I was younger, there was no internet, no endless stream of nutritional advice and certainly nowhere near the choice of food we have today.

Burgers and certain ethnic foods were sometimes frowned upon, and everyday food was much simpler.

I spent a few years as a child living in the West Indies. We ate twice a day and, on Saturdays, there would often be a huge bowl of soup followed by a feast on Sunday.

The people I lived with seemed to have a very different relationship with food. Much of what they ate was locally produced, often coming from within a few miles of where they lived.

There was something very different about that way of eating.

Food wasn’t something to analyse. It was simply food.

And perhaps that’s where some of my fascination with nutrition began.

Food: My Observations

A few years ago, I visited relatives in rural France. We had spent the day out and, on the way back, we stopped and had something very simple: a baguette, some cheese and tomatoes.

Now, here’s the strange thing.

All three products looked almost identical to the ones I could buy in a UK supermarket.

But they didn’t taste the same.

They didn’t smell the same.

And somehow, they didn’t even feel like the same products.

It got me thinking about how much food has changed — and whether all of that change has necessarily been for the better.

Britain in the 1980s

In 1980s Britain, the typical diet was fairly straightforward: meat and two veg.

If you wanted to build bigger muscles, you increased your protein intake. Cottage cheese and chicken were popular choices, and you could even buy products such as Body Bulk from Holland & Barrett.

Your local shops were genuinely local.

You could buy groceries, fish, meat and eggs, and your butcher would sell you things such as liver, bones and other bits that could be used for broths and soups.

Fruit and vegetables were often locally grown, relatively cheap and readily available.

But the choice was nothing like what we see today.

Walk into a supermarket now and you can find apples from half a dozen countries, vegetables you’ve never heard of, foods from every corner of the world and hundreds of different versions of products you once only had one or two choices of.

Back then, the cereal aisle was much simpler.

Cornflakes. Weetabix. A few other staples.

And, for me, there was nothing quite like a bowl of Cornflakes with cold Gold Top milk.

Even bread seemed different.

I remember eating bread in France that reminded me of the bread I grew up with in Britain. Simple, fresh and full of flavour.

A Nation of Jason Stathams?

There is another thing I’ve noticed when I look back at photographs and memories of Britain in the 1980s.

The average middle-aged English person often looked pretty wiry and tough.

A bit like a nation of Jason Stathams!

People worked five days a week, rested for two and, for many, everyday life involved a lot more movement than it does today.

Of course, Britain wasn’t some fitness paradise. Far from it.

There were significant differences in wealth, health and lifestyle across the country, and regional inequality affected people in both the north and south.

Income mattered.

Occupation mattered.

And gender mattered too.

Many men were still working in physically demanding jobs, while a growing number of women were moving into office work, typing pools, retail and other less physically demanding occupations.

In my opinion, this helped create an increasing interest in activities such as aerobics and other forms of cardio exercise.

People were adapting their exercise to fit their changing lifestyles.

Then Came Choice

Fast-forward to today and the modern shopper has, quite literally, never had so much choice.

Supermarkets are packed with different versions of everything.

We have specialist shops selling food from India, Persia, Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. We can order almost anything online and have it delivered to our door.

And that sounds fantastic.

But here’s the problem.

Choice can be both a blessing and a trap.

Our lives have become busier, so convenience has become increasingly important.

Takeaways, fast food, ready meals and coffee shops are everywhere. Coffee itself has become branded and marketed as a luxury experience.

And because we have so much choice, we can easily become inconsistent.

We buy something because it looks healthy.

We buy something because the packaging tells us it is healthy.

We try something because somebody on social media tells us we should.

Then we feel guilty because we’ve eaten something else entirely.

We’ve gone from simply eating food to constantly thinking about food.

Are We Being Sold Food — or an Idea?

This is where I become more concerned.

The amount of processed food available to us is enormous.

There are endless variations of familiar staples, reformulated products and foods designed to be convenient, attractive and profitable.

The demand for food is huge.

But, in my opinion, the demand for profit can be even bigger.

As food evolves, so does marketing.

We are influenced.

We convince ourselves.

We invest in products.

And eventually, something we never knew we needed becomes something we believe we can’t live without.

That’s not necessarily a conspiracy.

It’s simply business.

If there is a demand, someone will create a product to meet it.

And if there isn’t a demand, clever marketing can sometimes create one.

So Where Does That Leave Us?

Thankfully, things are changing again.

Nutritionists, independent food specialists, researchers and health professionals are increasingly encouraging people to take more notice of what they are actually eating.

YouTube, television programmes and social media have also made it easier for people to question food companies and, importantly, read the labels.

But this brings me back to my work.

As a nutritional adviser, I can identify many of the challenges my clients face.

I can explain the basics.

I can suggest changes.

I can provide information.

But ultimately, the biggest challenge isn’t the information.

It’s the person.

Changing what you eat means changing habits.

And habits can be incredibly difficult to change.

A client’s ability to learn about food and nutrition is important, but so are their working hours, social life, family commitments, culture and traditional cuisine.

Then there’s the biggest question of all:

How much time are you actually prepared to give to your nutrition?

Because knowing what to do and actually doing it are two completely different things.

And nutrition doesn’t exist in isolation.

Sleep matters.

Hydration matters.

Movement matters.

Getting outside and experiencing daylight matters.

Fitness and nutrition are part of a much bigger picture.

Keep It Simple

Perhaps that’s what I’ve learnt from looking back at the way we used to eat.

Food doesn’t necessarily need to be complicated.

We have access to more information, more choice and more products than any generation before us.

But that doesn’t automatically make us healthier.

Sometimes the answer may simply be to step back, look at what we’re buying, understand what’s actually in it and ask ourselves a very simple question:

Do I really need this?

I’m not suggesting we go back to the 1980s.

I like coffee shops. I like different cuisines. I enjoy having choices.

But perhaps we need to become a little more thoughtful about those choices.

Because when it comes to food, more isn’t always better.

Sometimes, better is simply better.

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