You are What You Eat

This phrase has come to us via quite a tortuous route. Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, in Physiologie du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante, 1826:

"Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es." [Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are].

Brillat-Savarin meant their quotations to be taken literally. They were stating that that the food one eats has a bearing on what one's state of mind and health.

The key to a healthy balanced diet is not to ban or omit any foods or food groups but to balance what you eat by consuming a variety of foods from each food group in the right proportions for good health. Read these tips :

1. Avoid Sugar

-found in cakes, biscuits, confectionary, chocolate, candy, desserts, soft drinks and many other foods.

2. Use whole grains rather than refined carbohydrates

- white bread, white flour, white pastry, white pasta and white rice should be replaced with brown rice, quinoa, millet, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat and red rice.

3. Avoid artificial additives

- these may be sweeteners, preservatives, colorings or flavorings.

4. Avoid stimulants

- caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and other recreational drugs.

5. Eat vegetables or salads with lunch and dinner

- Variety is important, so experiment with those that you don't normally eat.

6. Include some sources of essential fats every day

- these include oily fish (such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, herrings and trout), pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, linseeds/flaxseeds, hemp seeds, walnuts and avacadoes. Avoid processed fats such as low fat spreads and margarines.

7. Have at least 2 vegetarian days each week

- good vegetarian proteins include chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, borilotti beans, butter beans, aduki beans, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, amaranth, nuts and seeds.

8. Avoid processed meats

- ham, salami, chorizo, hot dogs, bacon and any smoked or cured meats. These all contain nitrates that have been linked to stomach cancer and are high in saturated fats and salt which are linked to stomach disease.

9. Cook from scratch whenever possible

- this means buying whole, natural ingredient and cooking or preparing them yourself. Avoid processed and packaged foods as much as possible.

10. Buy locally grown, organically produced, seasonal produce where possible

- check out farmer's markets, farm shops and pick-your-own farms for the freshest produce.