Information overload
In many ways we are fortunate to have at the click of a button more information than we could ever absorb in a lifetime. However this information overload has its drawbacks especially when it comes to diet, health and nutrition. The daily onslaught of conflicting information is one of the main topics that I discuss with my patients – who should they believe? I’m a nutritionist so shopping and filtering my reading material is easier. However it makes me really mad that it’s so complicated. It doesnt have to be. A few thoughts for you:
Trust your gut instinct as to what is good and bad to eat – don’t get sucked in by marketing and advertising. In fact the foods that are pushed harder are possibly the ones you need to avoid.
Look at ingredients not labelling. The labelling on packets is ludicrous and only means something to nutritionists and dieticians. If the packet has ingredients that you don’t recognise put it back. If you’ve picked up bought mashed potato and it has twenty ingredients in it – put it back.
Try to buy food one item at a time, then you know what you are buying.
Use your common sense when you read articles in the papers. If a trial or study is backed by a bias source then the outcome may well be bias. If it’s funded by a pharmaceutical company – why would the outcome be weighed in favour of vitamins for example. Another example, if The British Coffee Association is telling you coffee is good for you, and has very little effect on your health – would you except them to say anything else?
Common sense is what can cut through most of this nonsense. You know that living simply and organically is the way forward using real food, cooked from scratch (if you have the time). I would filter your information closely and trust your instincts.
