What (in your opinion) is a healthy diet?

WantToBeSE

I always read and hear about how it's important to eat a 'healthy diet' but i am wondering what you all think makes up a healthy diet?

For some people 'healthy' is Low Carb/High Carb, or it could be Vegan/Vegetarian, Gluten free, high fat, no sugar, no treats at all, 7 servings or more of fruit & veg...the list goes on!

So, what in your opinion is a 'Healthy Diet'?

GreyQueen

To me, a healthy diet is one which is mainly of unprocessed vegetables with smaller amounts of fruit, nuts, seeds, un-cured meats and fish.

If it comes in a box, a packet or a jar, it's probably less good for you than something which comes in a peel or a rind, or off a fishing boat or a farm.

Prinzessilein

I would like to think that a healthy diet could include just about any food ....in moderation.

What constitutes 'healthy' will vary from person to person....my mother , for example, needs to limit citrus and other foods due to medication she is on.

But I think that for most people the concept of 'balance' would be there....the human body needs protein, carbohydrate, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, plenty of fluids (water for choice)

A diet would not be 'unhealthy' if it included the occasional glass of wine (indeed some argue that red wine has health benefits) or bar of chocolate (again, some chocolate - the dark sort, high in cocoa solids, has health benefits)....even a jammy donut can be enjoyed without damning an otherwise balanced diet as 'unhealthy'.

Some processed foods can be 'healthier' than fresh....tomatoes for example.

On a personal note,...for me, the healthiest diet appears to be the 5:2 approach....doing this for a few years has resulted in a little over 8 stone lost (and the belief that I WILL lose the rest of the unnecessary, unwanted weight!)...but it would not be the best doet for others.

NewShadow

I try and go with variety, which is tough as a singleton.

I aim towards leaner cuts of meat - and meat rather than 'meat products' (80+% sausages are my sneaky treat). I know I don't eat enough fish - had a tin of tuna two weeks ago. I try and eat meatless twice a week but fail most weeks.

Veggies have never excited me. I eat carrots, peas, sweetcorn, tomatoes and beans - nothing wrong with anything else, but they're the ones I gravitate to. I eat far too much fruit to make up for it.

Potatoes! I loves me potatoes. Or I'll eat pre-portioned rice/grains. Cooking rice or pasta for one - I never get it right.

Biggest thing for me is actually eating three times a day rather than grazing. I always lose weight (which I need to do) when I eat three squares a day.

Soworried

For me it is eating nutrient dense foods ensuring to get enough fats, proteins and your micros 80% of the time. Then fill in the rest of your calories with any thing you fancy.

Not over eating is a major factor in a healthy diet.

*Margaret*

I don't think there is one healthy diet, but lots of ways to eat that are healthy. People in different countries eat very differently - insects in China, not much fruit and veg if you're an Inuit, lots of vegetables if you're Ethiopian and so on.

I think traditional British meat and two veg is perfectly healthy - during the 1940's people in Britain were relatively healthy, without a lot of the things some people now feel we need for a healthy diet - like avocados, exotic fruit etc. I think it's our more modern diet that's not ideal and we'd be better eating closer to how our grandparents ate. But really I think if we're in a position to worry about what to choose, rather than whether we have enough then we're in quite a good position.

[Deleted User]

Fruit and veg grown with as little chemical addition as possible consumed as close to where they grew as is possible and as big a variety of both as it's possible to get. Lean meats, poultry, game and fish, fresh eggs low fat dairy produce, whole grains (including wholewheat flour), nuts, seeds, herbs and spices, clean water, teas and herb teas form the basis. As much as we are able we try and avoid fats, sugar, sweeteners, flavourings, chemicals and enhancers, artificial colourings, anything made in a lab not in nature BUT we do drink coffee, have the occasional piece of good cheese, the odd chocolate and sweet. He Who knows and the girls drink alcohol in the form of wines, beers and ciders very occasionally spirits but none of these 'treat/indulgence' items every day. The thing we have most often is the coffee but it's not about total abstinence and deprivation, I think if you eat sensibly most of the time that's good enough. Food should be enjoyed, it's one of the best things in life isn't it?

Slinky

Low carb/high fat Paleo/caveman is the only thing which reversed the upwards creeping of the pounds in middle age for myself and OH.

NewShadow

Interested in people's opinions, is this healthy?

A tin of stewed steak
A tin of minced beef
A tin of mushrooms
A tin of sweetcorn
A tin of baked beans (in sauce)
A tin of mixed beans
A carton of passata
4 chopped carrots
4 chopped potatoes
topped off with water.

All cooked together in a slow cooker and served with a slice of crusty bread (serves around 6/8).

I only ask as I'm really fancying it this weekend (weekends are never planned and I've got all the bits).

My grandmother made this almost every weekend (but she used tinned carrots, 2 tins of baked beans rather than mixed, peas rather than sweetcorn, and probably about 6 oxo cubes in place of the passata) and lived to her 90's thin as a rake.

Linda32

In my opinion an healthy diet is plenty of fruit and vegetables, chicken and fish, 2 alcohol free days a week. 2 small glasses of red wine a day etc.

On the other hand, I'm glad you didn't ask if I eat an healthy diet.

PasturesNew

For me, I just look at one main item: calories.

If I'm eating the right number then I'm not putting on weight, which is one measure of "healthy".

If I choose to spend a whole day's calories on pies, I KNOW that's "not good", so I don't do it every day ... and I occasionally try to lob some vegetables around here and there into meals.

That's as good as it gets.

NewShadow wrote: »

Interested in people's opinions, is this healthy?

A tin of stewed steak
A tin of minced beef
A tin of mushrooms
A tin of sweetcorn
A tin of baked beans (in sauce)
A tin of mixed beans
A carton of passata
4 chopped carrots
4 chopped potatoes
topped off with water.

All cooked together in a slow cooker and served with a slice of crusty bread (serves around 6/8).

I only ask as I'm really fancying it this weekend (weekends are never planned and I've got all the bits).

My grandmother made this almost every weekend (but she used tinned carrots, 2 tins of baked beans rather than mixed, peas rather than sweetcorn, and probably about 6 oxo cubes in place of the passata) and lived to her 90's thin as a rake.

That looks fine to me ... there's even that 5 a day stuff in there lurking....

Nothing bad there.

To me, processed food definitely has a place ... and it's the overall balance over, say, a week or a month that would mean one should inspect the labels on the cans a bit closer.... not now, after a while.

Until that point that labels are consulted... eat away

I make something like that, but a smaller quantity.... in fact, now I fancy it too