who has got it right

My friend, who was a health fanatic, died at 53 fron cancer. She was always advising the rest of us 'eat seeds, try avocado, don't drink alcohol, don't smoke, exercise'. She would even bring her own bowl of salad to works Christmas parties and sit and eat that while the rest of us indulged in party fayre.

I have always been living a life of self-denial, not eating too much sugar or cake, avoiding fry-ups, processed foods and excessive alcohol.

My father-in-law, who has just passed away aged 95, ate everything he shouldn't have all his life and it didn't do him any harm.

If I give up my few "indulgences" such as brown toast, crisps and well-roasted potatoes I'll die of misery long before I die of cancer.

Its today's mothers that I feel sorry for.
First it was don't give young children anything with peanut in
Now give youngsters food with peanut in!

I pay very little attention to all this nonsense, which is probably just as well because I'd be in a state of high anxiety otherwise.

I agree absolutely with the poster upthread who suggested that this attention to abstemiousness is a side-effect of religion no longer being of much importance to many of us.

I also find much of this advice irritatingly patronising.

I don't take too much notice of this stuff any more.

It's not all that long ago that we were told we should only have an egg or two a week, and butter was definitely bad for you.

Now, eggs are fine, and it's the mucked about stuff in margarine that's bad for you.

Not to mention the question of how babies should sleep. When I had my first, we were sternly told NEVER to put babies to sleep on their backs - we must put them on their tummies.
Roll on 10 years or so, and mothers are told exactly the opposite since tummy sleeping is a major contributor to cot death.

The 'experts' all change their minds so often.
A little common sense, and everything in moderation.

Yes don't you just love it when the 'experts' announce something is very bad for you ....and then a few weeks later extol the virtue of the same thing !!

A lot of things are genetic ...I had colon cancer diagnosed in 2010 ..two lots of secondaries in the liver ...lots of chemo and two big ops ...now waiting next week for the porta cathe to be removed ! Type 1 diabetes diagnosed in 2004 ....both times I was asked who in the family had these things ? I never knew anyone did as my mum and dad never discussed anything at all about their health ...maybe I wished they had ! Then in 2015 I was found to have a transposition of the supra ventricular in the heart ....had to ask what they was and why > Cardiologist said nowadays babies are checked for this at birth ...and this can be reversed by an op ...but not in 1947 they weren't .......I did ask at the time of the cancer an the diabetes diagnoses if I should change my diet ...and was looked at as if I was mad ! Exercise is what was recommended .....but since I was also told the last problem with the heart is life shortening (what isn't !) and I am now nearly 70 ...the only thing I have changed about my life is that I do things (and say things) that I want ...life is too short to worry ! Funeral plan in place (no Stargazer lillies !!!! I hate those consistent funeral policy ads !) .....and like my docs advice just take each day as it comes ! Trouble is, the bills keep coming as well, so no chance of a bucket list or a world cruise ! ah well,c'est la vie " Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die ' excellent advice !

I am Diabetic Type 2, my diet follows the principle of plenty of vegetables, 2 portions of fruit (natural sugars), avoid sugar & salt, although I have salt on tomatoes, celery & chips. Meat & bread in moderation, potatoes with my Dinner

Love crispy roast potatoes, they don't taste the same if they're not well done

I don't take a lot of notice of the "scare stories", it is everything in moderation for me, yes I enjoy a drink occasionally & smoke (3 a day), yes I should give up but

My DM is nearly 88 & ignores health advice, eating what she fancies

My grandmother wouldn't eat toast unless it was burnt to glory, she lived to 98, when she died of nothing but old age, she hadly ever saw a Dr, and apart for colds etc she was never ill!
When she was 96 she developed a liking for full sugar Pepsi Cola, and was none too pleased when one of my aunts told her she shouldn't drink it as it was 'bad for her health'!

I totally agree with you 'Greyduster'. The stress and worry caused by all this 'advice' must be harmful in itself. I never took any notice of the advice not to eat butter or eggs, and now they are back on the menu, and quite right too. They are totally natural foods. However I do believe that too much sugar is bad; I know this from personal experience, as I had Candida, which is a real illness. Everything in moderation, cooked from scratch at home as much as possible is my motto. But I love a treat as much as the next person. The best advice I can give is to walk as much as you possibly can. It keeps you fit mentally and physically.

Does the general public really believe all this tosh?
We have been warned off so many things and a few years/decades later we are told that it is good for you.
OK, if you have a condition such a coeliac disease, keep off stuff, but really? Eat moderately, lots of leaves and greens stuff, and be happy. S.d the rest of them.
As someone said earlier, we live too long anyway - shouldn't we enjoy our lives and pop our clogs sooner - then the hospitals will be free, the housing won't be clogged up, the social services will be able to use the money on other things, etc.

It's very simple.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Seven words to save the world and all the people in it.

Dogs eat charcoal biscuits

Our dog helpfully ate all my dad's burnt toast (no toaster & no smoke alarms) whilst he read the Sunday Post oblivious of the smoke coming out of the grill.

I don't really take much notice, its always changing so why bother. Eggs, we told that too many were bad for you, for the ladt 10 tens years I spend 3 months eating at least two eggs a day which had no effect whatsoever on my health. The trend is now that they are super foods! Everything in moderation is what I say.

Yes I am totally fed up with this climate of fear. So many adverts use this technique. Brush your teeth with our brand of toothpaste otherwise your teeth will fall out. Don't eat sugar, don't eat salt, farmed trout will give you cancer, as will red meat. And now it's burnt toast. Stick to government approved limits of alcohol and prepared to drop dead on the spot if you are a smoker. In fact you'd all be better off sticking to a couple of lettuce leaves a day. But no, not the pre-packed type, they may be full of bugs that haven't been washed off properly. Don't go out in the sun, you'll get skin cancer and for heaven's sake don't put sun tan screen or the children or they'll finish up with rickets.

I think that what food we should and shouldn't eat should also take into consideration our entire wellbeing, not just our physical health. So long as we dont go too far on that.

Sorry - ate well and

I was a child during the war and despite rationing we ate elland were never hungry. We weren't overweight either because butter sugar even bread eventually were rationed - as was red meat. I attribute my good health now to that good beginning. Moderation as someone said!
My eldest grandson texted me yesterday about the toast thing and was concerned about the scientific diktats! I told him moderation - and use your common sense. Every piece of research seems too be updated by another one. Think of all the different diets that come out based on different foods! Maybe a little of everything - and a few treats,

Lucky girl - love your story but could OH have been attempting irony?? I can imagine gran's wry look! I had lunch with ac90 year old friend the other day, she gave me mushroom soup made with cream, cheese on toast, and apple crumble with cream. I refused her lovely caffeinated coffee but accepted a (small) glass of vodka and a cream liqueur. Rolled merrily home back to Slimming World. Guess what - I'm still alive!! Must go, make SW mushroom soup - NO cream ...

Has anyone else noticed that these dire health warnings are always vaguely attributed to "experts" or "scientists" or "research studies" - no specific names, very ambiguous, very foggy and very confusing.

It often turns out that a lot of this scary research has been sponsored by the giant food manufacturers who have a vested interest in diverting us towards a particular food category (ie: low-fat spread versus butter) - and then trying to divert us back again!

All things in moderation, I say, and let's live life like we enjoy it - please!

(Anyway, just what constitutes an "expert"? An official piece of posh paper from a university to say that they've spent x number of years experimenting on mice and amoeba in the pursuit of obscure "research"?)

I was told years ago that burnt food was carcinogenic, I think it was a warning about barbecues at the time

I sort of like the black bits on the toast

My OH has one setting on the toaster for his burnt brown offering of toast and I have mine set much lower on the other side he also likes his meat well done and roasties but you can't tell him different.

I just wonder if this "denial" culture is the new religion? It enforces Fear and Guilt as most religions do (in my humble opinion) and as a medical specialist once told me fear and guilt causes stress which is the biggest killer. Just my thoughts.

I'm fed up to the back teeth being told what / what is not good for us by the press because as has been said, it's all likely to change tomorrow. I agree with everything in moderation. Don't animals [unless desperate]choose their food based on taste - if it's horrid don't eat it; if it's an overbright colour - avoid it! We weren't this fussy during the war and post war periods; at least my family certainly wasn't.

I still scrape the black of the toast - doesn't everyone?