BBC The truth about healthy eating

I've always assumed that if you eat a normal balanced diet - moderation in everything - then you can't go too far wrong.

I was a 1948 baby and we got the orange juice as well. It was lovely! Can't remember getting any cod liver oil though, thank goodness!

My mother always made rosehip syrup- we had to go into the woods to collect the fruits, and it was great fun to bite into one and stick it down a friend's top - it hitches to bug*****y- in French popularly called 'gratte-cul' (scratch arse)- and make jelly too.

Bella, a few of the boys from my class took all the skins off our milk and gobbled them up one by one!

gettingonabit- it is just a fad I believe- some people become obsessed with some foods being bad- like dairy in this case (and meat, etc) and get stuck into very limited diets and all sorts of supplements.

granjura I've noticed this in my local shop. The "free from" range is huge, given the size of the shop. Lactose free, gluten free, dairy free.... Not sure if lactose free and dairy free are the same thing, mind.

I wish someone would just say "everything's ok in moderation" but I doubt that. Moderation doesn't make good telly.

Could it have been Minadex, gettingonabit? Remember my mum giving it to me and I seem to remember that being orange and gloopy; also Scotts Emulsion, which I quite liked. I think rose hip syrup fell out of favour for the same reason as Ribena - dental issues. I gave both to my two and they never had any dental issues.

greyduster it WAS Minadex! Thanks (nostalgic sniff).

'Eat well, not too much, most of it plants' is my guide to healthy eating. The saying comes from an American food writer, Michael Pollan.

The one thing I am aware of is that I eat far less than I did in my prime, if I still ate as much I would be shaped like a beach ball and for that reason I am concerned as to whether the reduced amounts I now eat contain a sufficient quantity of all the micro nutrients that are required to remain in optimal health.

While I understand that healthy young to middle aged people with a good diet cannot boost their vitamin levels above their bodies healthy norm by taking supplements. I do wonder whether older people eating a balanced diet, but much less than they did, may need still need supplements in order to reach their natural healthy vitamin level.

gettingonabit- this is more or less exactly what the conclusion was on last night's programme. Brilliant.

Someone posted a hilarious video about those people who calle themselves 'gluten intolerant' when they are nothing of the sort- it is hilarious but I daren't 'like' or 'share' - as some among family and friends belong to that group.

Real gluten intolerance is very unplesant and even dangerous- but the vast majority of those who claim to be nowadays- are not at all. That is actually dangerous in many ways- as people who really DO have life threatening allergies are often no longer taken seriously (like my 10 year old grandson who is highly allergic to eggs).

Oooh, I remember rosehip syrup! And something called Virol which was gloopy and sweet. Also some orangey stuff.
Once I made my own rosehip syrup from foraged rosehips but we (BH and I) were up all night halving the hips and trying to remove the hairs. Never again. Gave some of the resulting gunge to baby daughter and it gave her diarrhoea

So that was that....

ahah it needs to be strained in a very fine muslin bag. I have inherited my grandparent's small jelly press- it looks just like a wine press- made out of wood with a lid that presses down the mixture, a gully and a metal spout, and a cork screw that you tighten- much better than the upside down on chairlegs method. It extracts practically 100% of the juice and no cloudiness.

Wasn't Virol a malt and cod liver oil concoction? I used to love malt and cod liver oil when I was small. My two never liked it, and I bought a jar when GS was about two and tried it on him. He spat it out all over the table and guess who had to eat her way through the jar? Yum!

Oh my I love cod liver oil and malt just like melted caramel... mmmnnnn

After I'd had pneumonia at the age of 6, the doctor prescribed Virol to 'build me up'. I disliked it intensely!

My mother used to put it in my food. Thought I wouldn't notice. Result, I hardly ate anything.

Rickets is still around. People have blamed the panics about skin cancer "keep the child out of the sun and put on sunblock because it dangerous" and children have been covered too much.

In Britain you can't get much vitD from the sun for about half the year anyway.
Those with darker skin get even less in our often cloudy Britain. I seem to get low on vitD and I am thinking of taking cod liver oil despite being a vege.

The other thing I was quite relieved about was that no, you don't need to be drinking water constantly. Thankfully. Good news for those of us who are not so robust in the bladder department.

Did anyone else get dosed with Parishes Food as a child? It was an appetite stimulant, a tonic, I suppose, but it contained some sort of poison!

I hated cod liver oil, cod liver oil & malt and Scotts Emulsion. When those appeared along with Liberty vests, I knew it was winter.

Regarding the programme, it confirmed my instincts, which is a diet of everything in moderation.

My mother lived until she was 95, avoiding doctors like the plague. If anything was wrong on the inside, drink dark rum and on the outside, apply Vaseline. She used to say 'a little of what you fancy does you good' and 'everything in moderation'.

Ther are allergic people around those who really react badly to milk but not as many as the amounts of lactose free foods you can buy.
DD1 doesn't drink milk but makes no fuss about it and doesn't drink lactose free stuff either because she always found that she felt full and bloated as a child and didn't like milk.It is no hardsip for her.

Eating normally and what is natural is probably the best thing.
Huge amounts of veg and fruit in smoothies is not natural. Don't east more veg than you would normally. All food needs contact with saliva if it is to be properly digested. Slipping a lettuce and broccolli and whatever else in a smoothie past your tongue and saliva glands is not as good as taking a normal amount and chewing it.

Remember Virol? ?? Wonderful!

Was anyone else fed Radio Malt as a toddler, or know why?

Haliborange anyone ?
Recently diagnosed with slightly raised cholesterol-I have not been eating properly due to stressful family situation,now more or less resolved . Nurse and I agreed that if I stick to the healthy eating I am determined to resume to kick start the loss of the stone I need to lose, it would probably deal with the cholesterol.Healthy eating sheet-protein in moderation ,lots of veggies al dente and some fruit .Cut out alcohol(won't be doing that)but stick to red wine in moderation if not. Not too much tea and coffee.No exactly complicated is it

I watched it with my daughter who debunked some of what Fiona was told. But what really puzzles me is if vitamins are not worth taking, what's with the NHS Healthy Start campaign www.healthystart.nhs.uk/for-health-professionals/vitamins/
And what about Folic Acid, credited with reducing the chances of having a baby with spina bifida? My vit. D levels were very low but now nicely within range on a supplement. You can't necessarily believe a TV programme any more than you can believe the producers of so-called superfoods.

I read recently an indepth article about coconut oil and how heart disease was almost unknown in the islands, where that is the only oil they use to cook with.

Almonds are good for you but in almond milk e.g. Well known UK brand, almonds represent 2% of the total drink. The remainder is water, sugar,vitamins and thickening agents. What you are paying exorbitant prices for isn't the healthy aspects of almonds, but the production process. Thinking positively, the big companies are paying taxes and some people are earning a wage so they can buy almond milk.

Listen to your body. This is especially necessary as you get older. I used to have a cast iron gut but now have to be a bit more careful, especially with sugar, raw foods, soups and alcohol. However, being a greedy person I do have blowouts, like the one I'm going to have today. I shall just take 2 Ranitidina afterwards and get back to normal tomorrow. As regards supplements, I don't take many, but once I stopped taking glucosamine and turmeric tablets for a period and really noticed my increased twinges.