BBC The truth about healthy eating

I have a vague recollection that recent advice was that a regular multivitamin was good for you in some way. My DH loathes vegetables so we take a regular multivitamin with minerals at breakfast time, since the excess is excreted in any case it can do no harm.

I saw a programme recently where workers from an office had their vitamin D levels checked, many were under the healthy level. Half the group were given a daily supplement and the other half went outside in their lunch hour to get some sun (or light, anyway!). The improvement in both groups was dramatic, the daylight group did just as well.

I'm always looking for good advice on improving nails, mine are terrible despite the fact that I take a recommended supplement. Don't really know if I can do anything about it though as my mother had the same problem so it might be an inherited trait.

Nonnie1 your breakfast wounded lovely, I occasionally do the same thing, but dont tell anyone.
Vit D is the cause of rickets, unfortunately in Countries where women have to cover up, there is a deficiency of Vit D. and they need to take subtitutes.
Here we take sun factor, you cant win!

i remember buying Vit AandD drops at the baby clinic when mine were babies, along with orange juice and baby milk. It was standard practice to give to your children back in the 70's.

When I was young people were keen on "tonics" (not the kind you have with gin) and my DM used to give me something called Parrishes Food, which I had to drink through a straw because it made the teeth black. Must have had some iron, I suppose.

I remember Cod Liver oil and Malt, loved it. Also was given Parishes Food, it was an iron tonic. I never could have the orange juice given during the war as was intolerant to it, I came out in huge hives all over which itched like mad. I now find oranges in any form are a guaranteed Migraine, so it clearly hasn't gone away. Oddly, Grapefruit I can eat and be fine with, though the Migraine Guru's say all citrus fruits if you react to one. I don't drink cows milk either, though I have butter and yoghurt, so I really don't know why. ....a hang over from having eczema badly as a child I think

I think possibly you need vit d in order to be able to absorb and utilize calcium for bone strength and building.

Same as treatment for osteoporosis...calci-D tablets from doc

I remember rose hip syrup. The stuff I got was called Delrosa, and it was sweet and sticky. I also got Virol, which was thick and brown. I watched the programme and was amazed that fried eggs were better than scrambled. I always had scrambled,thinking it was healthier. I hope my friend watched the programme as she falls for every new fad that comes out!

I didn't watch it. Why are fried eggs better than scrambled, inishowen?

MaizieD fried are better because they don't absorb the fat and scrambled you normally add butter and milk which ups the fat content a lot.. like you I always thought scrambled were better .

As a child I was given Parrishes Food, Scott's Emulsion, Cod liver oil and malt plus a weekly dose of syrup of figs. My children had cod liver oil, orange juice and Virol dispensed free by the Clinic just after the war. I still enjoy malt and cod liver oil.

You and me, both! I'm a war baby, and I adored cod liver oil. Apparently I called it 'fooshoo', which was the best I could make of 'fish oil'.

I never gave up full-cream milk or butter, and hate those artificial spreads - I'm sure they aren't safe to eat. I reckon that if we just eat good food in moderation we won't go far wrong. Fads are for the birds.

The one exception is Vitamin D, which is a useful supplement for use in the dark winter months.

I watched the programme on catch up and got quite exasperated by some of the ridiculous content.
Goji berries may not be any better for us than strawberries, but it's a lot easier to keep a pot of Goji's in a desk drawer at work than to do the same with strawberries
Surely everyone knows that to 'detox' we only need to eat a healthy diet!
Coconut oil is delicious, I use it because we like the taste, not in case it's better for us than other oils!
Why would anyone be surprised that cows milk is, in most cases, better for us than soya/almond milk?
I take Glucosamine & Chondroitin which I find lessens my joint pain, but have never taken vitamin supplements apart from Vit C when colds are rife, a healthy diet gives us all the vitamins we need.
As for eggs being healthier fried than scrambled, the eggs themselves are fine, it's what they're cooked in which makes all the difference! I couldn't believe that people would put butter and milk in scrambled eggs without realising that they were using fats. I know it makes them delicious, but surely we all know it makes them less healthy too.
In this house, eggs get dry fried, with just a spray of rapeseed oil, lovely!
Why would anyone not be aware that boiling broccoli to death destroys the vitamins in it? Do people really need to be told all this stuff?
The biggest surprise I got was seeing how old Fiona Phillips looked, she's almost four years younger than me......but looks at least ten years older than I do! I've always had a chubby face though, so the wrinkles don't show

juggernaut I thought the same about Fiona Phillips.

If you take a nut and do so much to it until it becomes a milk then that is not natural. Its the same with soya which is now going out of fashion. If you can't take milk and this is a real enzyme deficiency then do without.

In Germany we have folic acid added to salt and iodine because in S Germany there is not enoough iodine in the soil.
Everyone can choose which salt they buy but if they never cook at home they miss out.

Supplements are so expensive but if you believe they help then carry on. This point was not mentioned in the programme. Sometimes you are so depressed about feeling not well it gives you hope to throw money at something which promises some improvement.

It's about eating sensibly and having a piece of cake or chocolate etc for treat.nothing wrong in that. Plenty of fruit and veg and fish and meat and not McDonald's or Kentucky etc.

Eat well, not too much, most of it palnts.

Only in the affluent West could we all worry about food and vitamins, so although we are lucky, we need to have some common sense about it all.As other posters say, all things in moderation.Vitamins in food are absorbed so much better than taking tablets.

Never tried paints. What are they like?

I am Type 2 Diabetic & advice is to cut down sugar, main meal should be 1/4 protein (meat) 1/4 carbohydrate (potatoes etc) & 1/2 vegetables - watch portion size as most people put too much on their plate (we all hate waste so will finish whatever is put in front of us). I have some B Vitamins prescribed by GP, the body does not retain B Vitamins so it will only use what is required & get rid of any excess. I am taking Folic Acid as I have a slight B12 deficiency. Vitamin D is not a problem as I am outside in my garden at every opportunity (with sunscreen as I am very fair skinned) Eat 2 portions of fruit a day. I cannot drink milk (hate the taste remember school milk - tepid in summer) & don't like yogurt but love butter, cream & cheese. I believe in eating a sensible diet forget the fads, occasional treat won't kill you!!

I do not believe there is anything wrong with a couple of eggs scrambled in a bit of butter or margarine. What should a bit of fat turn them into something unhealthy? You're only going to use a small knob of it. First world problems or what? hmm]

And as for larger oats being better fibre-wise than finely milled ones - No shit Sherlock who's have thought it!

I have just bought Alpro almond milk for less than the equivalent organic milk.
It has 120 mg calcium per 100ml, whereas cow's milk has 124 mg, so not that much difference.
The almond milk has 0.38 micrograms of B12, cow's milk has between 0.4 and 0.8. Had to look that up because it does not say on the label.
No need to worry.

granjura Here's the gluten video I think you were referring to. Apologies to any genuine coeliacs out there.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Oht9AEq1798

Re the programme, I thought it was simplistic - there are no healthy/ unhealthy foods, only healthy/unhealthy diets.
Yes coconut oil is expensive, but it makes stir-fried veg taste delicious.
Yes bacon and eggs for breakfast makes you feel full until lunchtime, but if (as said on the programme) it has 30g of protein, and you then have a 'normal' lunch and a 'normal' dinner, then you're quite possibly going to be eating more protein than is recommended........
Adding milk and butter to scrambled eggs doesn't make it unhealthy - does adding milk to tea, or putting butter on toast, make those unhealthy too?

Cod liver oil and malt, virol, rose hip syrup and that orange juice that had to be diluted...takes yer back!

Apologies for my very tired post last night. I did make a lot of typos!

I have just had my scrambled eggs made with a good dollop of olive oil marg. Very tasty they were too.

durhamjen to be fair on the subject of 'milks', cows' milk does contain a lot of other nutrients besides the calcium. I am going to try lacto free cows' mlk to see if it helps my little bit of trouble. Doubt if it will make any difference though. A sliding hernia is a sliding hernia. (I have diagnosed myself. No cameras involved. )

Husband and I had seen all the info in collected in that programme so many times in other programmes.... we got to thinking it was just a good excuse for Fiona to travel round and round the UK meeting scientists..... then again anyone else would have been travelling the whole world to meet scientists so I suppose Fiona was quite controlled really.