Why food matters

What we eat is under the spotlight more than ever before. Until recently, hardly anyone had heard of the gut microbiome. Now supermarket shelves groan with probiotic products: live yogurts, kefir, kombucha and kimchi, as well as countless supplements promising to promote good digestive health.

We’re told our diet not only affects our weight, it impacts our mental health, and can increase or decrease our risk of developing diseases like some cancers, as well as chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Greater understanding of the complex relationship between what we eat and our health has also contributed to the growth of new areas of science: nutrigenetics, which looks at how a person’s genes determine their body’s response to certain nutrients; and nutrigenomics, which examines how an individual’s diet can affect the expression of their genes. Both call into question the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to dietary recommendations and raise the prospect of the possibility of personalised health advice in the future.

At the same time, we are witnessing something of social revolution in our attitude to food. A recent survey put the number of vegans in the UK at 3.5 million[i]. While the actual figure may not be that high, there seems little doubt that many people are cutting down on the amount of meat they eat. You only have to look at those supermarket shelves again to know that plant-based diets are becoming big business, and it’s not just health which is prompting many people to reject the traditional British meat-based diet. The Vegetarian Society is encouraging people to, ‘eat to beat climate change’[ii], and even the UN is advising that reducing meat consumption would be better for the planet[iii].

The effect of when and how we eat is also under discussion. The popular 5:2 diet restricts calories for two days a week. Other intermittent fasting programmes involve leaving anything from 8 to 16 hours between the last meal of the day and the first of the next, with proponents claiming a range of health benefits.

Our appetite for information on what we should or should not be eating seems limitless, yet we live in a country where more than 60% of the adult population is overweight or obese[iv]. Levels of type 2 diabetes are at an all-time high and continuing to rise, even among children. Before 2000, not one child in the UK had the condition[v]: in 2016 there were more than 500 cases[vi].

The aim of this blog is to investigate nutrition trends and to understand the science behind them. It is more and more apparent that our diet can make a real difference to our current and future health. Eating is no longer simply a matter of providing enough energy to get through the day: there may be no aspect of our lives which is not directly affected by our dietary choice. Healthy food and a healthy life are inextricably linked: food matters.

[i] Petter, Olivia. “Number of vegans in the UK soars to 3.5 million survey says.” Independent, 03 April 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/vegans-uk-rise-popularity-plant-based-diets-veganism-figures-survey-compare-the-market-a8286471.html.

[ii] Vegetarian Society. “Eat to beat climate change.” Vegetarian Society, 2019, https://www.vegsoc.org/eat-to-beat-climate-change-wear-the-tshirt/.

[iii] IPPC. “Climate change and land.” IPPC, 08 August 2019, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/.

[iv] NHS Digital. “Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet, England 2019.” NHS Digital, 10 April 2019, https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet/statistics-on-obesity-physical-activity-and-diet-england-2019/part-6-diet

[v] Ehtisham, S. and Barrett, T.G. “The emergence of type 2 diabetes in childhood.” Annals of clinical biochemistry, vol. 41, no. 1, 2004, pp. 10-16, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14713381.

[vi] Diabetes UK. “More than 500 children and young people have type 2 diabetes.” Diabetes UK, 15 June 2016, https://www.diabetes.org.uk/about_us/news/-more-than-500-children-and-young-people-have-type-2-diabetes.