Healthy lifestyle: We are no strangers to diet fads at this point, especially those of us who are now more into fitness and selling every type of protein powder every time we open our social media apps.
However, according to Abigail Green, lead health and wellbeing physiologist at Nuffield Health, a lot of what we’re told about ‘clean eating’ and diets isn’t actually quite true, and it’s likely that if you’ve tried to eat cleaner, you’ve being misled about what your body really needs.
Myths We’ve Been Told About Food for healthy lifestyle – Debunked
How much protein do we really need to eat?
Protein is a huge buzzword in the health and fitness world, but how much do we actually need to eat each day?
Green said: “We should be consuming anywhere from 0.8g to 1.8g per kg/body weight/day. In fact, that’s for every kilogram of your own weight, you should consume roughly 0.8-1.8g depending on your level of exercise.
“For most, it would fall on the lower end of the spectrum.”
She went on to explain: “If I weigh 60kg, am not an athlete or have a particularly healthy lifestyle, I will need 48g of protein per day.
“If I am more active and complete strength training, this requirement now falls between 1.2 and 1.8 g per day. Therefore, I should consume 72-108 g of protein per day.”
If you want a personalized recommendation for your protein intake, Green recommends speaking with an expert.
Are all fats bad? Are there any that we should include in our diet for healthy lifestyle?
Since so many healthy foods are low-fat, and fat is generally considered bad in some circles, it’s easy to assume that any fat we eat is bad for us. However, this was immediately rebuked by Green.
She said: “Fat has a vital place in our diet. Roughly 30% of our total energy intake per day should come from fat. Fats have the highest energy value per gram – 9 kcal/g. Carbohydrates and protein are only 4 kcal/g.”
However, she insisted, not all fats are created equal.
Green said: “Saturated fat is a type of fat usually found in processed foods and animal products, eg cheese, chocolate, butter, cream, crisps etc.
“This is the type of fat we should limit in our diets because of its link to healthy lifestyle-related diseases. In fact, there is no recommended intake for saturated fat, as there is for example for protein and carbohydrates.”
She further explained that there are “good fats” that offer benefits such as heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory properties.
Green explained: “For the most part, these are vegetable fats. You can find them in fatty fish, avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oils, etc.
“An easy way to tell the difference is that saturated fats will be solid at room temperature due to their chemical structure, while unsaturated fats will be liquid at room temperature.”
Is healthy food always expensive?
During a cost of living crisis, you could be forgiven for thinking that healthier foods will be more expensive because, to be fair, everything is.
Green said: “Marketing these days has made us think that to be healthy we need a bag of green powder costing nearly £100 in our cupboards.
“Although the sad truth is that you get more energy/calories for less – which means you get more bang for your buck in terms of energy intake. That doesn’t mean the food is high in nutritional value and ‘healthier’ for you.”
She explained: “For example, for £1.55 in Tesco you can buy a 200g bar of own brand milk chocolate. While £1.50 can get you five medium oranges.
“For 100 g of chocolate, you get 160 kcal plus 15.5 g of sugar and 5.9 g of saturated fat. You get 41 kcal per 100 g of oranges, not to mention fiber, vitamins and minerals. Granted, this is just one example, it paints a picture that cheaper food may provide more energy, but it may not be the best for you.”
When it comes to nutrition, Green said some of the cheapest foods you can get are the most nutritionally dense, such as vegetables, legumes and grains.
She added: “Not to mention using frozen fruit and vegetables. Not only are they convenient, meaning you can’t excuse yourself for not being in your weekly grocery shop, but they also contain the same amount of nutrients as their fresh counterparts.
