Even the most maligned foods have relatively healthy versions. Photo / 123rf
THREE KEY FACTS:
Tim Spector OBE is a medical doctor, epidemiologist and Daily Telegraph UK columnist.
OPINION
You don’t need to quit anything entirely if it gives you pleasure, even if it’s inherently unhealthy, says Tim Spector.
Personally, I love most foods and don’t like to give any of them up. I don’t believe there is anything you need to quit entirely if it gives you pleasure, even if it’s inherently unhealthy – so long as it’s enjoyed as part of a diverse, gut-friendly diet. Rather, we should focus on quality and frequency. Even the most maligned foods have relatively healthy versions, and if you eat any food, regardless of its nutritional content, just once a month, it is unlikely to have a severe impact on your health.
Red meat has a bad reputation, which is at least partly fair. Ethically and environmentally, there are some serious issues. But if you enjoy eating meat, you do not need to cut it out of your life permanently. It doesn’t have to be a black-or-white issue.
After a health scare, I gave up meat for about six years. At the time, it was the easiest way radically to change my diet. Although I didn’t miss it terribly, my body did, and I became vitamin B12 deficient, as I have always had borderline low levels. So I started having meat once or twice a month rather than popping vitamin pills.
My experience showed me that giving up meat is a highly effective way to kick-start a new way of thinking about food. Suddenly, you are forced to put plants at the centre of your meal, and they become the main focus.
I have always said there’s nothing wrong with eating occasional good-quality meat. Scientific evidence shows there are no major health risks if you can stick to that. It provides a healthy dose of B12, which is hard to get if you avoid both meat and dairy.
If you overeat meat, however, there is good evidence that your risk of heart disease and some cancers increases, so keeping it to a minimum makes sense. Similarly, avoiding processed meats of all kinds is important – there is now incontrovertible evidence that processed meats are bad for your health.
When you select your weekly meat, keep the planet in mind, too. Pick the best quality you can get — ideally grass-fed organic without antibiotics or hormones.
The most important thing we can do as individuals is not to abandon our cars, pets or holiday flights, but to eat less red meat. Red meat per gram of protein is 100 times worse for the planet than eating peas, for instance. Limiting red meat to just a few times per month is sensible.
After cutting down on my meat intake, I found that I did not need such large quantities to satiate myself.
Eating other forms of meat, such as chicken, is better for the planet as they take up less room, and they are probably neutral for your health – as long as they are unprocessed. Still, eating chicken is ethically questionable – we kill more than 60 billion each year to fuel our poultry habit and it seems morally wrong to pay more for a pint of beer than a chicken. Personally, I find chicken fairly bland and boring, like pasta without sauce, so I always opt for a plant alternative.
For those trying to cut down on meat, do it progressively if you don’t want to go cold turkey (pardon the pun). I found that substituting meat with plenty of mushrooms and lentils is a good healthy alternative. This provides the protein you get from meat, plus the pleasant umami taste.
Indeed, many people won’t notice if you start blending lentils (or other legumes) and mushrooms into burger patties. And don’t be frightened by marketing campaigns saying we all need more protein. More than 95% of us in Britain have more than enough protein. However, 90% of us are deficient in fibre – we need more plants in our diet, not more meat.
I love chocolate, but not all forms are equal. Most of the chocolate eaten in the UK is of low quality and contains huge quantities of sugar, additives and little cocoa.
Britain’s favourite bar – Cadbury’s Dairy Milk – is around 25% cacao, the EU minimum. Meanwhile, in the United States, a product only has to contain 10% cacao to be legally considered chocolate. These sugary versions with multiple flavourings and additives, as you might suspect, are not great for your health.
However, high-quality dark chocolate with 70% cacao or above and ideally no more than three ingredients – cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar – is actually quite good for you. This needn’t be a guilty pleasure at all, and it won’t rot your teeth. If dark chocolate is too bitter for your taste, try to wean yourself off milk chocolate gradually as I did, moving from 25% up to 40, then 50, and so on. Many people use the same approach for reducing sugar in tea, and if you take it slowly, it is easy.
Eating dark chocolate without additives such as emulsifiers, flavourings and artificial sweeteners has been shown in several studies to reduce the risk of heart disease. It is made from a plant and so contains fibre and beneficial chemicals called polyphenols (plant defence chemicals, which feed gut microbes and secrete healthy compounds that reduce inflammation).
I usually eat it at the end of the meal rather than as a separate snack. Just a few chunks of the good stuff is enough to satisfy me.
I can’t deny it, I like wine. I’ve always had an interest in it. But the epidemiological evidence is quite clear that alcohol is bad for you and, overall, is best avoided. If you do want to have a drink while you socialise, red wine is your best bet. Studies consistently show that drinking one or two glasses of red wine a day reduces the risk of heart disease. Although, overall mortality probably doesn’t change much.
This effect is probably due to the polyphenols in red wine. Thankfully, young wines tend to have higher levels of polyphenols, so you don’t need to splash the cash on vintage plonk to reap the health benefits. White wine, on the other hand, has three times less polyphenols, so their health effects are obliterated by the alcohol content.
If you do plan on having a glass of red, enjoy it with a meal, and don’t have it late at night – alcohol can affect your sleep quality and duration. I tend to drink my wine earlier in the evening or as an aperitif (though I sometimes forget).
One of my biggest addictions is cheese. When I went vegan for a few weeks, I didn’t crave meat; it was cheese that I missed – 10 years ago, vegan cheeses were not particularly pleasant, though they are much better now, especially the nut-based ones.
However, I am delighted to inform you that you do not need to stop eating cheese to stay healthy. The evidence so far suggests that eating decent quality cheese, not ultra-processed or on a pizza, is slightly good for you. According to epidemiology studies, there are no major risks. Although cheese is high in saturated fat, the probiotics – fermenting microbes that live in the cheese – have a positive effect on your health via your gut.
Nowadays, I tend to have my cheese after lunch or my evening meal with some extra ferments such as sauerkraut or kimchi to make it even healthier. I think this is the best way to enjoy cheese for both your health and taste buds.
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