nutrition

[memevector]

I am reading "Optimum nutrition for the mind" by Patrick Holford (which I got out of the library today).

I'm finding it a bit depressing in a way, to discover how non-optimal my food habits still are despite lots of improvement over the years. But also v amazing in terms of how much is known. But also a bit depressing (on a cultural rather than personal level) to realise how little of what is known is being implemented by medical professionals & in other caring/social professions. But encouraging in terms of what could be done.

so some mixed feelings there :-)

I wish nutritional supplements weren't so expensive to buy in the shops. If anything deserves subsidy from the state, I think there are good arguments for it being them - it'd easily pay back in so many other ways, NHS/ education/ crime etc. But it doesn't happen much. Still, there's quite a bit you can do with ordinary food (glycaemic index being one aspect to pay attention to, which is becoming somewhat better known lately).

anyway, I recommend the book to all and sundry...

Comments

[fionnghuala.livejournal.com]

I am a massive fan of Patrick Holford! I love the way he's so hard-line on stuff like having a slice of bread or sugar in your tea.

Once you read that kind of stuff, it's amazing how poor the food provided in schools, prisons, even hospitals is. Totally amoral! I don't think you even get vegetables-as-standard.

[skibbley.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Does it cover vegan diets or could it be reasonably adaptable to them?

[memevector.livejournal.com]

It mostly comes from "what nutrients play what roles in the body and what foods are they available from", so in that sense it's not really diet-specific at all - you'd just want to pick from the vegan foods listed.

It does occasionally generalise about diets though, including vegan. Stuff like "Vegans are more likely to be deficient in X; people who eat a lot of meat are more likely to be deficient in Y".