Plumbing Connection Autumn 2016

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PLUMBING CONNECTION

AUTUMN 2016

ood, glorious food, we are surrounded by it. We are

certainly the lucky country with respect to food,

largely due to our multicultural society, which gives us

access to a wide, varied and healthy array of cuisines. And I

stress the healthy component. Just the other week I partook

in Italian food on Monday, Spanish food on Tuesday, Greek

food on Wednesday, Vietnamese food on Thursday and Thai

food on Friday. My taste buds needed a rest on the weekend!

Yet there are all sorts of food wars

going on with protagonists

extolling the virtues of

restrictive diets and

labelling certain foods

and food groups as

being bad for you. This

is totally wrong. It is

extremely confusing

for the public who

are getting mixed

messages about very

healthy foods. I think

that it is important

not to moralise about

food. Rather than

the food being good

or bad, it is more the

eating behaviour or

use of that food that is

the problem.

Food information

comes from varied

sources, a lot of which

I find questionable.

Unfortunately, some

of this misinformation

influences the public to head

along a particular eating and nutritional pathway that may

be detrimental to their health in the long term. And I stress

the long term.

Often the science behind the diet is pretty flimsy, but

there is potential for a good book or a supplement sale.

The public is also very vulnerable and our diet, with all the

associated processes to get the food from the source to

the plate safely, becomes a scapegoat as to the cause of all

sorts of diseases. Throw in the suspicions and conspiracy

theories raised about ulterior motives of the big food

conglomerates and people end up making unnecessary and

drastic dietary changes.

A lot centres on the difficult area of weight loss where

there is a huge money-making industry set up and an even

bigger and extremely vulnerable client/patient base. In

Australia, obesity is literally a huge issue with the serious

associated health issues of diabetes, heart disease,

osteoarthritis and even some cancers adding a huge burden

to Australia’s healthcare costs. Diets fly left, right and

centre. Eat only this, don’t eat that, eat

only at this time, don’t eat at that

time and skip eating on these days.

Crazy!

The reality is that, from a

weight loss perspective,

all diets work – for

most – over only a fairly

short period of time.

That success doesn’t

necessarily mean it is

healthy if kept going

life long, particularly if

there are restrictions

of major and healthy

food groups. When

you peel away all

the ritual associated

with the weight

control method, you

will find that less

energy comes in

than goes out. Any

proper weight loss regime

should be healthy, balanced

and sustainable. It should also

encompass exercise into the equation.

The simple answer to the problem of obesity is to eat less

and move more, but this has no ritual attached to it. It is not

very sexy. It won’t sell many books. Most people want some

sort of a ritual to hang their hat on. Eat only this, eat it at

this time, avoid that and do it this many times per week. A

diet of do’s and don’ts generally satisfies this necessity for

a ritual.

A diet also implies a beginning and an end. It is the end

bit that most people secretly and subconsciously find

attractive. The perception is that I will fix up whatever

PALEO OR PEASANT FOOD?

DOCTOR

BERNIE CRIMMINS

DELVES INTO THE CRAZY WORLD OF FOOD FADS AND DIETS, AND OFFERS PRACTICAL

ADVICE ON HOW TO EAT HEALTHILY ON THE JOB AND AT HOME.

MEN’S HEALTH

DR BERNIE CRIMMINS

ILLUSTRATIONS: PAUL HARVEY