A Simple Guide To Eating Well

These days of complicated and restrictive diets in an attempt to stay or become healthy seem to be coming to an end. Evidence is growing that all we need to stave off illness is a simple good old fashioned diet.

This is thanks to Vitamin B6 which plays an important role in:

• Keeping a Healthy Metabolism
• Nutrient Absorbtion
• Healthy Gene Expression

Luckily we can find Vitamin B6 in abundance in many good old fashioned foods, especially the ones shunned by certain diets or lifestyles. Especially Meat and Potatoes.

Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) identified 900 people with lung cancer from among 500,000 European volunteers participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, the largest data study into diet and nutrition in the world. The volunteers were recruited in 10 European countries, between 1992 and 2000.

The 900 lung cancer patients were compared with almost 1,800 people who did not have cancer. Blood tests showed people with above average levels of vitamin B6 had less than half the risk of developing lung cancer.

A lack of B-Vitamins can have a detrimental effect on your health and there is little evidence to show synthetic supplements are any good at doing much but turning your urine neon yellow.

Deficiencies in B vitamins may increase the risk of DNA damage and subsequent gene mutations. Low levels of B vitamins are common in Western populations.

Getting our B-Vitamins from food?

Meat is often demonised in this day not only for ethical reasons but for its supposed negative effects on our health causing things like high cholesterol. When in fact it has been proven time and time again that eating high quality meat in moderation can have a positive effect on health as it contains a host of vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids as well as being a source of high quality protein.

The truth is that if we stick to grass fed meat and organically raised poultry we will moderate our intake of meat naturally as it is simply too expensive to eat loads so we will swing towards quality over quantity. Avoiding farmed meat or processed meat is well worth your while as it contains hormones as well as preservatives and nitrates which can have detrimental effects on our health.

Potatoes are another food that has nourished the human race for generations and has recently been given a bad name due to its supposed high sugar content. Potatoes do not contain sugar they are in fact filled with starch which is easily converted into glucose (our bodies preferred source of fuel). What many people forget is that potatoes are encased with a fibre shell (their skin) which slows absorption of glucose, plus they are normally eaten with protein and a fat source which further delays the release of glucose into our cells. Potatoes are also one of the best sources of non meat protein and their high vitamin and mineral content mean they are a great addition to the diet providing Magnesium and a host of the B Vitamins.

Potatoes are also immensely satisfying and rank No.1 on the satiety index, meaning you will feel fuller eating less.I had my doubts about this at first, then tried it out myself. Potatoes are indeed immensely satisfying and seem to trigger a feeling of fullness very quickly in comparison to other foods.

Keep it Simple - This shows that simple diets that have been tried and tested for generations are often the best. Having a meal of Meat, Potatoes and Vegetables a few times a week could be your simple route to a disease free life. One of my favourite dinners is some Grass Fed steak with a large Sweet Potato and a huge salad. You can’t go far wrong with simple cooking…..

Chris is the author of A Simple Guide to Eating Well and writes about staying fit while living life at Zen to Fitness.

Photo Credit

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