Every Question You Ever Had About Really Eating Well (Answered in 12 Minutes)

Nutrition is a maddening business. Foods are in one day, compost the next; vitamins that cured ills last week are promptly debunked. We all want to eat better, but who has the time to sift fact from fad? Rest easy, because this is your easily digestible, bite-sized guide to doing precisely that.

- Scarlett Wrench

Give it to me straight: which of my vices do I need to give up for good?

A: We’re talking strictly food-related, presumably?

Er… let’s say yes. Or else that’s a whole other conversation.

Then, unless you have an allergy, a persistent medical condition, or adhere to a prohibitive religious doctrine, there’s nothing, in particular, you need to cut out.

As in… nothing?

Nothing. In fact, we’d caution against this kind of intervention. Variety and flexibility in your diet are crucial to maintaining a healthy relationship with food. More pertinently, eliminating specific foods can reduce your tolerance to them, making it hard to reintroduce them to your diet when the wind changes on the latest nutritional thinking.

Does that mean I should switch back to dairy? I still have two-thirds of a carton of oat milk in the fridge.

Well, you could argue that cow's milk is more nutrient-dense than plant milk, which tend to be fortified with extra vitamins and minerals. But ultimately, they’re just different, with their own kilojoule counts and macro balances. It depends on what else you’re eating, and which nutrients you might be short on.

So I don’t need dairy, but I don’t have to give it up if I don’t want to?

Exactly. There are other ways to source your calcium: leafy greens, nuts and soya all work. In this case, environmental and ethical arguments for avoiding animal products might be more convincing.

Yes, I’ve seen that Netflix documentary. But eco props aside, is veganism any better for me? Or is it just a marketing ploy to sell cauliflower steaks?