Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
There are many diets, diet books, and fads, but the basics of healthy eating have been known for a long time.
A healthy human diet should compromise lots of vegetables and fruit, and starchy foods such as bread, cereals, and pasta (ideally whole-grain), some foods strong in protein such as meat, eggs, and pulses, and some milk and dairy foods.
Most Western diets are far too high in fat, sugar, and salt – and also simply include too many calories – leading to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. There is much debate over whether this is down to bad individual choices, or actions by the food and advertising industries that have created an unhealthy environment.
There has also been recent concern about diets being healthy for the planet – covering issues such as food miles, the environmental costs of animal farming, and the effects of intensive farming.
