In the News - UK does an About-Face on Regulating Junk Food Advertising

You heard about Boris Johnson, right? Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and staunch opponent of the "nanny" state. This is the same guy who criticized levies on foods high in salt, fat and sugar, stating that he preferred a libertarian non-interventionist approach. Basically... if you choose to eat junk food, then that's your choice, and you get to reap the consequences. Just don't expect the "nanny" state to bail you out. Right... that guy...

Well... since his bout with Covid-19, he's come to realize a few things. He admits now that being obese put him at greater risk of Covid-19 complications, and landed him in the ICU. More and more studies are confirming that obesity, and its associated comorbidities (diabetes, cardiovascular illness, etc) put individuals at a much higher risk of death due to Covid-19. A recent study in the UK concluded that being obese increases your chances of death from Covid-19 by 40%. That's no small deal.

Check out the check-out candy...
Possibly a thing of the past in the UK

In light of his own personal experience, Johnson has made a few changes. He's taken up running and biking and is making a concerted effort to watch what he eats. On a much larger front, he has also launched a government campaign aimed at helping Brits combat the obesity epidemic. I guess Johnson has amended his libertarian views after realizing that it's hard for people to "choose" to eat healthy when they are being bombarded with junk food advertising day and night. As the government campaign says: "It’s hard to make the healthy choice if you don’t know what’s in the food you are eating. That is why we want to make sure that our labeling of products in store and in cafes and coffee shops helps us to make healthier choices."

The campaign has junk food squarely in its sights:

• banning ads for high fat, high salt and high sugar products (HFSS) on TV and online before 9 pm - I presume this is aimed at kids
• mandating calorie labeling in restaurants, cafes and takeaways - the idea being that if you know that your choco mocca americano latte has 600 calories, you will make a better choice (chai tea is my friend)
• ending the promotion of high fat, high sugar and high salt products in-store and online - this sounded quite similar to the first point but... what it really means is limiting the placement of HFSS products in prominent locations intended to encourage purchasing, both online and in physical stores - i.e. no more chocolate bars and junk food at the check-out tills!
  
• ditching Buy One, Get One free promotions on HFSS products
• a national campaign to help people lose weight and eat more healthily after the "wake-up call" of coronavirus
• looking at having hidden "liquid calories" listed on alcoholic drinks
  
• a consultation on whether to stop fast food adverts online altogether
• reviewing traffic light labeling on food and drinks sold in shops
• a consultation on making calorie labeling on alcohol drinks mandatory
• greater incentives for doctors to tackle excess weight, including the use of apps and exercise-on-referral

All of this is super great news. It's just kind of sad that it only came about because the leader of a First World country got sick with Covid-19. The scientific evidence has always been there... and yet... nothing was ever done... until now. On top of that, there is growing scientific evidence that eating animal products is also a huge contributor to obesity and its associated comorbidities. But there's not mention of that... I guess one battle at a time. If the UK can pull this off, it would be amazing... particularly given that 70% of UK males and 60% of UK females are obese. Makes me wonder what it will take to get such fast action from the Canadian government?

Termites of Self-Doubt

Am I the only one who second guesses my decisions or choices? I can’t be the only one… but I think most of us tend to hide it well. I might project an aura of self-confidence and accomplishment but inside… really… I’m wracked by self-doubt and critical self-talk. You can’t always judge a book by its cover!

Self doubt

Here’s a good example… I’ve been doing a bunch of research over the last few months about health and well-being. Based on the scientific studies, I’ve gotten pretty clear that animal protein is bad for me… and that a whole-foods, plant-based diet is the best option. In mid-January, I committed to cutting the animal protein (meat, dairy, eggs) and embracing my inner herbivore. Decision made... but almost as soon as it is made... the termites of self-doubt start setting up shop.

Yesterday, there was a news article on CBC about a group of co-workers at a medical imaging lab in Vancouver who decided to embrace veganism for January. They have a fancy machine in their office that measures body fat (not just weight). At the end of the month, while most of the group had lost some weight, most of it was muscle… not fat. The question was: “Is veganism healthy?” Cue the self-doubt termite monster!

Now… there are all sorts of problems with the CBC article. First up, we have no idea what these vegan-guinea pigs actually ate during January. It could have been chips and pop for all we know. Most first-time vegan-wanna-be's end up crashing and burning. We tried being vegetarian for a year and it didn't go well. Making such a huge shift in nutrition requires a lot of preparation and planning. The UK's Daily Mail posted an article that included the grocery store purchases of several vegans. Surprise... they weren't the healthiest of purchases! Eating vegan does not mean eating healthy.

One vegan's grocery store purchases (several processed foods)
(From DailyMail)

But still... my self-doubt gnawed at me and I googled “veganism unhealthy”. Not a good idea. I was inundated with a bunch of anecdotal accounts and YouTube videos of how veganism was the worst thing ever! Ack!!

I began to question my own decision, a decision that was less than a month old. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m avoiding calling our eating plan “veganism” and prefer the term whole-food, plant-based. At this point, I’m not going to burst a gasket if there’s a bit of milk solids in my whole-grain naan bread rounds. I’m not expecting perfection. But still… our eating plan is pretty close to veganism… soooo… maybe this is not the thing for us? Maybe we should ease up and allow dairy and eggs? If I was a pacer, I’d be wearing a hole in our laminate floor with all my mulling over of options. It’s exhausting.

And then it spirals, and I think… “Well, shucks, that was kind of silly to start this blog and put myself out there and now I need to backtrack because everything I wrote was horse-puckies.”

See how quickly I can spiral down the toilet? I’m sucked into a maelstrom of indecision, self-doubt and second-guessing. I just want to toss everything out the window – baby bathwater and basin – and go back to the status quo.

I do remember a few things though… any eating plan can be unhealthy – whether you’re a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore. I’ve been wandering around the grocery store and the number of vegan-friendly processed meat/dairy/egg alternatives out there is extensive, and growing by leaps and bounds. Even Superstore is getting on the bandwagon. The thing is… these are still “processed foods” and if I’ve learned anything… it’s that processed foods are not exactly the healthiest foods in the cupboard. In fact, they can be just as bad as regular processed foods… or even worse.

There’s a vegan "cheese", for example, that is made out of coconut oil. We experimented with coconut oil for a year and... it did not end well. Our bad cholesterol levels went through the roof, which was no surprise given that coconut oil is 90% saturated fat. And despite what the coconut oil marketers will tell you... it ain’t good fat. Just go ask your nutritionist. Mine got seriously freaked out when she heard we were using coconut oil. There are better choices. But that's another blog post.

Anyhow… we are pretty clear that we are not jumping on the meat/dairy/eggs alternatives band-wagon. We are choosing a healthy, whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle. Whole-foods means foods that are minimally processed.

It also means ensuring that we are getting a variety of foods: whole grains, legumes, leafy green vegetables, cruciferous veggies, other veg, berries & other fruit, seeds & nuts.

It’s definitely a challenge, particularly when life is throwing a bunch of other stuff at you. The thing that’s saving our bacon right now is weekly meal-planning… lifesaver, but that too is another blog post.

I’ve come across a quote in the past which ran something like this: Even a wrong decision is better than no decision. At least with a wrong decision, we know what doesn't work and can then readjust and try something else. I’m proud of the decision we made to go whole-foods, plant-based. At least we made a decision for our health. If, in the future, it appears that this is not a good plan for our health... well... we can adjust course.

Time (and lab results) will tell if it was the healthiest decision. Stay-tuned.