Carrots and cupcakes: healthy eating made simple | Niki Bezzant | TEDxQueenstown
Summary
TLDRThe speaker addresses the paradox of increasing health advice and declining health, using the carrot versus cupcake analogy to highlight dietary confusion. They humorously propose the 'South Pole diet' to illustrate the absurdity of fad diets, advocating instead for a balanced approach to eating. Emphasizing the importance of food, they debunk the one-size-fits-all diet myth, stressing the need for a personalized, sustainable eating pattern. The talk concludes with six key points for healthy eating, focusing on moderation, variety, and enjoying food without guilt, ultimately promoting a happier and healthier lifestyle.
Takeaways
- 📢 Despite the abundance of healthy eating advice, people are getting more confused and less healthy.
- 🥕 The example of a carrot and a cupcake illustrates the confusion around what is considered healthy, with even healthy foods like carrots being criticized for their sugar content.
- 🍰 The notion that a cupcake could be healthy if it's gluten-free, paleo-friendly, vegan, and without refined sugar highlights the absurdity of some diet claims.
- 🌍 The speaker humorously proposes a 'South Pole diet' to show how easy it is to create a diet theory, emphasizing that most diets lack sustainability and are not based on solid evidence.
- 💡 The speaker advocates for a genuine diet theory called 'moderation with a touch of relaxation,' suggesting that a balanced approach to eating is more effective than extreme diets.
- 🌱 The importance of food is emphasized, suggesting that it should be given time and importance in our lives without causing guilt or shame.
- 🚫 There is no one-size-fits-all diet, and what works for one person may not work for another, highlighting the need for individualized eating plans.
- 🌈 Eating a variety of foods and not too much of any one thing is encouraged, which aligns with the concept of moderation.
- 🥦 The speaker emphasizes the importance of eating vegetables, as they are a common factor in the diets of the world's healthiest populations.
- 🍳 Cooking at home is recommended as it allows for control over ingredients and portion sizes, and sharing meals can improve mental and physical health.
- 🥗 The final takeaway is to embrace moderation and enjoy food as part of a balanced lifestyle, without obsessing over specific dietary rules or restrictions.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the transcript regarding healthy eating advice?
-The main issue discussed is that despite being surrounded by healthy eating advice, people are getting more confused and less healthy, with increasing rates of obesity and related health problems.
What is the speaker's demonstration using a carrot and a cupcake meant to illustrate?
-The speaker uses a carrot and a cupcake to illustrate the confusion around what is considered healthy, pointing out that even a seemingly healthy vegetable like a carrot can be viewed negatively due to its sugar content, and a typically unhealthy item like a cupcake can be marketed as healthy under certain conditions.
Why does the speaker say that diets are not sustainable in the long term?
-The speaker argues that diets are not sustainable because they often involve extreme changes to eating habits that are difficult to maintain over time, and they usually do not lead to lasting changes in lifestyle and eating patterns.
What is the 'South Pole diet' mentioned in the script, and why is it significant?
-The 'South Pole diet' is a hypothetical diet invented by the speaker as a joke to illustrate how easy it is to create a diet theory. It is significant because it highlights the absurdity of some diet trends and the lack of real science behind them.
What is the speaker's stance on the idea of a 'one-size-fits-all' diet?
-The speaker is against the idea of a 'one-size-fits-all' diet, emphasizing that there is no perfect diet that works for everyone, as different individuals have different needs, lifestyles, and preferences.
What is the main diet theory the speaker proposes instead of fad diets?
-The speaker proposes the theory of 'moderation with a touch of relaxation,' suggesting that a balanced approach to eating, without extreme restrictions or obsessions, is the key to healthy eating.
According to the speaker, what is the role of food in our lives?
-The speaker believes that food is important and should be given time and importance in our lives, but it should not be a source of guilt or shame, and it should be enjoyed without moral judgment.
What does the speaker mean by 'eat food, not nutrients'?
-The speaker encourages focusing on eating whole, fresh foods rather than obsessing over individual nutrients like fat, carbs, or protein, as a balanced diet with a variety of foods will naturally provide the necessary nutrients.
Why is it important to enjoy food and not just focus on nutrition?
-Enjoying food is important because it contributes to mental and emotional well-being, and it helps to create a positive relationship with food, which is essential for sustainable healthy eating habits.
What advice does the speaker give regarding the consumption of vegetables?
-The speaker advises eating a wide variety of vegetables and making them the main focus of meals, as they are a key component of a healthy diet and are common to the diets of the long-lived people in the Blue Zones.
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of cooking at home?
-The speaker emphasizes cooking at home because it allows for control over the ingredients and preparation methods, fostering a healthier diet and also promoting family bonding and a shared food culture.
Outlines
😖 Confusion in Healthy Eating
The speaker begins by highlighting the paradox of being surrounded by healthy eating advice yet becoming more confused and unhealthy. They use the example of a carrot versus a cupcake to illustrate the conflicting information about food and health. The mention of a gluten-free, paleo-friendly, vegan cupcake without refined sugar exemplifies the complexity of modern dietary choices. The speaker emphasizes the high rates of obesity and pre-diabetes in New Zealand, the cost burden on the health system, and the ineffectiveness of fad diets, proposing a satirical 'South Pole diet' to demonstrate the absurdity of diet trends.
🤔 The Moderation Approach to Healthy Eating
The speaker advocates for a message of moderation in the face of prevailing extreme diets. They argue that moderation is radical in the current nutrition environment and present six points about healthy eating, focusing on mindset rather than specific foods. The points emphasize the importance of food, the absence of a one-size-fits-all diet, and the need to avoid moral judgments about food choices. The speaker criticizes diets that promise quick fixes and the weight loss industry, asserting that diets do not work in the long term and that a balanced approach is needed.
🥦 Prioritizing Food Quality and Pleasure
Continuing the discussion on healthy eating, the speaker stresses the importance of eating whole, fresh foods rather than obsessing over individual nutrients. They argue against the idea of forbidden foods and diets that promote restrictive lists, instead encouraging a balanced intake of all types of food in moderation. The speaker also emphasizes the role of food in providing pleasure and the importance of enjoying treats without guilt, while also considering long-term nourishment and happiness.
🍲 Embracing a Life of Culinary Engagement
The speaker concludes by highlighting the benefits of cooking at home, which allows for control over ingredients and a more mindful approach to eating. They suggest that sharing meals with others can improve both mental and physical health, and that modeling healthy eating behaviors can positively impact future generations. The speaker reiterates the importance of moderation, enjoying food, and not becoming overly fixated on diet trends, aiming to make moderation a natural and normal part of life.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Healthy eating
💡Confusion
💡Moderation
💡Dietary patterns
💡Obesity
💡Pre-diabetes
💡Heart disease
💡Sustainability
💡Pleasure
💡Plant-based diet
💡Cooking
Highlights
Healthy eating advice is ubiquitous, yet people are getting less healthy and more confused.
The paradox of being surrounded by healthy eating advice while health statistics worsen.
The example of a carrot and a cupcake to illustrate the confusion around what is healthy.
The misconception that carrots are high in sugar and the demonization of sugar in the diet.
The absurdity of a gluten-free, paleo-friendly, vegan cupcake without refined sugar.
The increasing prevalence of obesity and pre-diabetes in New Zealand.
The high cost of treating type 2 diabetes and obesity on society and the health system.
The ineffectiveness of fad diets and the lack of sustainability in diet trends.
The humorous concept of the 'South Pole diet' to demonstrate the absurdity of diet theories.
The importance of moderation and relaxation in dietary habits.
The 'True Health Initiative' and its focus on lifestyle practices for reducing chronic disease risk.
The six points or 'rules' for healthy eating presented by the speaker.
The emphasis on the importance of food and giving it time and importance in our lives.
The idea that food should not be a source of guilt or shame.
The fallacy of a one-size-fits-all diet and the importance of personalization.
The concept of eating food, not nutrients, and the importance of a balanced diet.
The encouragement to enjoy treats in moderation without guilt.
The advice to eat a variety of vegetables as part of a healthy diet.
The benefits of cooking at home and the importance of sharing meals with others.
The final message on embracing moderation and enjoying food as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Transcripts
we're surrounded by advice about healthy
eating it's everywhere we go it's on
television it's in the newspaper it's on
TV it's just about every social
interaction that we have as well but a
funny thing has happened in the face of
all this healthy eating advice we're
getting less and less healthy and we're
getting more and more confused
let me demonstrate the idea here I have
a carrot and a cupcake which of these is
the healthiest or take the carrot it's a
colorful vegetable it's full of fiber
it's got vitamin A vitamin C what's not
to like right if you google carrots and
sugar you might come across people
telling you that carrots are a high
sugar vegetable and that maybe we should
limit carrots sugar is a demon food
right now it's killing us all so could I
kill myself with carrots what about the
cupcake well I'm crazy right because if
one knows that cupcakes aren't healthy
what if I told you that this cupcake was
gluten-free paleo friendly vegan what if
I said it had no refined sugar is that
adding to your confusion welcome to the
world of healthy eating in 2016 when
we're getting more and more confused and
less and less healthy Kiwis are actually
getting less happy by the day one in
three of us about 1.3 million people are
obese one in five one in five of you has
got pre-diabetes a lot of us don't know
that yet one Kiwi dies every 90 minutes
from heart disease now we can say this
doesn't affect me I'm healthy but
actually it affects all of us and the
burden that it puts on our health system
and on our society treatment for type 2
diabetes and obesity costs a billion
dollars a year on top of that there's
another two hundred million dollars in
lost productivity so that means it's
costing each one of us at least $200 a
year alongside all this ill health or
maybe because of it everyone's going on
a diet
people are going paleo or they're
coercing sugar or the going low-carb but
the diets are not sustainable how many
people do you know who've been on the
same diet for ten years or five it's
just not possible to do what's popular
in the world of diets as the new the
latest breakthrough the newest theory
but when you look at them most diets
that come along there's not there's not
much that's really new I've learned this
in 16 years of working in the food media
they all start to look quite similar
when you have a close look rose the
healthy food grade nutritionist and I
have been joking for years that we are
going to one day when we get sick of
doing the magazine we're going to write
a diet book it's going to be called the
South Pole diet we knew you need a
science of sounding theory to have a
successful diet so this is going to be
based on the theory that it takes us
takes our bodies more energy to
metabolize foods at cold temperatures so
under the strict rules of the South Pole
diet every food will need to be eaten
either cold or other children frozen now
you need a magic food as well so our
magic food that you're going to have to
eat at every meal will be cold cooked
potatoes they contain resistant starch
it's very good for gut health it's going
to kick-start your weight loss sounds
quite plausible right we'd also get a
celebrity maybe Oprah to endorse it now
I want to make a disclaimer this is not
a real diet please don't anyone try this
but you can see how easy it is to come
up with a theory and also how ridiculous
they are although this one is really not
any more ridiculous than a lot of the
diets that have done the rounds the
thing is diets don't work if they did I
wouldn't be standing here now we
wouldn't have a multi-billion dollar
weight loss industry and we wouldn't
have an obesity epidemic
we'd all be eating the same way and we'd
all be slim and healthy human beings
being what we are we love the idea of
diets we love that promise of the quick
fix so I'm going to give you a genuine
diet theory today and I'm not even going
to make you buy my diet book to find out
what it is
I call it moderation moderation with a
touch of relaxation now it sounds silly
to say it but in the current nutrition
environment we are extremes prevail a
message of moderation feels radical a
message of moderation draws criticism
potentially of being a little bit behind
the times that old fashioned but
moderation is what we need according to
the true health initiative which is a
global collaboration of health
professionals dedicated to consensus on
lifestyle as medicine we have reliable
knowledge of lifestyle practices
including dietary pattern associated
with the potential to reduce both public
burden off and personal risk for chronic
disease and premature death by as much
as 80% 80% and we've also we've known
this for 20 years or more in other words
we already know what we need to do to be
healthy we've just lost sight of it
along the way so with that in mind I
would like to present to you everything
you need to know about healthy eating
I've got six points you could call them
rules if you like I really hate the idea
of rules when it comes to food but diets
are full of them and and people quite
like rules as well if that's not for you
then you could choose to think of these
as reminders because you actually you
know them all my rules or reminders are
not about watch to eat with one
exception my rules are about how to
think about what you eat and here they
are number one food is important so at
least you think that by saying eat in
moderation I'm saying eat whatever you
like
I want to say that food is really
important and it deserves to be given
time and importance in our lives I spend
most of my time talking thinking and
writing about food so it's really
important to me but we all eat we all of
us have to make decisions at least three
times a day about what and how to eat
and these decisions fit fundamental
things how we think how we feel even how
long we live so food deserves to be
given importance if we don't care about
what we eat and we're really kind of
taking a bit of a backseat to the state
of our own health but we also need to
relax a little bit and remember food is
just food food should not be something
that affects how we feel about ourselves
food should absolutely not make us feel
guilty or ashamed that's not a healthy
way to think about anything that we eat
there's such an element of moral
judgment attached food these days we
notice this we judge people on it all
the time we judge each other I mean I do
it myself it's hard not to be judging
you see parents in the supermarket worth
sugary drinks and white bread I've had a
few sideways looks myself you know
people see me with maybe wine or ice
cream and my trolley you get healthy
food woman you know it's just it's just
human to judge but it's not really very
fair to and certain circles you'll be
made to feel like a pariah if you put
sugar in your coffee heaven help you to
give you a child something sweet and
then is the internet the pressure and
social media is full of this pressure
telling us that we're not truly good
people unless we're sitting in our
active wear with a bliss ball in one
hand and a green smoothie in the other
you know these people right they might
be some of these people here
but food is just food food is not a
guilty pleasure if we're going to feel
emotional about food let's feel joyful
because food is one of life's greatest
pleasures number two there's no such
thing as one perfect diet anyone who
tells you no matter how charismatic they
are or how much science they quote that
they have got the answer the one way of
eating that works for everyone they're
trying to sell you something and they're
also wrong because there are lots of
ways to eat to be healthy in the way
that works for you is probably not going
to be the same as the way that works
best for me the way that works for you
has to suit your life your family
situation your budget and your
personality the people who love the
longest and stay the healthiest and the
world the places they live unknown as
the Blue Zones they all eat really
really different diets from Okinawa and
Japan with a fish and rice tuna Koya and
South America where they eat beans and
yams the diets are really different but
they're all equally healthy they all eat
moderately and they all have a really
relaxed attitude to what they eat I
guarantee you the people in the Blue
Zones are not worrying about whether
what they're about to eat is allowed or
not allowed and their diet if there are
lists of foods that you can and can't
have that to me is a diet and that's not
really sustainable so I encourage you to
be just weary of any way of eating that
does this we are better off eating a
little bit of everything and not too
much of anything which you could also
call moderation number three eat food
not nutrients it's really really easy to
get bogged down in the detail of
nutrients fat carbs protein but we don't
eat fat carbs and
routine we eat food you'll hear people
say oh it's not the fact that's killing
us it's the sugar but you know what no
one thing is killing us and no one thing
is the answer to all of our problems if
you find yourself worrying about the
sugar and the carrot or the cupcake for
that matter it might be time to just
relax and go outside and have a walk
around in the sunshine if we just
concentrate on eating fresh whole good
food
the nutrients would tend to take care of
themselves what makes you happy now
that's not a license to eat burgers
three times a day and it's not a license
to take that coke open happiness slogan
literally but we need to acknowledge
that food is about pleasure two treats
make us happy we also need to
acknowledge that treats are not everyday
food so we need to enjoy them moderately
but when we have them really savor and
enjoy them and take pleasure without
guilt now eating what makes you happy is
also about more than just immediate
gratification so we need to listen to
our bodies a big bowl of salad is going
to make you happy too because it's going
to nourish your body and make you feel
happy in the long term so moderation
here is about thinking about what makes
us happy now and also in the future at
you veggies here is the what to eat rule
your mum was right mum was right about a
lot of things but she was especially
right about this and here you don't need
to be moderate you can eat as much and
as wide a variety of these as possible
the people in the Blue Zones have this
in common they all eat a plant-based
diet they eat heaps of veggies when they
have meat it tends to be more like a
garnish rather than the main focus of
the meal and we would do really well to
follow that advice you might find the
ideal plate helpful here that's the
model where half the plate is
colorful vegetables and the other half
is divided into carbs and protein and
that's going to work for every meal that
you have but if in doubt just load up on
the veggies and lastly number six cook
cook as much as you can when you cook
you're taking direct control over what
goes into your body you're entrusting a
really important decision
what makes your body happy to a chef or
a fast food cook or a production line
and a factory and when you've cooked
relax sit down enjoy and share your food
with others connecting with each other
over food has been shown and researched
to make us healthier both mentally and
physically time spent in the kitchen
long-term it could be just as valuable
as time spent in the gym sitting down
and sharing food with your family is
also a fantastic way of building and
sharing your family's food culture of
modeling healthy eating behavior and of
paying health forward to the next
generation so that they don't end up
with those terrible health statistics
that we have so there you have all you
need to know I encourage you to embrace
moderation
let's make moderation something once
again that's not radical let's make it
something natural if we can get to the
point where we naturally eat what makes
us feel truly good both in the moment
and in the long term if we eat with
pleasure if we connect with our food and
give it importance but we also relax and
don't get too obsessed about it that to
me is truly healthy eating and that is
going to make us happier and healthier
people in case you're wondering about
the carrot
the cupcake that was kind of a trick
question
I would probably tend to eat more
carrots than I would cupcakes personally
but if what I have said today has left
any impression with you I would just
love it to be that we can enjoy both
these things as we can with all food as
part of a life of moderation thank
you
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