Two headlines caught my eye in my newspaper this week; one cautioning against a type of low-carbohydrate diet, the other warning that there was no level of alcohol consumption that did not carry a health risk.

I could of course misuse either food or alcohol or both, and certainly put my health at risk. I might get away with it – I might be lucky – but I wouldn’t chance it.

If aware I had a problem, I would be wise to seek professional help.

But would I stop drinking totally, hoping to benefit from the small increase in health that might accrue from this?

Reading the little detail given in the article about diet, under the ‘Warning on low-carb diets’ headline, the quote from Dr Sara Seidelmann (Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston) suggested that a tweak from animal-sourced fats and proteins to plant-based fats and proteins ‘might’ promote healthy ageing.  The journalist then stated that there had been ‘conflicting’ results from research on the long-term effects on mortality from carbohydrate restriction.

Science is cautious and doesn’t jump to conclusions. How long do I wait to make up my mind?  How big are the gains to be had from changing my diet, or cutting out alcohol altogether?

Common sense tells me to eat a varied diet, to watch my weight and not to loose weight too rapidly.

I choose to try changes in my eating habits over a month or so, based on eating a variety of foods and informed by a book, not an article. What really interests me is when several books are pointing me in the same direction.

I also take a long, broad view on diet – while the twenty-first century continues the rise of the ‘western’ diet which is increasingly implicated in health issues, around the globe people are living happily on a variety of diets, from largely animal-based to plant-based.

A bit more on that next time… camping and fried breakfasts are next on the agenda!