Eat, Drink... And Be Miserable

Nov 4 2007 Elaine C. Smith

Stop Feeding Us Warnings About Our Unhealthy Diet

EVERY week there should be a series on telly called And Now Something Else For You To Worry About.

Last week it was diet again. How depressing is that?

I don't know about you but I'm tired of it all. Everything is bad for us. Even lettuce was said to cause cancer in one survey.

I don't think we are helped by this. I agree with all the messages about smoking and exercise. It's right that with our country's health and obesity problems we should be warned to look at our lifestyles.

We know all about fat, alcohol, drugs, fags and fruit and vegetables.

We have a lot to do to tackle Scotland's obesity levels but last week I just felt like shouting "give us a break!" at the telly.

With the cold, wet and dark of winter, we need something to cheer ourselves up - and it ain't a salad, that's for sure.

What is the point in life if you can't have a treat like a Bacardi Breezer and a kebab?

Before I get letters of outrage I am not advocating these things for breakfast or even dinner but once a week seems OK to me.

As long as every other night we eat things like homemade soup, mince and tatties, chicken casserole, a wee bit haddock and our fruit and veg then I'm sure we'll be fine. But if folk are having a diet of pizza, fish and chips and tikka masala then I think there is a definite problem.

It seems ironic a survey telling us to stop eating bacon emerges in the same week as Maw Broon's cook book, which advocates the heart-attack-on-a-plate style of breakfast.

I think if we are having porridge, poached eggs or haddock every other day then surely we will be fine.

As my pal said: "I have given up fags, drink, coffee, red meat, sugar...there's no pleasure left. And in the end I've got to die of something."

The old message of everything in moderation keeps coming back and that's what we should be aiming for.

We need a balanced diet, exercise and less stress from endless surveys giving us something else to bloody worry about.