The road to less dietary bias.

Have you wondered why dietary advice has become so contentious, polarising and confusing?

It seems everyone has their own opinion about what foods are best to include in our diet and sometimes the loudest voices aka influencers and those with something to sell can sound the most convincing.

My recommendation is, if they are selling a program, expensive supplements or their own version of dietary nirvana, start running away. Fast.

 

Food is neither good nor bad.

It’s time to stop categorising foods into being good or bad.

When everyone around you has a different idea about what you should be eating, or you’re feeling judged because you chose a meat dish at a restaurant or shock horror, ordered dessert, we’ve lost something in translation.

In the past, doctors were accused of having little nutritional understanding.
Which was true but hardly surprising as we weren’t taught anything about diet in medical school.

But this is changing fast as new discoveries about the inner workings of our gut, the microbiome and the inter-relationship between gut health and our overall health have come to light.

There is still much to learn, but what we do know is that what we choose to eat each day provides us not only the essential nutrients needed for fuel and repair, but also influences our mood, our physical health, longevity and risk of developing chronic disease.

When we think about chronic disease like heart disease, arthritis, gut issues, type 2 diabetes, poor mental health and dementia, it’s recognised that 80% is primarily preventable.

This is why Lifestyle Medicine Practitioners work with clients to focus on healthy eating, sufficient physical activity and restorative sleep along with connection, effective stress management and avoiding smoking or excess alcohol.

Every accredited Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner has been through a rigorous, evidence-based program that examines the science of nutrition so that we can reduce the risk of and mitigate the impact of chronic disease including heart disease, type two diabetes and cancer.

 

“In lifestyle medicine we advocate for healthy eating tailored to a person’s dietary needs along with personal and cultural preferences. We  support the inclusion of EVOO, and other healthy fats as found in avocados, nuts and seeds and to limit the consumption of ultra-processed foods high in sugar, salt and fat.

This holistic approach, recognises that while metanalyses can give us population-based findings, it doesn’t look at what is best for a particular individual.”

 

 

Better health from a better diet.

The World Health Organisation defines a healthy diet as the combination of:

• Fruit and vegetables
• Protein from meat, fish, eggs, milk and some plant sources
• Legumes – lentils and beans
• Complex carbohydrates – whole grains, maize, rice, and starchy tubers like potato, sweet potato, taro and cassava.

The greater the variety, the greater access to all the essential nutrients that protect you against chronic disease.

What you choose to eat will depend on what you can afford, what foods are available, personal preferences, cultural influences and what you’ve learned your body likes.

There is no single diet that is suitable or acceptable for all 8.3 billion people on the planet.

The question to be asking about what dietary pattern best suits you is, where is your information coming from?

 

Unpacking the confusion.

Our food has changed enormously over the last few decades with the advent of modern farming techniques, new ways of manufacturing and processing. Initially devised to prolong the shelf life of food products, we now have a whole array of foods that have been created to provide mouth feel, crunch and a moreish taste.

The rise of ultra-processed foods that are tasty, cheap, high in calories but often poor in nutritional value, has added to the confusion.

The rise in obesity and type two diabetes has added to desperation along with confusion.

If you are struggling with your weight, high blood pressure or been told you’re diabetic, you may be looking for something that will fix the problem fast.

This is where the temptation to adopt a fad diet comes in. Cos’ doesn’t everyone want a quick fix?

The problem with fad diets is they are designed around deprivation, sometimes to the exclusion of an entire food group.

With one in three Australians eliminating gluten, dairy or meat from their diet, organising a dinner for friends these days has become a nightmare for the home cook.

The biggest problem of excluding certain food groups is the risk is you may not be getting any nutritional advantage from doing so.

Your friend may feel great from adopting the Carnivore diet, where they eat meat at every meal, despite being high in saturated high fat and the fact they exclude fruit, veg and fibre but that’s not a guarantee it would suit you.

Similarly, your other friend, a long-standing vegetarian might tell you that eating meat is really bad for you and being entirely plant-based is the only way to go.

So where do you go?

 

Support for more fruit and veg in our diet.

According to Professor Rosemary Stanton, it is the diversity of vegetables in our diet that has the greatest influence on our gut microbiota. Eating a wide range of these is recommended, but it’s not happening.

It’s estimated that only 4.6% of Australian kids are meeting the recommended intake of veggies.

As for the grown-ups, only 6.3% of us consume the recommended 5-6 serves of vegetables per day and 48% meet the recommended two serves of fruit a day

This is associated with a rapid increase in chronic disease associated with the current Western style diet and more worryingly, a change in the gut microbiota because of the lower fibre intake and our ultra-processed food over the last 40 years, to the extent it no longer supports immune health.

 

Breaking down the biases.

We don’t need to demonise meat.
Or any other food.
It just adds to the confusion, polarised opinions and is unhelpful.

The meat question, beyond the impact on our environment etc., comes down to recognising not all meats are equal and overconsumption or avoidance is not necessarily the answer.

Whatever your views around meat consumption, for many in our society, meat is seen as an accessible and affordable source of high-quality protein.

The World Health Organisation classifies processed meats – think sausages, salamis, ham and bacon as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), where eating 50g processed meat daily is linked to an 18% higher risk of bowel cancer.

Does this mean you should never eat bacon again?

Up to you, but it’s probably a good idea to make it an occasional treat rather than something you eat every day. The reason for this is the process of curing and smoking, which leads to the production of carcinogenic chemicals.

It’s also why the famous Australian BBQ, where meats are cooked or grilled at very high temperatures and often get over-charred and burnt, are bad for us because they produce compounds (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines) that damage cells. That’s why WHO lists unprocessed meat in Group 2A, the same as smoking – probably carcinogenic but with a less strong direct causal link.

Does this mean we have to abandon our BBQs?

No, but you may want to change how you use your BBQ.

If your BBQ cook is prone to serving up carbonised steak, it’s time to gently take away their tongs and give them to someone who can cook the meat at a lower heat.

The diet wars between carnivores and vegetarians can get very heated. My suggestion is that neither side should be allowed to play with the BBQ tongs until they can all agree to play more nicely in the diet box.

 

What the science says about eating processed meat and cancer risk.

There is a health issue around the risk of cancer associated with eating processed meat, but let’s look at the evidence.

A meta-analysis of 61 studies by Queens University Belfast, examined the relationship between eating processed meat and the higher risk of bowel, rectal and colon cancer and found only half the studies provided evidence of a link.

The difference lies in whether the processed meats have been treated with sodium nitrite. This is a preservative to prevent food spoilage and to enhance colour. There are some nitrite-free processed meats available, which appear to be associated with a lower risk.

 

Does that mean we should all be vegetarian?

A 2026 study funded by the World Cancer Research Fund looked at data collected and analysed from 1.8 million people from three continents over a period of  16 years. This showed that overall, vegetarians showed a lower risk of pancreatic, breast, prostate and kidney cancer and multiple myeloma.

But before all the vegetarians start leaping about saying “I TOLD you so”, wait, there’s more to the story.

The lower risk for cancer in vegetarians was not shown for colorectal and ovarian cancer.

Digging further into this study, five different dietary groups were included:

• Meat eaters
• Poultry eaters ( who do not eat red or processed meat)
• Pescatarians who eat fish
• Vegetarians who eat dairy and eggs
• Vegans who eat no animal products

Comparing meat eaters and vegetarians, the vegetarians had:

• 21% lower risk of pancreatic cancer
• 9% risk of breast cancer
• 12% lower risk of prostate cancer
• 28% lower risk of kidney cancer
• 31% lower risk of multiple myeloma

But the lower risks were not linked to ALL cancer types, and being vegetarian does not guarantee full protection from cancer either.

Remember, red meat is an excellent source of protein, iron, zinc, iodine, essential fatty acids and B vitamins.

Commenting on the study’s findings, the American Institute for Cancer Research advises that if you eat red meat, 

“Aim to limit your consumption to one to three portions a week (455g cooked or 600-700g raw) and to increase your intake of foods (as included in the Mediterranean style of diet) of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and, to avoid processed meats.”

Other findings from the study found that twelve other cancers, including colorectal (bowel), stomach, liver, lung (in never-smokers), endometrial, ovarian, mouth, pharynx, bladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukaemia and oesophageal adenocarcinoma showed no statistical difference between meat eaters and vegetarians.

It could not be explained why vegetarians have a higher risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus and vegans have a higher risk of colorectal cancer (40% compared to meat eaters), while poultry eaters have the lowest risk of prostate cancer.

What this does tell us is, that just like Jon Snow who ‘knew nothing’, our understanding of different food preferences and cancer risk remains limited, and more research is needed to explain these.

Rather than getting confusticated about meat or plant-based diets, let’s look more closely at what our kids (and ourselves) are eating in terms of discretionary foods – snack foods, chips, ice cream, pastries, muffins, which are high in calories but often low in healthy nutrients.

Whatever your views around meat consumption, for many in our society, meat is seen as accessible and affordable source of high-quality protein.

Let’s look instead for ways to improve the overall quality and balance of the foods we eat, and to seek ways to improve the sustainability and ethics of what we produce.

And in case you were wondering, I’ve been pescatarian for several years, but do eat red meat once or twice a month.

My Mum always said, “Moderation in all things.”
Have we lost sight of what this looks like?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.