Hello people! This is a long overdue post from me, but the lockdown has forced us all to do those things we’ve been putting off around the house, and for me that means getting in front of the computer and staying there. I want to give a little explanation of what motivated me to start this business, the ethos I use when I’m deciding what to make, how to advertise and which direction I want to move in. I’ve been studying Exercise and Health Science for a couple of years now, but I’ve been into sport and health for my whole life. I’m also really interested in people and finding out what makes us tick. It’s what made me start my university career studying Archaeology; I was fascinated by the idea that we could learn how people thought thousands of years ago, from what they left behind. However, I soon realised that I’m more interested in finding out about living people. I, like many, many other people in the exercise/health world, have noticed that we’re struggling with our relationships with food right now. What’s healthy? Why is that thing healthy? What if I like the unhealthy thing? What does my body really want me to eat?
We’re swamped with media stories about how [insert food name] is the Health Food of [insert current year], and how [insert other food name] now gives you cancer and makes you fat, so stop eating it. Nobody can escape this kind of information; there’s now a branch of psychology aimed at treating pediatric body dysmorphic disorder – that is, body dysmorphia in children beginning usually around 12-13 years old, but seen in those as young as five[1][2]. In the world of sport this disjointed thinking about ourselves is magnified as we put more demands on our bodies and become acutely aware of the fuel aspect of eating. There are many reviewed journal articles about athletes’ attitudes to food and their bodies, but I actually found an article by the Guardian one of the most striking reads[3]. Disordered eating is more prevalent in those who commit themselves to exercise[4]. However, this isn’t to say that being conscious of what we put into our bodies is a bad thing; far from it! I don’t need to tell you the effects that come from being at the other end of the spectrum though; it’s widely publicised that only around a quarter of us eat more than the government recommended 400g of fruit and veg a day[5]. Of course, this is due to a huge range of factors including socioeconomic background and other things outwith the individual’s control, but I won’t let myself get into that as that’s a whole other post topic. You get my point though; there’s a balance to be found between eating whatever tasty dinner McDonald’s has chucked at your TV screen today, and compulsively checking your phone before every meal to double check how many grams of rice you’re allowed to have. Neither of these lifestyles is sustainable, and neither will make you happy in the long run. This is what I’m thinking about when I work on new recipes to sell. Sweeteners are a great example of this; some people consider non-caloric or artificial sweeteners healthier than sugar as they’re lower in, well, sugar. However, others don’t want to eat non-caloric sweeteners because they aren’t concerned about their sugar intake, or because they don’t trust artificial products. Some people don’t like to eat cane sugar or sweeteners, but instead prefer less refined sugars such as maple syrup or agave nectar. Again, totally fine. All those opinions are valid; there is no one healthy diet and I’m not here to tell you what’s good for your body. I’ll need to write a whole blog post about sweeteners; it’s a fascinating topic. Getting back to the recipe development; I think about every ingredient in this way, consider who I’m making this for and whether I’d feed it to myself every day. I don’t cut out any ingredient (not even – gasp – granulated sugar?!) because there is no inherently unhealthy ingredient. Instead, I think about what I can put into the food. I can add nuts for unsaturated fats, fruit and veggies for vitamins, wholegrains for fibre and sweeteners for enjoyment. There’s some great research emerging on the importance of enjoyment for your overall health[6]. The article I’ve linked includes loads of reasons to enjoy life more; such as the fact that older people who enjoy life have a lower risk of developing mobility problems, disability and general physical decline!
Anyway, better stop nattering now. This was supposed to be a short post, whoops! I often have random thoughts about things I’d like to write about relating to this wee business, so will hopefully keep up with those thoughts and be able to put a little post up here sometimes. Let me know if there are any interesting topics you’ve been reading about lately; I love keeping up to date on all of this stuff.
[1] https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/modern-medicine-feature-articles/through-glass-darkly-pediatric-body-dysmorphic-disorder [2] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00787-019-01442-1 [3] https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/jul/06/1 [4] http://e.bangor.ac.uk/3690/1/31951.pdf [5] http://hdl.handle.net/2164/8686 [6] https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.544481!/file/CWiPP_WP_201606_Haworth.pdf
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