Ordinary food is good enough

With so many mixed messages in the media about food, nutrition and diets, it is easy to get confused and follow guidance from unqualified sources.

These messages are magnified through social media and can have damaging effects on our physical and mental welfare. Many of us strive to look like others or follow extreme diets which often aren’t realistic and can instead have detrimental effects on health due to a lack of key nutrients.

We need to be careful about the sources that we trust

The Ordinary Food video was developed to make you aware of the unsubstantiated, mixed messages that adults and children are exposed to every day and to help you understand how these can drive a disordered relationship with food.

Food not Fads

A healthy balanced diet containing all the key food groups is optimal for nutrient intake and more sustainable than changing the way we eat or excluding certain foods.

Simple, everyday food is best.

Make sure you follow advice from qualified professionals, based on scientific evidence.

Get the message out

If you feel the content of this video is important, please share with your friends and family and ensure you speak to your children about the potentially damaging effects of social media extreme diet pressure.

British Nutrition Foundation

If you’d like to find out more about how to follow a healthy balanced diet, the British Nutrition Foundation has lots of information about the different food groups, nutrients and suggested portion sizes.

British Nutrition Foundation website

Mind

If you are concerned about how these issues can impact on your mental health, please visit MIND for help.

Mind website

Expert advice

The number of fad diets and omissions of whole food groups is now reaching epidemic proportions and this worrying trend can…

Eating a healthy and balanced diet is vital when it comes to ensuring you’re getting all the essential nutrients your body needs to thrive and function…

Healthy and balanced diets are varied and do not eliminate core food groups. Goalposts have been shifting, as diet trends are…

Human beings are omnivores. This is illustrated in the anatomy and physiology of the mouth and gut, and also…

The meal featured in the video is a great example of a healthy balanced meal containing ordinary food.

The video was created by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) – a levy board which represents farmers, growers and others in the supply chain.

Disclaimer

Ordinary Food seeks to ensure that the information, guidance and advice provided within this website is correct. All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are excluded to the maximum extent permitted by applicable laws. Unless expressly provided, any information here is available ‘as is’ without warranty of any kind. We do not warrant or represent that the information is free of any inaccuracies, omissions, or errors (‘faults’) or that any faults will be corrected. We shall not be liable for any loss/damage/cost, caused/arising/resulting, from any faults. You assume sole responsibility and entire risk as to the suitability and appropriateness for the application of any information you obtain here and for any decisions/actions you make/take.

The information available here is not intended as an authoritative interpretation of UK or EU law and we recommend that you obtain your own independent legal or other professional advice as may be appropriate for your own circumstances.

Ordinary food is good enough

We need to be careful about the sources that we trust

Food not Fads

Hala El-Shafie - Consultant Nutritionist and Registered Dietitian

Nic Ludlam-Raine - Specialist Registered Dietitian

Dr Emma Derbyshire - Registered Public Health Nutritionist and writer

Professor Robert Pickard - Emeritus Professor of Neurobiology, Cardiff University

Expert advice

Hala El-Shafie

Nic Ludlam-Raine

Dr Emma Derbyshire

Professor Robert Pickard

The meal featured in the video is a great example of a healthy balanced meal containing ordinary food.

Disclaimer