Eat Happy:
Understanding our relationship with food

Content warning and disclaimer

We understand that talking and reading about “healthy eating” and diet can be triggering for some people, so please be conscious of your relationship with food when you engage with this page. Sam and Ash are not dietitians or nutritionists and will never tell you what you should or shouldn't eat, but through our years of studies and research we hope this page will help you understand why we make certain choices when it comes to food and how we can adapt our behaviours and mindset in order to be the strongest version of ourselves in mind, as well as in body. Learning to Eat Happy could be one of the best things you do for your mental health :)

A little bit of history!

Thousands of years ago when humans first walked the earth our eating habits were understandably very different from today! The majority of our foods were gathered from what grew in our local area and when we were able to, we would eat the meat and fish that we were able to catch ourselves. Eating was for survival purposes and fasting was common when food was scarce - but our lifestyle meant that we could preserve energy when needed and use it when in search of food.

When we started to settle into tribes we were able to farm our own fruits and vegetables and keep animals but again, what we did eat was very much what we could grow, find and cultivate ourselves.

Thousands of years later we are now connected to every corner of the world and we are able to buy fruit that we could find in our back garden handily available at our local supermarket - grown in South America, packed in South East Asia and sold to us as “fresh”! In western society (and especially in the UK and America) we have bought into fast foods, mass production and relying on imported products. There seems to be a shift in public consciousness to make better choices for the benefit of the planet but with so much conflicting information available to us it can be difficult to make informed decisions.

During World War 1 & 2, many foods became rationed, making it hard for us to source things like meat, butter and sugar. In the 1950s when these rations were dropped, many companies capitalized on the novelty of being able to have the bigger choice again - Sugar Puffs being a great example! Our grandparents generation were being told by their media to consume as much sugar as they could! As we moved towards the 80s and more of our parents generation, society had changed to a point where the typical “housewife” role became rarer and dinner times needed to be a quicker fix. The introduction of the microwave to many homes in western society also saw the increase in highly processed microwaveable meals. Not long after this, came the explosion of the aerobics video and a widespread focus on diet clubs and quick-fix weight loss plans. Sugar Puffs became “Honey Monster Puffs” and many high-processed products became repackaged to highlight their health claims!

By the 90s there were so many conflicting lifestyles sold to us! The fast food industry had boomed, typically selling us quick and tasty foods. The diet industry became a multi-billion pound enterprise, typically trying to sell us supplements, shakes and complicated restrictive meal plans. And many media outlets told us (and still tell us) that we are simultaneously “not enough” and that we “deserve” to have treats in the form of food!

Society has moved along so much quicker than our brains and bodies can adapt from the time of our ancestors. Back then, we would be naturally attractive to our potential mating partner by being muscular as a male (sign of being strong and able to hunt and provide) and by being curvaceous as a female (signs of being fertile and motherly). With the introduction of the fashion magazine in the early 20th century, the idea of the “perfect” body suddenly changed a lot with both men and women being portrayed as slim. In the golden era of Hollywood, women were now shown as having curves and men tended to be more muscular. As we entered the time of aerobics videos and multi-channel tv, the slimmer androgynous look became more popular before the “sporty” and sculpted look came in for both sexes.

Now in 2021 we have access to so many media outlets that our brain is constantly comparing our bodies to others and marketing for diets and supplements are much more subtle through social media influencers. The portrayal of what a “typical” body or lifestyle should be is fed to us through the TV and movies that we watch, as well as built into many of the apps we use.

How do I know which information to trust?

There is so much conflicting information out there all claiming to know what is best for the whole human race. One day a newspaper may tell us that red wine prevents heart disease and the following day, the same paper will tell us that just one glass of red wine a day will shorten our lifespan by at least 10 years! So how do we know what to take as truth? Here are some top tips for reading health information.

Always read health claims without our own bias . Many of us will have what is called a “love / hate” bias - for example if you are a big coffee lover and read an article telling us that we should never drink coffee again, our bias will tell us to ignore that information. Conversely, if the same article told us that 3 cups a day will have many health benefits, we are likely to retain that information to support our coffee drinking habit. Try to read with an open mind and understand what the information may be telling us.
Read past the headlines . With so many different ways to consume media, the headline of an article is more likely to be sensationalized so that you click and read. But does the headline actually reflect the content of the article? A great example are ones that claim a certain diet is responsible for a positive health benefit, but reading the article shows that the person used as an example also changed a lot of other aspects about their lifestyle. Similarly, a headline stating “xxx diet ruined my life” - the person went on to say how using tracking apps triggered their pre-disposed addictive behaviours which arguably could have also been triggered with xxy or yxx diets!
Be wary of where “scientific” research has come from. Many of us are susceptible to what is called “authority bias” - if we are told something by a professional in a place of authority that something is true, we are more likely to believe it. But look closer at some of the studies that we know to be true. The dairy industry fund research to show us how healthy it is to drink milk. Vegetable oil companies fund research to show us that oil is better for us than butter. Studies can be published on research carried out on very small populations from very niche areas to prove a particular point which the company want us to believe. Where possible, see if you can trace the source paper that an article is based on and read through the summary of why and how the research was carried out.
Does it sound too good to be true? It usually is! Over the last few years “superfoods” have really grown in popularity. As we as a society are becoming wary of chemical based supplements and lean towards a less processed lifestyle, the diet industry are now selling us obscure fruits, nuts and vegetables that claim to make us feel amazing. It might be that a particular component of that food has been proven to help with a particular ailment, however, if we were to look into the original study, it usually shows that the impact is so small that we would have to consume a tonne of that product for it to make any difference!
One size does not fit all . Studies carried out on different communities in the world show that those who get the majority of their fuel from carbohydrates generally have a long healthy life. Studies done on those communities that get the majority of fuel from fats also generally have along healthy life! In western society we tend to ignore the natural ability of our body telling us what it needs for survival and instead eat what we have been “educated” to believe is good for us. One of the biggest agreements in worldwide studies is that the less processed, more wholefoods we can eat, the better it is for our health overall.

“Healthy eating” for beginners

As we mentioned above, we are never going to tell you what to eat! However, one of our biggest tips when approaching food habits is to approach it with a beginners mind. What foods make YOU happy?

Many studies show just how much food can impact our energy levels, our hormone balance, our sleep patterns and of course, our mental health. The more essential nutrients we absorb the more balanced our body is likely to be. Being mindful of how much we need to eat will depend on our activity levels for the day, and the time of day that we are able to eat and digest properly will vary slightly based on our work life balance.

Unfortunately… one size does not fit all but what we do know is that fresh, whole foods, plant based where possible is going to give us the best chance of taking in the essential nutrients that our bodies need. Our cravings for particular foods can be a sign of needing additional nutrients, salts or energy but cravings can also be due to high stress levels, fluctuating hormones or lack of sleep.

Many restrictive diets have been proven to have the opposite intended effect and can sometimes lead to weight gain in the long term. A “balanced” lifestyle includes any foods that make you happy with the knowledge that if 80-90% of the time we eat fresh nutritious foods, then the rest of the time we can enjoy what we may class as “indulgent” foods. If we can eat in a mindful way and notice our emotional state when craving certain foods we can start to re-tune into our natural body more.

What you say, matters

How often do you say you have “been bad” or you are going to “treat yourself”? The way that we talk to ourselves and to others can have big impact on normalising what could be classed as a disordered relationship with food. We have been conditioned for years that certain foods are an indulgence that you deserve when you are having time away from a diet… which you have been told you have to be on because you are somehow less of a person if you are not restricting yourself in one way or another.

When we talk to others about any guilt we may feel about things we have eaten, we are re-affirming the idea that we all should be feeling guilt - and the cycle continues! What you eat and how you exercise is your own personal journey and may not be the right journey for your friends and family.

Stay conscious of how we talk to ourselves and to others and if you are in a situation where somebody is talking about their diet, it can be very powerful to ask them to pause that conversation and, if you feel you can, tell them that you are not prepared to discuss that particular topic. Maybe add a compliment in there “you are so much more interesting than this conversation about food and weight…” If we want to change the way we talk and feel about food we have to BE the change and this can be challenging at times, so be kind to yourself and be prepared for some ups and downs and some challenging conversations. It will be worth it though, as you begin to feel the change in yourself. As you learn to Eat Happy you’ll be surprised at how many people you may be inspiring in the process.

We decided that setting a 7 day challenge for “eating happy” would be the opposite of the message we wish to share and could potentially be triggering for obsessive behaviours. Instead, we would like you to consider our main top tips on a regular basis and come back to this page whenever you need a reminder! If you feel that your relationship with food is having a negative effect on your physical and/or mental health then please seek the help of your GP or a lovely professional who will be able to offer the support you need.

Our 3 Top Tips -

Be analytical/critical of any “quick fix” health claims. Consider how the research was done and by whom.
Be conscious of how you talk to yourself and to others in relation to food, body shape and size. Be the change to feel the change.
Where possible eat fresh, natural, local and plant-based. Enjoy the foods you love and be mindful of what your body is asking for.