Schools of Thought on Healthy Eating
by Martina Mullin, Health Promotion Officer
Confused about healthy eating? That’s not surprising. After years of being the great untouchable, fat is back and sugar is the new evil. On top of that, one week paleo is all the rage, the next, you’re an outcast if you’re seen with a burger on meat free Monday. So how do you eat healthy these days?
Below is a summary of some of the schools of thought on healthy eating we like. We think college is the perfect time to embrace and learn about food. Let’s face it, you have to eat 3-5 times a day for the rest of your life so you might as well learn how to enjoy eating healthy now, while you’re learning so much else.
Whole Foods 
What?
Eat food in as close to the form as it comes off the tree/out of the ground/off the animal etc
Why?
- Processing foods can make them easier to digest. Whole foods will fill you longer.
- Processing foods strips nutrition. Yes, corn flakes are fortified but have you ever heard of a fortified carrot?
- Whole foods often come with everything we need to digest them so are easier for our systems to digest.
How?
- Cook fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and fish from scratch.
- Michael Pollen suggests only buying food from the outside aisles of supermarkets.
- We’re always wary of food that doesn’t go off! There are exceptions of course (mmmm cheeeese)
- Raw nuts are great for your brain, full of protein and fill you for hours. They’re great value in the Asian markets around Dublin.
We enjoyed reading Michael Pollen’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma on whole food.
Local Food 
What?
Eat food grown or raised within X miles of where you live. The definition of X is up to you.
Why?
- The food travels less, which is better for the environment
- You support local food producers
- You learn about and eat according to seasons
How?
- Eat food from small shops or market stalls that source food through local farmers. Temple Bar market on Saturday mornings (pictured ) is lovely and there’s great value on Moore Street if you know what you’re doing (buy mid-price at least, the cheapest will be gone off by the time you get home)
- If you’re in a supermarket, buy Irish first and work out by country.
- Learn about Irish seasons, nearly everything is available in July/August but hungry May is called hungry May for a reason!
We enjoyed reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle on local food.
Seasonal 
What?
Eat according to local food seasons.
Why?
- Food that’s in season is much cheaper and tastes better.
How?
- As food comes into season, the prices will drop, so follow the cheap food.
- Some supermarkets market fresh food that’s in season as deluxe or finest and put the price up. If you see a fresh food marketed as luxury, buy the own brand and check if it tastes as good.
- Look out for the really good value items at high season e.g. clementines at Christmas, berries in summer.
We like this chart