Taking in the science and throwing out the marketing buzzwords, we give you the bottom line on how to really be 'healthy' in 2020.

Eating well can be so confusing. There's no shortage of health advice, but how do you cut through the clutter of mixed messages and dietary dogma? We've stripped away the nonsense, found some advisors with proper qualifications and asked them everything you ever wanted to know about healthy eating. This is the guide you need to give yourself the best chance of eating for health.

Dr Emma Beckett is a molecular nutritionist and a lecturer in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Newcastle. She has a PhD in Food Science.

Dr Tim Crowe is a health scientist based in Melbourne and a co-author of Understanding Nutrition, the leading text used in nutrition and dietetics courses in Australia.

Dr Tim: Being vegan is definitely on-trend. All the research says plant-based food is consistently linked with good health, so if you are predominantly plant-based you would be doing yourself a world of good. However, people can survive and thrive on a whole range of foods. The evidence doesn't say that being a vegan is streets ahead of being an omnivore, so long as you are eating a healthy diet to start with. You can be extremely healthy if you choose to include some animal foods in your diet.

Dr Emma: Most people who cut out animal products do it for ethical or environmental reasons, not health reasons. The data doesn't tend to show that a no-meat diet is better than a moderate or low-meat one. Like all lifestyle regimes, you can do a vegan diet well, or you can do it poorly. If you cut meat but replace it with highly processed plant-based foods, it's obviously not the same thing as eating a balanced vegan diet. Vegans do need to be careful with nutrients like B12, which aren't readily available in plant foods: there's a place for supplements and fortified foods in this case.

Short answer: No, but do eat mostly unprocessed plant food.

FACT: Just 1 per cent of Australians identify as vegans, according to the ABC's Australia Talks survey conducted last year.

Dr Emma: When people say "detox", they usually mean a juice or tea "cleanse", which restricts or eliminates solid foods. They might be cutting out toxins such as alcohol but what they are really doing is starving themselves. No diets that say they detox are actually doing anything to detoxify. Your liver and kidneys detoxify you: they break down toxins, metabolise them and excrete them in your urine. You don't need anything dietarily to do that.

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Dr Tim: There's no reason to detox, but where a detox diet can work is to kick off healthy eating habits. That can be a good starting place; you're not actually detoxifying, but you may be putting less crap into your body.

Short answer: No, just eat more unprocessed plant food.

Dr Emma: People obsess over carbs, meat or sugar but they happily ignore evidence that alcohol isn't great for you. The data is mixed: some studies say no level of consumption is safe, others say that no alcohol can be worse than some, but it's difficult to separate out the confounders there, like wealth. Rich people drink more but they also have better healthcare. From a purely health perspective, you are better off avoiding alcohol.

Dr Tim: Alcohol is not a health food. If you choose to have it as part of your lifestyle, stick within the health guidelines.

Short answer: It's not great. Don't drink more than 10 standard drinks a week, zero if you're pregnant.

Photo: Edwina Pickles

Dr Tim: There is research on the benefits of a healthy gut microbiome, including helping with mood, depression and blood sugar. The best thing you can do is to feed the bacteria you've already got. Fibre-rich plant foods such as fruits, vegetables and legumes are like fertiliser for your gut bugs. There's probably more benefit in eating these prebiotics than dosing up on probiotics such as yoghurt, kimchi and sauerkraut. Kombucha is an on-trend probiotic but there's no research to say it's good for you. If you do drink it, it needs to be unpasteurised for there to be any chance of benefit.

Dr Emma: Live cultures in fermented foods can be helpful in ensuring a diversity of gut bacteria. But if you're not eating fibre, too, you're just throwing any probiotics down there to die. Good health is also about looking after the good bacteria you've got. That's where fibre comes in what we call prebiotics. Prebiotics are digested by gut bacteria not by us they release byproducts like short-chain fatty acids, which may be healthful as they visit other organs.

Short answer: You don't have to. Fibre is more important than kimchi.

Dr Emma: To demonise all carbs is not really great. There are carbohydrates in vegetables, fruits and whole grains and they are perfectly healthy. Reducing carb intake from refined and processed carbs can be a good thing because those foods are a big source of energy and most of us are getting too much of that. What we need is to eat fewer high-carbohydrate foods, such as chips, cakes and lollies, and more foods that are rich in fibre, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Fibre is actually a carb it's really good for you in terms of gut health and controlling weight. When people go low-carb they often go low-fibre or high-fat as a consequence, which can have its own consequences, including missing out on micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.

Dr Tim: I love carbs. We've lived off carbs for thousands of years. The problem is that a lot of the carbs we eat are highly processed white flour and sugar such as cakes and pastries without much fibre, vitamins or minerals. That's our biggest problem, not unrefined powerhouse carbs such as lentils, beans, chickpeas, whole grains and most fruit and veg. That's where you want your carbohydrates coming from, rather than sugar or doughnuts.

Short answer: The right carbs are healthy, not evil.

Photo: iStock

Dr Tim: It's recently popular to hate on grains, but there's evidence that reveals eating whole grains offers benefits with heart disease, diabetes and weight. For example, some studies show that people who eat diets high in fibre may control their weight better, possibly because those foods increase a sense of fullness. On the other hand, highly refined grains are linked with weight gain, possibly because they don't make you feel so full.

In a country of abundance, if you are eating fewer grain foods to control your weight that may be a good thing, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. You can have healthy grains that are high in fibre, such as wheat, oats and quinoa, and you can have rubbish grains that are highly processed, such as the flour in cakes. It's about making a smart choice when you choose grains.

Dr Emma: There are people who say grains are the root of all evil but there are grains and then there are grains. If you're making a food choice for health and not every choice is for health, and that's fine you want to be looking for a whole grain because they have fibre and micronutrients such as B vitamins, folate, iron, magnesium and selenium. Anything where you can see the chunk of grain is good: it might be brown rice or wholegrain bread. Processed grain foods such as sugary cereal or biscuits are likely to have less of the things that are good for us and more of the things we are trying to reduce. You still need to check the ingredients though a breakfast cereal may have whole grains and lots of sugar. One good thing doesn't magically cancel out the bad things.

Processed foods have a place they are shelf-stable and affordable. It is privileged to say, "Just eat fresh, whole foods." But the more choices we can make in that direction, the easier it is to have a healthy diet.

Short answer: Whole grains are good.

FACT: Simple carbohydrates sugars, refined flours spike blood sugar; complex carbs fruit, veg, whole grains contain fibre, which slows sugar absorption.

Dr Tim: Keto is just another rebadging of a low-carbohydrate diet that has come in and out of fashion over the past 40 years. There's nothing special about it. You can lose weight on it, but it's not superior and not many people can stay on a true ketogenic diet long-term because you're saying goodbye to wonderful foods like bread, pasta and fruit. These diets are incredibly seductive because they are fuelled by anecdotes about people doing really well. As humans, we love stories. We thrive on them. We like them much more than research.

Dr Emma: There are good low-carb diets and bad low-carb diets. The bad ones also restrict fibre. A lot of people who say they're on a keto diet aren't on a true keto diet, which can have 90 per cent of the energy coming from fat it's very restrictive, difficult and unpleasant. You can lose weight on it, like with any restrictive diet, but weight is just one marker of health. You can be overweight and be nourished and healthy. People may lose weight as a consequence of other health outcomes, some of which will not present themselves until years later. You might be trading being thin right now for being ill in old age.

Short answer: Weight loss is possible on keto but it may not be healthy or sustainable long-term.

FACT: Ketosis is a metabolic process that happens when our body doesn't have enough carbohydrates to burn for energy, so instead it burns fats.

Photo: iStock

Dr Tim: It's massively on-trend but it's not a major weight-loss hack. People can lose as much weight on a traditional diet as on fasting. The interest is more in the metabolic benefits that may come from intermittent fasting, such as longevity, but the research is a long way behind supporting those claims. If it works for you then go for it.

I like the way most of the proponents are agnostic about what you should eat. It's all about the amount of time you don't eat, or severely restrict your intake 16 hours, one day, two days out of seven. It doesn't push diet ideology so it's really simple so long as you can deal with being hungry.

Dr Emma: There is no evidence that our digestive tract needs a rest, so don't do it for that reason. But it can be good because it decomplicates things instead of not eating this or that, it's about not eating or eating much less within certain hours. There are some studies that show good effects for certain people but it's not magic and it's not one size fits all. If I don't eat in the morning, I'll be hangry all day; eating is important for my mental health, so it's not a feasible diet for me.

Short answer: Do it if you want but it's not a magical weight-loss hack.

Dr Emma: None of them. Superfoods are a marketing construct not science. A superfood is not more nutritious than a non-sexy fruit or vegetable; they just tend to be more hyped and expensive. If you compare acai to apple, it's not terribly different from a nutritional point of view. They are all good foods but they push the idea that eating healthily is difficult and expensive.

Dr Tim: Superfoods will not die. Every year there are new ones. Most of the superfoods are plant foods and they are good for you but the ones with the most hype tend to be expensive. Anything from the fruit and vegetable section is a superfood if that's what you want to call it. Knock yourself out.

Short answer: Meaningless marketing twaddle. Just eat fruit and vegetables.

Dr Emma: Only the ones your doctor has told you to take. Most of the time you're just buying more expensive urine. Vitamins and minerals are essential, but more is not better.

Dr Tim: For the general population, the only one you'd even consider is a general multivitamin. In an ideal world, we would get all the nutrition we need from food, but not many people eat a true healthy diet so a multivitamin is an insurance policy. If you feel your diet is healthy you shouldn't need it.

Short answer: A healthy diet makes supplements unnecessary. Get your nutrients from fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, and cross pills off your shopping list.

Photo: Getty Images

Dr Emma: Silver bullets and absolutes are a much easier message to sell than telling people to eat in balance and enjoy treats in moderation for the best chance of staying healthy.

Dr Tim: Absolutely, it's OK to eat sugar. If you have 80 per cent of your diet right mostly minimally processed plant foods adding a bit of sugar to your diet is not going to be an issue, though ideally have less than 25 grams a day.

Dr Emma: You can have some sugar. Sugar that's bound up in the cells of food (what we call the food matrix) is good. That's why fruit can have sugar but still be healthy. We want to limit the free sugars: those that have been added to food or released from the original cell structure of the food through juicing or blitzing. When that happens, the way the sugar hits your digestive tract is very different. Many sugar-free recipes use agave syrup or rice malt syrup instead of refined white or brown sugar; they may have slightly more nutrients but they are not really more healthy.

Short answer: Do it, but not too much.

FACT: One cup of fruit juice has the equivalent of about six teaspoons of sugar. A piece of fruit is a better choice as it contains fibre, and has less risk of tooth decay.

Dr Emma: It's not one thing that is the dealbreaker. It's all about balance and moderation. That is a really unsexy message and it's difficult to sell.

Most of us aren't eating enough fruit or vegetables and we're getting too much energy in our diets. Focus on balance, moderation and variety. Don't get your head turned by so called "easy fixes". Don't focus on your weight. Don't buy into the shame and the bad relationship with food and the wars between all the different tribes about keto or paleo or low-carb.

For me, it's all about bringing back common sense. Nourish and be kind to your body, and remember that not every food decision is about health. Food is about fun sometimes; I am pro cake. There's not good food and bad food. It's the sum of our entire diet that matters, and that's long-term, not just in one day or week or month.

Dr Tim: If most of the foods you're eating are plant-based, with lots of fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains, then anything you eat outside of that is really your own taste. If you choose to include some animal foods, that's perfectly OK, but a well-planned vegan diet can definitely meet your nutritional needs. If you have the core basics right that's 80 per cent of the battle. Plants for the win.

Short answer: Eat mostly fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. The rest doesn't matter too much yes, sometimes you can have your cake and eat it, too.

This story is featured in the healthy issue of Good Food Magazine, available with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on Friday, February 7.

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Should I eat that? Everything you need to know about eating right - Good Food

With so much material written on the subject of fertility and conception, many inevitably contain misinformation. These misconceptions can be confusing leading people to make their own conclusions, and it is important for people searching for answers to understand that opinions do not equate to facts, says leading gynaecologist at Kings Fertility Clinic, Dr. Ippokratis Sarris. Here, he dispels some myths surrounding fertility and conception to arm those trying for a baby with the plain facts.

"There are several myths involving specific diets and following exercises that allegedly have been 'proven' to increase your chances of fertility. Yet, there are very few studies and hardly any evidence to support or dispute any of these claims.

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"In order to improve your chances of fertility, it is common sense to have a healthy lifestyle and a non-sedentary life, as well as having a balanced diet, and possibly taking a simple multivitamin supplementation, which can include folic acid and vitamin D.

"When it comes to supplementing with herbal remedies, some Chinese herbs, for example, do have active ingredients within them and there is a lot of interest and work surrounding these. But, as it is still not fully understood how these work, it is impossible to predict how they are going to interact with conventional medication if taken concurrently. Occasionally, these may directly interfere with the medication that a fertility doctor prescribes. It is important, therefore, to speak to a medical practitioner before embarking on any kind of alternative course of treatment at the same time."

Occasionally, herbs may directly interfere with the medication that a fertility doctor prescribes

"Claims that reflexology or energy healing, for example, improve fertility are often made by alternative therapists and practitioners which are not based on factual evidence.

"It is true to say that lack of evidence does not always equate to lack of efficacy, meaning that just because you dont have evidence for something it doesnt mean that it doesnt work but what you cant do is claim that something works when there is no proper scientific evidence to support this claim. Even when studies are quoted as proof of efficacy, when you break these down, they are more often than not poorly designed and poorly executed, riddled with bias and lack of control groups. If we subjected many of these claims to the same scientific rigour and scrutiny required by regulatory bodies to approve modern conventional medicine treatments, they would not be approved.

Alternatives therapies might play a role in helping patients achieve a better state

"I do not routinely recommend any alternative therapies to my patients. Nevertheless, if people think that a particular course of treatment or an alternative therapy might help their general wellbeing and mental state of mind, if it doesnt interfere with the treatment I plan to provide as a fertility doctor, I do not actively dissuade the patient from trying them. However, I am duty bound to at least inform them of the lack of evidence surrounding these.

"As long as the patient is aware of the financial cost and the actual benefit of the treatment rather than the perceived benefit, I think that alternatives therapies might play a role in helping my patients achieve a better state of mental wellbeing. A positive frame of mind can only be helpful for those trying to conceive."

"Something that people often assume a myth is that of contraception medication reducing your chances of fertility. When on the contraceptive pill, it will prevent one from getting pregnant, but between 80-to-90 per cent of people who stop taking the pill are able to conceive within a year. For the vast majority of women that come off the pill, their periods will resume fairly quickly. However, for a minority, it might take some time become the menstrual cycle return to normal.

"Conversely, another common misconception regarding the contraceptive pill is that because it stops eggs being released it means that there will be more eggs remaining for use later in life. In fact, a womans egg reserve decreases with time regardless of if the ovaries release an egg monthly or not.

"Although the pill does not cause fertility problems, it can sometimes mask what otherwise would have been recognised as a menstrual abnormality amongst other conditions that can go unrecognised for example are: premature menopause; polycystic ovarian syndrome; endometriosis and heavy periods due to fibroids."

Although the pill does not cause fertility problems, it can sometimes mask menstrual abnormality

"There are some contraceptive methods that when discontinued can cause a delay in your fertility returning such as the Depo-Provera, or contraception injection [this releases the hormone progestogen into your bloodstream to prevent pregnancy]. But most forms of contraceptive methods, once discontinued, should lead to a rapid restoration of onces levels of fertility."

"Its really important for both women and men to be conscious of their sexual health. For women, some sexual transmitted disease can cause problems with fertility. If these go untreated the most common example being chlamydia, or any infection that causes pelvic inflammatory disease for that matter it can lead to blocking of the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes connect the ovaries (where eggs are released from) to the inside of the womb (through which the sperm will ascend to meet the egg). Its vital to be wary of this, as any tubal damage can lead to infertility. The trouble is that chlamydia is often asymptomatic, and can also lead to male infertility. Epididymitis is an inflammation of the epididymis, a tube located at the top of the testicles that stores and carries sperm.

"Condoms only partially protect from sexually transmitted diseases, which is why both men and women should consider being regularly tested, and if found to carry an infection follow through with treatment and follow advice concerning contacting tracing is important."

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Fertility and conception myths busted - harpersbazaar.com

WHEN losing weight is top of your To Do list - you might think pizza is off the menu.

But a diet guru has debunked that myth, and is urging anyone on a diet to treat themselves now and again.

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Terri-Ann Nunn said: "Pizza is often peoples favourite naughty treat and its true that this food type can be very calorific and high in fat.

"However, living a healthy lifestyle is definitely not about swearing off your favourite foods completely and actually, enjoying a slice of pizza now and again is not going to stop you from losing weight.

"The key is to be smart about it, and work out swaps and tricks to still get your favourite pizza treat with less of the guilt.

"The result? You definitely can eat pizza and still lose weight."

Here, Terri-Ann,the expert and founder behind the popularTerri-Ann123 Diet Plan, takes us through the best healthy swaps so you can enjoy a pizza next time you're out - with none of the guilt.

Pizza Express has a Leggera menu which contains 12 tasty pizzas that are all under 600 calories.

They're served as a ring of wholemeal, white and spelt dough with a hole in the middle filled with fresh, dressed salad.

The pizzas include chicken, goats cheese and caramelised onion, pepperoni and vegan options.

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Terri-Ann recommends going for the Wholemeal Leggera Padana which contains 587 calories - this is in contrast to the Romana Padana which has 1,108 calories.

Both pizzas are covered in goat's cheese, caramelised onion and spinach - but one has half the calories.

Cheap and cheerful, Wetherspoons is a go-to for those of us who don't want to spend a fortune on a meal out.

However, you might want to avoid munching on a ham and mushroom 11 inch pizza if you're on a diet - as you'd be consuming a staggering 1,134 calories.

On the other hand, Terri-Ann urges slimmers to pick the ham and mushroom eight inch pizza - as you'd slash your calorie intake to 567 calories.

Prezzo offers two smaller and lighter pizzas which come served with a side salad.

They come in goat's cheese and aubergine and chicken primavera, which has just 524 calories.

This is the perfect option for those people trying to lose weight - unlike the restaurant's posh pepperoni pizza which has 1,242 calories.

This takeaway pizza giant at long last launched a low-calorie option for those people on a diet last year.

They unveiled the Delight, which weighs in at under 650 calories a pop - perfect if you're trying to lose weight.

Each small slice contains 100 calories, and is made using Domino's signature dough stretched into a thin base and topped with reduced-fat mozzarella.

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There's both a veggie option and a chicken one, with both boasting a load of crunchy mixed peppers, sweetcorn, tomatoes and chopped onions.

Another option to lower your calorie-intake that Terri-Ann has picked out is the Vegi Classic personal pizza which has 499 calories.

This is three times less calories than if you picked the American Hot large pizza.

Zizzi has a whole section on their menu dedicated to 'skinny pizzas' - which are all under 600 calories.

One Terri-Ann has picked out is the Zizzi Skinny Primavera which has just 521 calories.

On the other hand, if you were to go for the Primavera Rustica you'd be gorging on an excessive 1,339 calories.

ASK has two lighter menus - one for pasta and one for pizza.

Their Prima Light pizzas are "made with less dough and more rainbow", all coming in slightly smaller sizes and with a rainbow salad.

Terri-Ann recommends ordering a Light Caprina, covered in goat's cheese and rocket, which has just 382 calories.

Meanwhile, if you were to pick the standard Caprina pizza, you'd be more than doubling your calorie intake to 863 calories.

A family favourite, nowhere does a deep-pan pizza quite like Pizza Hut.

While you may want to avoid the cheese stuffed crust offerings if you want to shed body fat, you can still find a ton of dishes to order.

In particular, Terri-Ann suggests going for a Veggie Supreme Small Classic Sourdough pizza which contains 696 calories.

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This is in contrast to the Veggie Supreme Large Garlic Butter Stuffed Crust pizza which comes in at a staggering 2,100 calories.

Pizza hut also has a menu full of flatbreads - all of which contain under 550 calories.

Sure, a flatbread isn't a stuffed crust pizza but they're close enough.

If you're not eating out but still craving pizza, Terri-Ann says you can make your own lighter version of a Domino's or Pizza Express at home.

When making your pizza, she recommends adding tomato puree, lower fat cheese or mozzarella and your favourite toppings to a wrap or pitta bread base for a lighter option.

Terri-Ann adds: "Weve all gotten to the end of eating a huge pizza and felt absolutely stuffed because the recommend portion size isnt the entire pizza.

Top tips for eating out

The Hospital Group's Dietitian George Hamlyn-Williams has revealed his top tips for eating out.

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"Its why eating an entire pizza can often set you back 2,000 calories or more, and why the last slice of pizza is nowhere near as enjoyable as the first.

"One of the best things you can do to still enjoy the taste of pizza on a diet is to reduce your portion sizes."

She concludes: "The best way to sustain a healthy lifestyle is to feel as if you arent depriving yourself."

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You CAN eat pizza and lose weight, expert says the 8 best options from Wetherspoons to Dominos if youre on - The Sun

Click through the slideshow ahead to see what two SFGATE reporters ate while trying out the vegan diet.

Click through the slideshow ahead to see what two SFGATE reporters ate while trying out the vegan diet.

Click through the slideshow ahead to see what two SFGATE reporters ate while trying out the vegan diet.

Click through the slideshow ahead to see what two SFGATE reporters ate while trying out the vegan diet.

We tried Veganuary and went vegan for a month. This is what happened.

In the midst of an extremely indulgent December, after too many holiday parties and Christmas cookies to count, a Washington Post story on Veganuary caught my eye. Going vegan for the month of January was the hottest new trend, the article said. Id heard of Dry January (not drinking for a month) or other 30-day diet-related challenges, but none of them ever appealed to me until now.

As someone who has been mostly vegetarian for five years now (I sometimes eat seafood at restaurants), going vegan didnt sound like too huge of a leap. The health benefits of veganism were persuasive, and doing my part to combat climate change and animal cruelty were even more appealing.

However, I panicked a little when I committed to the challenge and realized Id have to give up some of my greatest loves: cheese, eggs and shrimp. I worried I wouldnt be able to handle Veganuary alone. So, naturally, I made someone do it with me: my coworker Susana Guerrero, a full-on omnivore, for whom this would certainly be much harder.

Here are the difficult and sometimes smelly lessons we learned throughout this monthlong journey.

MW: Um, no one tells you about a certain thing that happens when you suddenly switch over to a vegan diet. It has to do with your stomach. Lets not dance around it: Its gas. Its all the fiber, apparently. It took a full 10 days for my stomach to finally settle down.

SG: I also didnt anticipate how much the diet would affect my digestion. About the first half of the month included frequent trips to the restroom, but once my body adjusted, everything seemed back to normal.

SG: Prior to trying veganism, I wasnt too strict on my diet, but I also had enough willpower to not indulge in junk food often. That changed when I began Veganuary and found myself ordering fried food, pizza and tacos with a frequency which I wouldnt have done had they not been plant-based dishes.

MW: I was surprised to find that vegan substitutes for ice cream, yogurt, and mayonnaise were almost indistinguishable from the real thing. They are just more expensive. A vegan diet can add up fast at the grocery store unless youre cooking basically everything from scratch (which I really tried to do).

MW: Maybe the real worst part, however, was the vegan cheese. Dear fake cheese innovators: please keep trying. Clearly, we are not there yet. Susana and I picked up some vegan cheeses from Whole Foods for an impromptu office tasting: a mozzarella, a gouda, a parmesan and an herby spread.

Lets just say none of these are meant to be eaten on their own. Some truly are not meant to be eaten at all, like the revolting "parmesan" we tried. It smelled like feet cheese and looked like an ogres skin, commented one of my coworkers who was too scared to actually try it (can confirm: it tasted just as bad as it smelled). Its like if Forever21 made cheese, quipped another. Someone described the cashew cheese spread as unsettling; the vegan mozzarella had a really weird texture. Only the Whole Foods brand gouda slices were somewhat less reviled.

SG: I came to despise tofu. Tofu is incredibly delicious but not when you have to eat it week after week. The worst was when I ordered two sad tacos with bland tofu, lettuce, onion and peppers. I skipped the sour cream thats normally served with the item, though my suspicion is that it wouldnt have made the slightest difference in the flavor department. The same thing happened on day three after I ordered a teriyaki quinoa bowl. It came with mixed vegetables, brown rice and once again tofu. I found myself feeling bitter that I couldnt order what I really wanted at a restaurant and instead resorted to the menu section with limited vegan options.

MW: I hated every time a coworker brought in pastries and I had to avoid them. Vegan pastries do exist, and they are delicious, but they are certainly harder to come by.

SG: On day one, I had already messed up: Since I didnt prepare the night before with fresh groceries, I quickly realized that I had nothing vegan to eat at home. Instead, I ate leftover beef tamales. I tried my best to stick it out, but I cheated 15 times (not always on purpose). There were plenty of times when Id go to a restaurant, order a dish and later realize it had dairy or some other non-vegan ingredient in it. In one case, I visited Amazon Gos new Westfield Mall location and picked up what I thought was a vegan bahn mi sandwich. After the first bite, I knew the thick coating smeared on the French roll was none other than mayonnaise.

MW: I cheated during Vegan January two times. Both of those times were out to dinner with friends, because I succumb to peer pressure extremely easily. One instance was after finishing a big hike at Mount Tam. My friends and I were starving, so we hit up Sol Food in Mill Valley, a Puerto Rican restaurant that has really good shrimp I fully intended to stay vegan, but the vegan option (basically just rice and beans) seemed so sad compared to what I would usually get there. With encouragement from some bad influences, I dove straight into a Puerto Rican po boy a.k.a. lots of shrimp and mayo. My stomach was not happy with me after that.

MW: Eating out was definitely my biggest challenge: I didnt want to force anyone to go to a vegan restaurant with me. I hated that after a Saturday night spent out in bars, 99 percent of drunchies were off-limits (thank god fries are vegan). I hated the time that I went to Arizmendi Bakery with my friend for lunch and she was SO SURE they offered vegan pizza only for me to discover she was wrong. I watched her eat pizza heaping with mozzarella while I ate a slightly sad vegan poppyseed muffin.

SG: Maintaining a vegan diet when youre trying to eat with a group of non-vegans was rough, and imposing my newfound diet restrictions on them wasnt working out too well. I knew I was going to cheat in the days leading up to a birthday dinner, when I found out wed be having Greek food at an impossible-to-get-into restaurant in Palo Alto. It was too good a place to pass up. We shared grilled octopus and a whole fish and I regret nothing.

MW: Once Id gotten over the initial adjustment period, I was surprised to find how good veganism made me feel. No mac and cheese food comas. No bloating after a big meal. Even vegan food that felt indulgent still didnt feel too heavy. I also side-stepped getting sick what felt like 30 different times, despite the chorus of chunky coughs I heard in my office every hour throughout the month and I am usually someone with a very weak immune system.

Homemade dish by Madeline: Chorizo chickpea tostadas from Bon Appetit made vegan, using soyrizo and vegan yogurt.

Homemade dish by Madeline: Chorizo chickpea tostadas from Bon...

SG: With so many vegan restaurants around the Bay Area and an array of vegan grocery items that are available, it seems like trying out the vegan diet has become much easier and more accessible than ever before.

At the same time, being vegan is difficult, especially if you're just starting out like me. Even when I tried my hardest not to mess up, Id wind up eating something that wasnt 100 percent vegan. You have to really read the fine print or in this case, the full list of ingredients especially for those premade store items.

MW: Being a strict vegan is very, very difficult. Animal products are in EVERYTHING. But switching from vegetarian home cooking to vegan home cooking was actually quite easy. I didnt find it limiting in fact, I found it expansive. I used Vegan January as an opportunity to explore different cuisines and cooking techniques I generally found cooking vegan at home was more rewarding/successful than trying to eat out, anyway.

Cuisines I had never attempted before because they seemed complicated became accessible to me with some great cookbooks: Sweet Potato Soul by Jenn Claiborne taught me how to cook Southern soul food; Bryant Terrys Afro-Vegan introduced me to Caribbean and African food. And my well-rounded, go-to bible for the month was Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "I Can Cook Vegan. I learned how to cook beans from scratch, and I even learned how to make (vegan) doughnuts this month!

MW: The day after Vegan January ended, the first thing I ate was a fried egg for breakfast. Later, I had ice cream (which my stomach did not love), and then fish tacos. The food was great, but even better was the feeling of freedom I no longer had to restrict myself.

SG: Weeks leading up to the finale of Veganuary, I knew that I would be eating an In-N-Out cheeseburger. I was partially worried about consuming beef since it was something I hadnt even had on my cheat days. But on Feb. 1, I inhaled a cheeseburger and fries like there was no tomorrow.

MW:Going forward, I think I will continue to cook mostly vegan at home, since it was so eye-opening and also made me feel so much healthier. But I cant afford too many pricey vegan alternatives, so Im going back to regular yogurt. And for eating out (which I dont do more than a few times a week), Ill be as pescatarian or as vegan as I want.

SG: Nearly a week after the diet ended, Im happy to have tried the diet and am impressed with the options available, but I dont think I could ever fully commit to being vegan. Of course, there were many interesting takeaways from the experience that Id like to continue: having less red meat, eating more greens throughout the week and kicking traditional milk to the curb by switching to oat milk instead.

Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar & Izakaya. Pictured is the Candlestick sushi roll.

Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar & Izakaya. Pictured is the Candlestick...

SG: Of all the vegan restaurants I visited, my standby was Loving Hut. Not only were the dishes flavorful, but it was also the best bargain I found. Three items from the hot table cost about $12 compared to the average $20 I spent at other places. Below are our favorite meals this month.

Loving Hut: Yellow potato curry, steamed kale and white rice

Shizen Vegan Sushi Bar & Izakaya: Candlestick roll (spicy tofu, cucumber, seaweed pearls, shichimi togarashi, and fire yes, fire)

Oren's Hummus: Pita falafel

Vegan Mob: Barbecue shrimp, collard greens, mac and cheese and potato salad

Shangri-La: Lentil soup and a heaping plate of flavorful vegetables and beans

Aburaya: Japanese fried chicken with cabbage and miso ranch

Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email:Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com| Twitter:@SusyGuerrero3

Madeline Wells is an SFGate editorial assistant. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com | Twitter: @madwells22

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We tried Veganuary and went vegan for a month. This is what happened. - SF Gate

Every time a new detox or diet comes around, health-conscious people have just one question in mind: should I also get on the bandwagon and give this trend a try? If youve been wondering the same thing about the celery juice cleanse which is the latest wellness buzzword among celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian and Pharrell Williams you need to understand how this detox is supposed to work and why its creating such a wave right now.

Representational image. Image source: Getty Images.

The first thing you need to know is how to do this cleanse. According to Anthony William, a.k.a Medical Medium, the creator of the Global Celery Juice Movement, you are supposed to juice a bunch of fresh celery to get 16 fluid ounces or about 475 millilitres of juice. Have this celery juice first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You can eat breakfast 15 minutes after drinking celery juice, and go about your day.

Celery is packed with nutrients like vitamins C and K, potassium, folate, fibre and antioxidants. According to a study published inCritical Reviews in Biotechnologyin 2017, celery has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties and can help lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels naturally. This vegetable is known to boost cardiovascular health and aid weight loss because it is super-low cal.

So, including celery in your daily diet is a very good thing. But, heres where the problem lies. Juice cleanses have been widely discredited by doctors, nutritionists and scientists, and for good reason. Juicing basically removes the fibre content of vegetables and fruits. While you might assume that this concentrates the vitamin and mineral content, what it actually does is that it also concentrate the natural sugars.

Getting rid of the fibre is anyways not a good idea since fibre is precisely what you need to feel fuller for longer and to improve your gut health. Plus, concentrated sugars can spike your blood sugar levels very quickly, and then crash your energy levels soon after. Instead of helping you maintain a healthy diet, juicing can eventually lead to cravings, overeating and weight gain. Having said this, according to the US Department of Agriculture, 100 grams of celery has 2.97 grams carbohydrates, of which 1.34 grams is sugar.

Apart from the fact that juicing wont help you lose weight or work a miracle on your health, what throws more suspicion at this celery juice cleanse is the creator of the movement, Anthony William. William claims to be, according to his own website, a medical medium: a man born with the unique ability to converse with Spirit of Compassion who provides him with extraordinarily accurate health information thats often far ahead of its time.

Of course, India has its own sordid history of people who claim to be miracle workers, with purported cures that do more harm than good.

Williams claim of being divinely ordained to know whats best for your health seem to fall in the same category. Add to this the fact that he repeatedly calls celery juice a miracle juice and one of the greatest healing tonics of all time without any scientific backing in his article on GOOP (actress Gwyneth Paltrows wellness and lifestyle company), and you can easily understand how controversial this cleanse really is. According to an article inThe Guardian, William has no medical training at all but sounds convincing because he uses sciencey-sounding but completely nonsensical claims - including his claim that celery has an undiscovered subgroup of sodium called cluster salts, which prevent gut rot.

So, if you are thinking of trying out the celery juice cleanse any time soon, please keep in mind that it has no scientific backing as yet. This detox diet is based on the beliefs of a man who has millions of followers but no medical training. Bite into some fresh celery stalks while you chew on that.

For more information, read our article onVegetables: Types, Nutrition, Benefits and Side Effects.

Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health.

Updated Date: Feb 06, 2020 13:41:19 IST

Tags :Anthony William Celery Juice,Celery Health Benefits,Celery Juice Cleanse,Celery Juice Diet,Detox,Juice Cleanse,Myupchar,NewsTracker,Wellness Trends

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The celery juice cleanse is creating quite a buzz, but does it actually work? - Firstpost