I swapped my avocado toast for kippers to see if the boomer diet really is healthier

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I swapped my avocado toast for kippers to see if the boomer diet really is healthier

I would call myself a healthy eater. I have plenty of berries and seeds at breakfast, avocados often feature in my lunch and stir-fry made with ginger and chillies is a weekly go-to for dinner.

But I would also say that my parents, born in the 1960s, and even my grandparents, born in the 1940s – both belonging to the baby boomer generation – ate healthily, though mealtimes for them looked markedly different.

At my age, 28, their diets were much more stripped back, featuring eggs on toast for breakfast, simple baked potatoes for lunch and fuss-free meat and two veg for dinner. They hadn’t ever tried an avocado and didn’t have an array of sauces and oils in their cupboards to liven up their favourite meals. Ultra-processed food only really took off in the 1980s, so they were far more likely to cook from scratch and their portions were smaller.

It means that their diets were generally much healthier than the typical diet in the UK in the 2020s, says Rebecca McManamon, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. The deterioration of the nation’s eating habits over the last few decades have contributed to record levels of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

So, what could I learn from adopting old-fashioned eating habits?

More tinned food but zero ready meals

The make-up of a plate was noticeably different among previous generations, McManamon explains. While meat was a key part of meals, the quantity consumed was much smaller. 

This was in part due to the rationing mindset, McManamon says, though smaller crockery may also have contributed. Plate sizes were around 6cm smaller 50 years ago, subtly deterring people from overloading. The type of meat eaten was also different. Bacon, beef and offal – such as liver, kidneys and tongue – were on the menu, while chicken only accounted for around 1 per cent of meat intake. 

Additionally, “Vegetables were a key part of each meal which they are less so today,” she explains (vegetable purchases are currently at a 50-year low in the UK) and the main source of processed foods was tinned food, which are far less processed than the ultra-processed ready meals, cereals and snacks we eat today.

Breakfasts were also markedly different then compared to now. My grandparent’s generation started the day with kippers and eggs – much healthier than sugary cereals and pastries that many of us now tuck into, McManamon says. 

Overall nutrient intake was more balanced. “Rationing only ended in 1953, a year after the Queen’s coronation, so sugar and fat were used more sparingly compared to today,” McManamon continues. Sugar is supposed to make up no more than 5 per cent of our diet but now accounts for 12.5 per cent, while our diets are around 13 per cent saturated fat – more than the maximum recommendation of 11 per cent, according to the British Nutrition Foundation.

“All of these factors meant a healthier diet,” she concludes.

Kippers for breakfast

During my experiment, I start my day with kippers, a boiled egg, boiled spinach and a slice of seeded toast, a boomer staple according to McManamon. Setting aside the pungent fishy aroma – that even my seafood-loving boyfriend complained about – and the effort of having two hobs and the oven on the go first thing in the morning, there’s no denying this breakfast is a healthy one.

While it’s more calorific, containing 460 calories compared with the 360 in my usual Greek yogurt, blueberries, pomegranate and mixed seeds, it’s much more filling (I’m barely hungry by lunchtime). It has more than twice as much protein (28g vs 12g) and a tenth of the sugar (2.4g vs 21.9g).

It also adds a serving of fish to my day. We’re told to eat at least two 140g portions per week, one which should be oily. However, data suggests that fewer than a quarter of us meet this.

“Many of us don’t eat enough oily fish, so kippers are an excellent breakfast,” McManamon says. They’re high in protein, which is great for our muscles and our immune system, and omega 3, which helps keep our heart healthy. 

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