Unit 5 Eating Habits

Recording 1

To promote a healthy way of life, I suppose the cliché is “You are what you eat”. I think it is. They’re always telling us in newspapers and magazines to eat low-fat food, to cut down on fat. A Hungarian diet isn’t particularly good for that, as they’re used to cooking everything in lard. Now however, they even advertise on TV to cook things on sunflower oil, although recently it was revealed that this Health Education advert was in fact sponsored by the sunflower oil producers. So, it’s very healthy to cut down on red meat. Of course, if you are a vegetarian, you don’t have to particularly worry about fat.

The most healthy diets are in places like Greece, I think, where they eat a lot of oils like olive oil, which belongs to a kind of fats which are more healthy. They eat a lot of fresh fruit and tomatoes, and suffer from less heart disease although they smoke a lot in Greece, so it’s always one step forward and three step back.

We should eat more fibre. And that’s another thing in favour of a vegetarian diet, as if you eat no meat, then you have to get your protein in some other way, for example by eating beans, brown rice or lentils, which are also full of fibre. In England they have breakfast cereals that are full of bran, but they are horrible really. They have no taste, but if you eat a bowl you get lots of fibre.

Vegetables and fruit also have a lot of fibre in them. If possible, eat them raw. Sometimes, in the winter, it’s difficult to get a good choice of vegetables – well, you can get them but they’re more expensive. I think vegetables and fruit are my favourite things to eat, so, all in all, I do eat quite healthy. I still have a similar diet to that that I had when I was strictly vegetarian. But occasionally, if my flat-mate and I cook together, we et meat, as she’s a real carnivore and gets a bit fed up if it’s always broccoli and brown rice.

Fish is also really good to eat. Tinned fish like sardines are full of vitamin A and it’s especially good for women. It’s full of calcium which is good for your bones and your joints. So you become less likely to get rheumatism when you get older if you eat lots of fish.

I don't drink that much coffee, ‘cos it makes me nervous. If I have one cup of coffee I’m fine, but if I have two cups I burst into tears. I don’t know why. It has a very strong effect on me. Tea, however, has absolutely no effect on me. I can drink 20 cups of tea a day and last thing at night and I still don’t have any trouble falling asleep. They say it’s really bad though, and that it’s got more caffeine in it than coffee but, I don’t know , it affects everybody in different ways. Chocolate seems to have quite a powerful effect, particularly on women, as they tend to eat more chocolate, especially if they’re unhappy or depressed.

Unit 6 Drinking Alcohol

Todd: So, Al, you mentioned that you quit smoking. Al: Yes, I did. Todd: Now, I also heard that you quit drinking. Al: I did. Almost, about one week after I quit smoking, I quit drinking. Todd: Wow! No more? No beer? No wine with dinner? Al: No. Todd: Nothing? Al: No. Todd: Never? Al: Nothing, never. Todd: Have you even had a little bit since you quit? Al: No, I can't have a little bit. It's all or nothing for me so. Todd: Wow! Al: Yeah, nothing at all. Todd: That's pretty tough to do. Well, I mean, you seem pretty happy, I mean. Al: I'm very happy. Todd: OK. So what, why did you stop drinking? Why do you think it's better not to drink any alcohol? Al: I don't, I mean, I'm not against drinking the way I am against smoking. I knew that for me it was the best thing to do because drinking is getting in the way of other things I wanted to do with my life. Todd: Right. Al: So, and I didn't really, I drank a lot and I didn't enjoy it anymore. Todd: Yeah. Al: That was the thing. Todd: Actually, I have to feel a little bit the same way. I'm a social drinker. I only drink when I'm with friends and I really don't like drinking because I don't like how it makes me feel afterwards, like if I have a glass of wine or beer, I can't work afterwards and that bothers me but its nice to have a glass of wine with a good meal. Al: It is. Yes. There are things I miss about it but there are so many other good things that I've got from not drinking so I look at the balance and the sacrifice and for me it's worth it, not to drink. I can give up a glass of wine with dinner if get the other things I've got from it, so. Todd: Well, do you feel healthier? Does you body feel better? Al: I feel much healthier. I feel much more focused. My thinking is much clearer, and I like, I still go to bars and hang out with people and they drink and I don't and I go home, I love leaving a bar when I'm still sober. I love that feeling. I don't know why it's a fantastic feeling. Todd: Well, sounds like something maybe I should consider. Thanks Al