12th January 2026

Newsletter Monday

Hello Reader,

January is when food suddenly becomes very loud.

People change how they eat.

Television obliges by resurrecting What Not To Eat–style programming ( Thanks Channel 4 but we've seen this years ago).

Social media fear-mongers on UPFs.

And, right on cue, the food industry smells opportunity.

This week’s offering?

Marks & Spencer launching a range of “nutrient-dense” foods aimed at people on GLP-1 injections.

Oh, the magic of marketing.

NEWSFLASH: nutrient-dense food isn’t new.

It didn’t arrive when M&S put a label on it.

It’s the same food it always was, now wearing a new jacket.

Every sector is trying to muscle in on the GLP-1 conversation, supplements, shakes, snacks, meal plans, and now supermarket ranges.

Not because the food has fundamentally changed, but because the customer has.

And when that happens, confusion usually follows.

We already know more than we think

Most people intuitively know what “good food” looks like.

What changes is confidence.

The more noise there is around food, the more people start second-guessing what they already knew.

Suddenly normal eating feels risky.

Ordinary meals feel inadequate.

And people start wondering if they’re doing it wrong.

Nothing meaningful has changed in the background.

A healthy diet hasn’t suddenly been redefined because of a celebrity endorsement.

Zoom out: what does healthy eating look like globally?

Across cultures, continents, and cuisines, the patterns are remarkably similar:

• Food is recognisable without an ingredient list
• It’s mostly local, not flown halfway round the world
• It usually requires some prep - chopping, cooking, assembling
• It's usually colourful
• It’s not marketed as “functional” or “optimised”

That’s it.

That’s the filter.

You intuitively know this already.

You don’t need a PhD in nutrition to apply it, and you certainly don’t need a special aisle.

And about the celebrity factor…

We don’t need privileged celebrities or doctors showing us how to make sourdough to be healthy.

Most people are just trying to feed a family without boredom or despair setting in by Wednesday.

That’s why voices like Jamie Oliver still matter.

Not because he’s selling perfection, but because he understands the reality of cooking repeatedly, affordably, and enjoyably - something that actually sustains change.

(I am a fully paid up member of the Jamie fan-club).

The bottom line

If food feels more confusing than it did five years ago, that’s not because it’s become more complicated.

It’s because it’s being sold harder.

GLP-1s haven’t changed what healthy food is.

January hasn’t changed it either.

And “nutrient-dense” isn’t a revelation - it’s a rebrand.

Eat food you recognise.

If you want to prioritise anything then start with protein and fibre.

Accept that cooking is part of being human.

Everything else is just packaging.