Stick to the ribs

I laughed to myself when I saw "The new rules for defeating cancer" on the front page of The Times last week because (with the excusable exception of breastfeeding children) I go at everything in their Do list and everything in the Don't list with equal vim and enthusiasm, and I'm not in the slightest embarrassed about drinking red wine with my steak.

So here, not that the world is crying out for them, are my guidelines for eating.

• Regardless of what you read about wonder foods, food is not medicine.
  
• Regardless of what you hear about junk food, food is not poison.
  
• You are an omnivore, eat a varied diet.
  
• Purchase and prepare fresh produce when you get the chance.
  
• Lastly, don't fret. Mark Twight has wisely observed that "weighing portions and counting calories and allowing food to rule one's life is just as much an eating disorder as sticking a finger down your throat".