We all choose every day to eat and drink things we know aren't particularly good for us. Does that mean we should stop consuming them completely or just go for the "in moderation" idea?

Dan - you are studying to be a doctor (or have qualified already?). You get to see the end result of our over-indulgences. My first husband was a doctor. He became obsessed with cholesterol and heart disease. He cut out red meat (ate fish and chicken), refused to eat egg yolks and insisted on low fat everything. Recipes had to modified to contain wholemeal flour/grains, reduced quantities of shortening, egg whites only and so on. We ended up eating chewy cardboard!

I know this is probably very sensible, but I felt deprived. So did he but wouldn't admit it... Every Christmas he tucked into my Mum's ham because he loved the taste - then suffered the guilt trip.

How often do you read about the fitness fanatic who ate all of the right things and exercised religiously and still dropped dead of a heart attack or contracted cancer at a young age?