Have you thought about nutrition?

Fresh herbs, spices and vegetables laid out on a large black slate

As mentioned previously, I was admitted to Hospital back in 2023 and discharged a week later. As I learned more about my condition and the functions of the liver, I became more conscientious about what I was eating.

After a while I had changed my diet considerably, and for months I would eat lots of chicken, Mediterranean vegetables, fruits, yogurt, very few if any jarred sauces, no takeaways etc. and this worked well.

Then like many others as I started to feel a little better I become complacent. Instead of separate meals I started to eat the same as my family. I had also developed a ‘sweet tooth’, desserts started to creep in, as did some jarred sauces, processed foods, non alcoholic beers and even the odd take away.

One year after complacency, my weight, waist size, body fat and ailments had all increased while energy levels were sporadic.

So like many others living with an ongoing condition, I need to get back to sustainable meal options that are easy to stick too, foods that actually help my day to day.

What sets us apart

Fresh cut vegetables and fruits, bell peppers, chilli peppers, broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes on a dark wooden table

I have come to realise and accept that my body is now compromised. I have noticed that when, and what I eat impacts on my general health. Some foods can have a negative affect on energy, mood and ailments.

Many diets provide guidelines (proportions, as opposed to weight) of Protein - Fat - Carbs. This relates to where the energy (kcal) comes from - I’m referring to this as ‘Balance’.

Where possible I have included ‘Balance’ values per food item, along with actual macro weights per 100g of product. Note - water makes up a fair proportion of a foods weight.

Digital Tools

Our Journals aim to provide you with a tool to monitor key daily wellness markers. Overtime you can look at the data collected using different views for reflection and to spot patterns.

Aardelia’s Premium Journals & Cookbooks are designed for more analysis. Journal Hubs also include administrative functions for organising your healthcare.

Nutrition - Note that Aardelia’s tools are designed as a lens towards helping you with your food choices. They are not designed for those wishing to micro manage their diet.

I found that simply knowing the nutritional breakdown of a food insightful and sometimes quite surprising.

A Great Place To Start

If you or a family member has a diagnosis then a great place to start is the UK Charity or Organisation for the condition.

Please check them out if you haven’t already.

I have listed 16 of them, plus HM Gov (benefits & financial help) & the British Nutrition Organisation.

Your Charity or Organisation will often include general nutritional advice for those diagnosed, as well as an array of useful information and resources.

The British Nutrition Organisation’s website is a very good ‘All Rounder’. Includes general dietary information, plus additional considerations for ladies during pregnancy and children of different ages.

View Charities & Organisations

Please Note: Dietary advice from your Professional Health Provider(s) should take precedent, please refer to our Disclaimer for more details.

Further information on nutrition

Our Nutrition Basics page includes:

UK CoFID Data published by Public Health England (our data source)
UK Food labelling
Calories kcal - guidelines and exercise examples
Protein - why our bodies need it
Carbohydrates - different types, total sugars and fibre
Fat - why we need it, good and not so good fats

View Nutrition Basics

Some basic whole foods

Macro and ‘Balance’ values

Each whole food page on this website includes:

A short intro with notable macro / micronutrients.
Per 100 g: basic macronutrient weights from CoFID.
The food page title mirrors the food entry name within CoFID.

Macros included are: kcal, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, total sugars, saturated fat and salt.

Also included is a “Balance value” using the Atwater method:
Each macronutrient is converted into energy using the standard Atwater convention (1g protein × 4 = kcal, carbohydrate × 4 kcal, fat × 9 kcal). The ‘Balance value’ is the percentage of each macronutrients energy.

This provides a simple way to see whether a food is predominantly carbohydrate-based, protein-based or fat-based.

It does not determine whether a food is “good” or “bad”, but helps visualise its macronutrient profile within a broader eating pattern.