TikTok is overflowing with it...

the low-carb diet, raw food,

cabbage soup, cucumber bagel diet. And on and on.

If you're confused, it's no wonder.

So here's five simple tips you can trust for healthy eating.

OK, this one's a bit of a game-changer.

If you eat a treat - say a slice of chocolate cake -

it's much better to eat it after a meal than on its own.

Why?

It's all about keeping glucose spikes under control.

Whenever you eat carbs, or sweet things,

the level of glucose in your blood rises.

If it rises very quickly, and sharply,

it will be followed by a crash.

And that crash makes you feel tired, irritable,

and hungry again.

But there are ways to keep these spikes under control.

Exercising after you eat is one.

Eating foods higher in fibre -

like vegetables or porridge oats - is another.

But the order you eat your food matters too.

If you're having something carb-heavy -

like white rice or pasta - eating fat, protein,

or vegetables before flattens that glucose curve.

A little bit of fish, meat, broccoli, an egg...

anything like that would do.

That's because having something in your stomach first

slows down how quickly the carbohydrates

reach the small intestine for digestion.

And it's the same for that slice of chocolate cake.

Why?

Well, for a start, it's notoriously hard to do.

Most people underestimate their calorie intake by about 25%.

But also because not all calories behave in the same way,

once inside your body.

Foods in their natural state - like nuts, fruit, vegetables,

and fish, or anything that's not been processed -

require more energy from the body to digest them.

This is called the thermic effect of food.

And it means that things like nuts,

which are high in calories, can still be a healthy option,

as the body uses so much energy digesting them.

In recent years, scientists have begun to understand

the importance of what's known as the

gut microbiome.

The gut microbiome is everything in the digestive tract.

It's a huge ecosystem that contains trillions of bacteria,

fungi, viruses and cells.

And it can weigh as much as 2 kilos.

Research suggests the make-up of your gut microbiome

could have really profound effects on your physical health,

and potentially on your mental health too.

For a healthy microbiome, and a healthy you,

you should aim to eat a wide range of different foods.

Seeds, fruit, vegetables,

the yoghurt drink kefir and other fermented foods

are particularly gut-friendly.

In the UK, 57% of calories we eat come from ultra-processed foods.

And this figure is even higher for children.

Ultra-processed foods include, as you might expect,

things like pizza, ready meals, biscuits.

But also some quite surprising things,

which tend to be thought of as healthy -

like most supermarket breads, many breakfast cereals,

and many milk and meat substitutes.

UPF are not labelled.

But a good a rule of thumb

is to look for ingredients you don't recognise.

Things you'd never have in your own kitchen.

Like emulsifiers, sweeteners, colourings and preservatives.

Another approach that's on the rise at the moment

is that of personalised nutrition.

And in 2014, two scientists,

Eran Segal and Eran Elinav,

found some really surprising results from an experiment.

The blood glucose levels in their sample group varied widely

after people ate the same food.

The explanation?

Well, it could be back to the make-up

of our unique gut microbiomes.

The dream of personalised nutrition

is that people would be able to tailor their food choices

to the specific needs of their bodies.

But nutritionists are keen to point out that some key messages

still apply across the board.

So, for a healthy diet, aim for foods which are close

to their natural state...

An orange instead of orange juice.

Brown rice instead of white rice.

Dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate.

Aim for a wide variety of foods.

Try not to eat too many ingredients you don't recognise.

And remember, you are what you eat.

But when you eat matters too.