Dreaming of a flat stomach without hitting the gym? The good news is your dream may not be too far away. Whether you're hoping to blitz away a muffin top or are battling with bloating, your diet is integral to shaping up this problem area.

It has been suggested that properties in sugar are psychoactive and addictive. Sugar is added to foods to make us come back for more. Sugar in fruits is not as addictive and can give us the essential carbohydrates we need without the buzz or high that sugar does.

Something wonderfully and brilliantly provincial is happening in force right now in London: the Saturday market is back. Communities across the capital are ditching their local supermarkets, meeting likeminded neighbours and indulging in a lazy cup of freshly brewed coffee while they're at it.

Spending time with my friends children, my nieces and nephews, makes me much more aware of the kinds of foods that are easy to prepare and that satisfy them, but the biggest question is are they nourishing them from the inside out?

Fed up of fitness classes? Sick of salads? Healthy living doesn't have to be hard work! While we don't advise you cut out exercise and healthy eating entirely, for those moments when you just don't feel like being healthy, try these fun alternatives instead.

My previous food experiences were usually to override my body's resistance by shoving more of what was harming me into my mouth so I couldn't feel. Ouch. You may have different experiences and I would love to hear them. We are all so different and yet so alike!

While at work last week I was chatting about food - always on the agenda - and he was describing how ill and bloated he feels after eating pasta. He went on to say that even though he feels sick every single time, he still eats it regularly because "It's a treat". It literally takes days for his body to recover.

I feel duty bound to highlight that it isn't just women who are expected to subject themselves to bizarre and often dangerous practices in order to look good on the pages of magazines.

My name is Hannah Bradley. I am 28 years old and in February 2011 my world took a dramatic turn, when, out of the blue, I had a major seizure in the middle of the night.

As a personal trainer, when I'm writing nutrition and training programmes for my clients, their personality is a key consideration. Even a diet plan perfectly tailored to your physical requirements and daily schedule is going to fall flat if it's not structured in a way that motivates you to stick to it.

A 30st mother-of-three is insisting she cannot lose weight unless the NHS pays for gastric surgery. Wendy Phillips was forced to give up her job a...

I feel very strongly that all of this is a result of unconscious choices, not asking the questions. If you go back 100 years, eating animal produce was a luxury and you knew where your meat came from.

After the initial shock value of eating a horse, we've gotten over it. Horsemeat isn't the issue. In fact, it's as normal as eating beef or chicken in many parts of the world. The real issue is this: if horsemeat can be slipped into our readymeals - what else could be in there?

The Medicinal Chef has some really tasty recipes and the ideas behind Pinnock's way of eating is both exciting and easy to use. The idea is not to replace medicine but to help the body, make you stronger and compliment any pharmacological medication. A balance of diet, lifestyle and medication rather than going for all-or-nothing.

We, as a society need to rethink how we treat obesity - medically and socially. Each day when I leave my house I am confronted by fat phobia - be it shouted from white vans or the huff and puffs of people forced to sit next to me on public transport. I am fully aware my body repulses some of you- but I don't care

The fact that obesity stories are frequently written in emotive language that can elicit disgust and engender spiteful comments (from presumably slim) readers, leads to obese people being ashamed to admit they are seeking help.

If you've been promising yourself that you're going to ditch a bad habit for a while but have never quite got around to doing so, it could be time to take the plunge. To help ensure your success and make the process a little less painless, check out these ten ways to break bad habits.

Calling all carnivores. We've got news for you. Vegetarianism isn't a fad. Nope. Not at all. It's not going to disappear and go the way of Pokemon, MySpace and Global Hypercolour T-Shirts.

Think of it like this, if you eat well throughout the day, then come your evening meal, you'll be happy with a light meal. It's only when you don't eat well enough through the day that you become an evening animal monster that wants to eat everything in sight.

When it comes to healthy eating, I view my family as a work in progress.

I was drawn in hook line and sinker when my fellow foodie, breakfast partner and best friend suggested we transform our selvesinto Miranda Kerr-like beings with the 'Master Cleanse'.