All my life I have eaten what I liked with great relish, but due to all the dire warnings about consuming too much salt, too much sugar, too much fat, trans fat and, of course, too many carbs, I am jolted into a state of anxiety.

Looking at a heat-and-serve dish in the supermarket I thought, ‘Yes, I will have that, it looks delicious’, and so it turned out to be just that. 

I then made the mistake afterwards of reading the list underneath the tray of carbs, sugars, fats etc and nearly had a fit. 

I have eaten this dish all my life in blissful ignorance and now I find that it is bad for me.

What do I do? Do I have to read the back of everything I pick up off the shelves and desist if this reading is too high and that is too high? Am I doomed to eat nothing but fresh vegetables and fish for the rest of my days? No desserts, no meat pies, no cakes, no apple pie and cream. Woe is me!

I read that eating what my sweet tooth likes could clog up my arteries and lead to a heart attack. 

I could become obese and get diabetes, and then of course one has to worry about the prostate so one should munch on sunflower seeds (like a galah) and look for any changes in the waterworks. 

Life is a worry for a 74-year-old who, according to every test, has nothing to worry about. But something could go wrong at any time, couldn’t it? 

We are told all the time that if there is any slight change in bodily function, panic and see your doctor. 

It’s enough to disturb a man’s sleep, and if I think that I haven’t had enough, more worry.

Am I overreacting? I have to admit that tea without sugar is drinkable, and vegetables without salt are edible. I have always eaten fruit so no worries there, but I never thought that I would be eating breakfast cereal (low sugar of course) layered with almond milk, LSA, psyllium husks, yoghurt, cinnamon, strawberries and blueberries with a dash of honey. 

Fortunately I have a secret weapon to help me resist temptation with food like chocolate bavarian ... sigh! My very wise wife. 

Every man should have one!

Bruce C Martin, 

Orange