But we do have to be careful about being careful.
Just as one of the favourite illusions of the mid-twentieth century was that if something is wrong then legislation can put it right so, in these the closing years of this same century, there is the widespread illusion that if something is wrong then exhortation can put it right and that exhortation is dependable in proportion to the expertise attributed to the exhortationist. Experts rule, OK!
Why do we have to be careful about being careful about heeding experts? One reason is that, among experts, this week's Holy Writ tends to become next week's Abominable Heresy and, even if this is not to be the case with the good doctor's advice, we can suffer from advice-for-your-own-good fatigue.
We all know about compassion-fatigue; we tend to become indifferent to the claims of the umpteenth good cause even it is a better cause than the ones that were urged upon us sooner. Likewise, you can take on board just so much good advice; very soon you get into the position of the patient who asked his doctor 'Will giving up xyz make me live longer?' only to met by the honest reply - 'Maybe, maybe not, but life will certainly seem longer'. Perhaps the autonomous person might wish to say that an indulgence in chips, or whatever, may shorten life but maybe one might think it's worth it. We have no general right to thrust death upon our fellows; do we have a general right to thrust survival upon them? (Diet is not the only, let alone the main, area in which thrusting survival upon people is morally questionable - ought survival to be thrust upon the two-headed baby girl born the other day to parents in Mexico?)
Dr Hamilton no doubt sees himself as giving information that we are entitled to have but that is not at all the same thing as orders we are in duty bound to obey. We do well to avoid the trap of confusing the one with the other even though the gentle Dr Hamilton is no trap-setter by nature.
The other trap is that of turning general guidelines into binding absolutes. We all know friends who think that you are making an improper suggestion when, at their table, you express a preference against Flora and in favour of one's preferred 'fauna'. To such people, the frying pan in the kitchen is as much the work of the devil as is a statue of the Blessed Virgin in a fringe-presbyterian chapel.
The truth surely is that there is little virtue, generally, in bossing people about for their own good. Rub along and let rub along is rather better - but try to avoid rubbing along in wilful ignorance.
As for diet, special needs like those of diabetics (for example) aside, be driven by what you like, be steered by the need for variety and be braked by moderation. Overeating and unvaried eating are the sorrows; enjoying food is the joy. Don't let Dr Hamilton's words lengthen your life at the expense of ruining your fun; he probably doesn't wish you to do that anyway.