With so much information out there about food and nutrition, what are you supposed to believe? As a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, my goal is to help you find optimal health and happiness through food. So, let’s dive in to what that means to me.
Food is supposed to be simple. That’s the way I see it, at least. I realize this might sound strange coming from someone who spent 5 years of her life devoted to studying food and nutrition, but it’s the truth. Registered Dietitian Nutritionists, like me, study the complexities of food so that other people don’t have to. Just like how mechanics know the ins and outs of your car, and cardiologists know way more than you’d ever want to know about your heart.
We’re shifting towards everyone thinking that food is crazy complicated, however. That certain foods have these insanely magical properties while others are death-on-a-stick, or something else horribly dramatic. The reality is that food is…well, food. It’s necessary for survival, tastes pretty darn good, and is chock full of variety. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, “But Amanda, not all food can possibly be created equal…”, and you’re right, to an extent.
All foods fit
To avoid getting too unnecessarily complicated, let’s think about “nutrient dense” vs. “energy dense” to describe food. These are essentially just ratios of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, etc.) to calories (energy). A carrot, for example, would be “nutrient dense” while a brownie would be “energy dense”. While it’s important to eat plenty of “nutrient dense” foods throughout the day, it isn’t necessary to completely avoid “energy dense” foods. After all, you need energy to get through the day, and I doubt you’re going to make it very far on carrots alone.
Whether something is “nutrient dense” or “energy dense” does not necessarily indicate its health quality, and you need both as part of a “healthy” diet. I use “healthy” in air quotes here because I think it’s important to recognize that there isn’t just one “healthy” way to eat. Your version of healthy might look different from mine, and that’s okay. My goal is to help people find an eating pattern that works best for them. Because there is no one “right” way. Just like there aren’t “good” and “bad” foods.
Down with merit-based eating
I’ve got to get real with you here for a second, I HATE the whole “good”/”bad” foods and the “clean eating” movement. It just gives me such a bad taste in my mouth, and who wants that?! Nothing but good taste for me here, thanks.
Let’s unpack “good” versus “bad” foods. What qualifies a food as good? Bad? So, am I a bad person if I enjoy foods that are “bad”? And, how are they “bad” exactly? There’s just a lot of holes in this whole dichotomy. I realize I said food should be simple earlier, but honestly, this is the wrong kind of food simplification. Food isn’t all “good” or “bad”, this isn’t a black and white kind of thing. Take something like 100% whole wheat bread for example. Most dietitians would say this is a healthy (“good”) choice. If you have gluten intolerance though, this would not be a good choice for you. Just because something is “good” or “bad” for one person, doesn’t mean this is universally true. Just bad reasoning.
Moving outside of food allergies/intolerances, let’s look at something that is almost universally declared “bad”: sugar. Regardless of your health status, this must be a “bad” thing, right? Something to avoid at all costs? I’m going to shock you right now by saying no. Take our brownie from earlier, for example. Now, this isn’t something I would say people must consume in order to be healthy, but I also wouldn’t say it needs to be avoided entirely. Do you enjoy brownies? If the answer is no, then don’t eat a brownie. If the answer is yes, have one, and enjoy it without feeling like you’ve made a “bad” decision. Unless eating this brownie is going to somehow injure you, why not enjoy a brownie? Why not feel good about making a decision to honor your love for brownies, knowing that it’s not like you’re going to only eat brownies forever? The reality is that eating a brownie is not going to kill you, it’s not “bad”, and that one decision to eat a brownie when your coworker brings some into work isn’t going to derail your health goals for the rest of your life. It’s not that dramatic.
The converse of this situation applies as well. Let’s take a food that is almost universally declared as “good”: the infamous avocado. Do you like avocado? Yes? Then have avocado. No? Then why on earth would you eat an avocado?? Now, I’m all for trying new foods and experimenting with your tastes, but if you genuinely don’t like avocado, don’t eat it. Just like with the whole brownie situation, not eating an avocado isn’t going to kill you. It’s not going to be the deal breaker between meeting your health goals or not meeting them. It’s just one food. There’s so many other foods out there that you actually enjoy, don’t waste your time with the foods you know you don’t like.
Confessions of a dirty eater
Moving on, let’s dive into “clean eating” a little bit, shall we? What on earth is that even supposed to mean? I mean, really? Now, for the few of you who have possibly never heard this term it’s generally used to refer to eating food in its most “whole” form. The idea is to avoid “processed” foods and stick to foods in their “natural” state. Man, there’s air quotes all over the place! We’ve got a lot to unpack here, so let’s get started.
If “clean eating” is a thing, does that mean “dirty eating” is a thing too? Am I a “dirty” eater because I like brownies and ice cream and other processed foods? If so, there’s no way I want to be a member of the “clean eating” club! Not to mention the fact that there’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what “processed” food looks like. Food is processed for a number of reasons. Milk, for example, undergoes pasteurization (processing) to kill bacteria so it’s safe to drink. Even cooking your food is a form of processing (and eating some foods in their “natural” state, like chicken, is definitely not a good idea). Now, if I had to guess, I’d say this movement is trying to refer to things like soda, chips, cookies, etc. as their “processed food” to avoid. Once again, this is placing unnecessary values onto food. It’s basically the “good” versus “bad” food we just talked about only packaged differently.
The person who knows your body the best is…YOU
What I’m really getting at with all of this, is that what you eat should be unique and individualized to you. This means you’ve got to start paying attention to yourself, and not just the most popular diet of the moment. What do you want? What are your goals, and what eating pattern is going to help you meet those goals? What’s going to be sustainable for you? Can you still participate in your daily life, activities, and social events eating like this? Will this allow you to focus less on food, and more on the important aspects of your life? Does eating this way bring you joy? These are important questions to sit with as you start your journey towards finding an eating pattern that is right for you.
If you’re struggling on this journey, find a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist that can help guide you along. There are many credentialed food and nutrition experts that are ready and waiting to give you that boost you need to succeed!
My healthy eating image
“Okay…but what does your image of healthy eating look like?” For me, healthy eating is cooking for myself, regardless of what I’m making because I prefer the way my food tastes when I have a hand in making it. It’s having ice cream after supper sometimes because I really enjoy it. Not feeling guilty when I make a decision to get takeout instead of cooking for myself because I’ve had a hard day and am just not feeling it. It’s noticing when I’m hungry and using that as a cue for how much to eat instead of paying attention to how many calories I can have. Noticing when I’m full and deciding to stop eating instead of finishing everything on my plate because I know I’ll feel sick later if I keep going. It’s buying clothes that fit my body now, instead of clothes I’m hoping to fit into. Feeling surprised when someone says I look thinner because I honestly have no idea if I’ve lost or gained weight. When the numbers just aren’t that important anymore. It’s trying new foods and being adventurous with what I eat. Eating foods that make me feel good, and not restricting myself from eating certain foods or food groups. Most importantly though, it’s not always getting things 100% right, and being okay with that because I’m only human.
Now, is this really “radical”? It shouldn’t be, but with so much misinformation about healthy eating out there, and so many people restricting what they eat, just listening to your body has turned into a crazy concept. Trust me, it doesn’t have to be crazy. It is possible. And ultimately, it’s freeing.
The reality is that there isn’t one best way to view food. There isn’t an optimal diet to follow, or a miracle food that’s going to solve all your problems. If there’s one thing nutrition research has taught us, it’s that there’s a ton of ways to eat well. The way that you enjoy, can maintain, and is sustainable and health-promoting for you is the best way. Period.
What does your relationship with food look like? What would you like this relationship to look like?