We get hit with so many messages about “good” food and “bad” food, it can be difficult to keep things in perspective, and perspective is our best ally.
The human body is extremely capable of sorting what we eat, utilizing what it needs and discarding what it doesn’t. It’s important to examine our beliefs about what tends to be labeled “bad”,
For example, high fat foods tend to be labeled in this way, but let’s look at the evidence. [private_membership circle] Fat is a required nutrient, necessary for the essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins that it provides. It is generally recommended that 25 to 30% of our calories come from fat. Fat carries flavor, making food enjoyable, and it serves as a long term energy source, helping us to feel comfortable and satisfied in between meals and snacks. Yes, fat is denser in calories than both protein and carbohydrate, but even a high fat food, or a high fat meal, can fit comfortably into a day’s worth of calories.
When it comes to food, it’s important to look at the big picture: It’s what we do consistently, over time, that may (or may not, genetically speaking) have an impact. Being afraid of a certain food gives it more power than it has. If you sit down and eat a double cheeseburger, large fry, double chocolate milkshake, your body will digest it and use the many nutrients that the food provides. You would not be any less healthy, or any bigger after this meal. Any negative impact would be psychological. Any impact on your weight or health would only come over time, if excess calories or saturated fat are consistently consumed.
In moderation, all foods fit into a healthy diet. It’s common, in the current culture of food rules and weight obsession, to feel anxious about eating foods that have been declared “unhealthy”, “fattening”, or “bad”. But there is no ONE food that should be described this way (although full permission is given to call the moldy cheese or the furry berries in your fridge “bad”). Eating healthy is a process, there’s a lot more wiggle room than we’ve been led to believe.
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Jennie Wade, MS, MEd, RD, LD, Body Truth Center for Wellness, LLC 9403 Kenwood Road Suite A120, Cincinnati, OH 45242 www.bodytruthcenter.com
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