“Is This Food Healthy?”
With almost every new client I get, there comes the inevitable text message containing a photo of some type of food product, captioned:
Is this healthy?
You would think this would be answered with a simple thumbs up or frowny face, but unless they’ve sent me a link to the Tide pod challenge, it’s usually a bit more nuanced than that…
Foods do not follow some form of moral code. They’re all relative to the individual, their activity, lifestyle, and what else they’re eating. What’s health-promoting for me, may not be good for someone else and vice versa.
Sugar comes first to mind. It’s bashed time and time again by social media influencers, main stream media, and pretty much anyone in a white coat. This is not without good reason. Excessive sugar consumption has been linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Not only that, but most Americans are guilty for eating way too much of it.
I still have trouble saying sugar is universally unhealthy. In excess, yes, but that’s the dosage, not the sugar itself.
Can A Food Be Universally Bad?
Consider this: When a diabetic is hypoglycemic, that sugary can of pop is now a health food. It’s literally what is prescribed by EMT’s in a hypoglycemic emergency. When a runner hits mile 10 of their marathon, they often chug down some sugar-packed Gatorade and a bag of jelly beans to keep their energy sustained. Both are healthy in that circumstance. When a child is starving and malnourished due to unfortunate circumstances, that calorie-packed bag of McDonald’s can be considered healthy for them, especially if it’s between that and something with fewer calories.
Can A Food Be Universally Good?
There’s also the other side of the equation: what’s “unhealthy” is also relative... Personally, I don’t like labeling foods as “bad” or “unhealthy” as the negative association can wreak havoc on certain individuals’ psychology. It also can feel shaming to those who can’t afford or don’t have access to many other options, such as the kid whose parents may only be able to afford the dollar menu. I prefer to view foods on a scale of “ideal” to “less ideal” instead.
Trail mix and peanut butter are typically considered to be healthy by society, adding some nice healthy fats to our diet. To someone who needs to eat in a caloric deficit for health reasons, 2 handfuls of trail mix can be enough calories to account for an entire meal without providing much other nutritional value (and no, nuts are NOT good protein sources, Mr. Peanut just has a fantastic marketing team). In this situation, I would say that peanut butter and trail mix are less than ideal because they’re so calorically dense and therefore hard to include while maintaining the correct caloric balance.
If It’s All Relative, How Do I Know What’s Good for My Situation?
Aside from taking into account individual differences like allergies, intolerances, or digestive traits, the USDA has actually done a great job spelling this out for our society…
Americans just have a pervasiveness for not following the rules. It’s been in our blood ever since we filled the Boston Harbor with tea.
The USDA would probably recommend against glazed-donut-bacon-cheeseburgers and instead would suggest that you:
Eat in the caloric balance that would support your ideal weight.
Eat 2 cups of fruit and 2-3 cups of veggies every day each in variety.
Consume low-fat or fat-free dairy.
Eat a variety of protein-dense foods and prioritize the leaner options.
Consume less than 10% of your calories from Saturated Fat
Consume less than 10% of your calories from sugar.
Limit added sugar, fat, and sodium.
That’s pretty much it.
Eating like this would substantially decrease disease and mortality risk for just about anyone. It sounds easy, yet less than 10% of the population is able to regularly follow these guidelines.
The Basics are Healthy
Just like with everything else, true success comes from mastering the basics.
Rather than hyper-focusing on one food as universally bad or good, I’d ask how it helps you to more closely achieve the guidelines from above.
If it helps you to achieve the points above, then I’d call it healthy and give you two big thumbs up. If it causes you to miss the mark, I’d say it’s “less ideal,” but we should still acknowledge that you probably had a good reason that you chose to eat it. After all, health is not only physical and there can be some good reasons to choose something less than ideal (you better eat the cake at your own birthday party). This is again why labeling a food as bad, probably won’t help anyone.
So is that one food you were curious about healthy? Honestly, I don’t know. You will have to tell me.
And if you’d like to speak with me, or one of our other Nutrition Coaches, about your dietary choices, remember that we provide free exploratory calls to talk through what you need to do to become a heathier, happier version of yourself.
