Good and Bad Foods - Not What You Think

I hope that you’re enjoying National Nutrition Month® as much as I am! As you may remember, the theme for this month is “Nutrition: It’s a Matter of Fact“. On that note, one of the key messages from the American Dietetic Association is:

“Think nutrient-rich rather than ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods”. The majority of your food choices should be packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients–and lower in calories.

Good Foods versus Bad Foods

There are many messages to this statement! First, All foods fit in moderation! There are no “good” foods and “bad” foods, so forget what your coworker tells you when you eat that small piece of chocolate candy. If a diet that you are trying tells you to cut out a food or food group completely, run away! No healthy eating plan cuts out foods or food groups.

However, there ARE “good” and “bad” portions, and if you follow the MyPyramid Plan, you’ll find healthy portions for a variety of foods. For instance, you can cook with olive oil, but you don’t want to smother your food with it. Likewise, it is good to eat an apple, but you don’t want to eat 5 of them at a time! So, yes, you CAN even eat bad portions of healthy food. Everything in moderation!

Nutrient Rich foods

The key point is to choose nutrient rich foods. What are nutrient rich foods? They are foods that have a lot of nutrients (like fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals) for the portion and calories.

For example, fruits and vegetables are nutrient-rich because they have fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals, and several things you can’t get in a pill that may help protect you from chronic diseases. They are dense in nutrients, not calories.

Some foods are calorie-rich but not nutrient-rich, Think soda; there are calories in soda but no real nutrients. If you follow the MyPyramid Plan, you can eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods and still have some room for those calorie-rich/nutrient-poor foods!

And we can’t forget about cravings and food avoidances…

I find that when I give up a food, I crave it more. So if you tell yourself, I can’t have chocolate anymore, quess what? You crave it! It becomes even more important to you than it was before you gave it up. So, try to avoid giving up a certain food in general.

However, with any rule there are exceptions. And the exception to the “moderation rule” is those “trigger foods“. For example, if you get a bowl of ice cream and find that you can’t just stop at one bowl, then maybe it’s best to not keep it in the house. So, define your “trigger food”, if you have one, and maybe that one would be the one that I’d classify as a “bad” food. But otherwise, the key is moderation. I can’t say it enough!

So, with that in mind, enjoy the variety of foods out there (in moderation)!

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