Let’s Talk About: 'Good and Bad' Foods

It’s very common to hear people talking about good and bad foods, there are companies out there who have made massive fortunes out of telling their clients foods are good or bad, what people should and shouldn’t eat, popular diets advising to cut certain food groups and quite frankly I don’t have the time or the posting space to go fully in depth but here is why it’s mostly a load of Bull Shhh...

Yes I know controversial but true, “good or bad” equates food to a moral standpoint. Food does not have a moral stance, it can be either nutritionally dense or nutritionally lacking. 

 

What's Good and What's Bad?

 

Veggies vs Maccies

 

Yep, that's right, we're going there...

Vegetables are not ‘good’ food, they can be nutritionally dense, in the same way McDonald’s is not ‘bad’ food, it’s nutritionally lacking, but there is room for everything in a balanced and/or planned diet.

Now, this isn’t me saying go and eat McDonalds all the time, because as we already know it’s not very nutrient dense and is high in all sorts of fats we generally want to keep at a minimum and because its nutritionally lacking it leaves you wanting to eat more, which can skyrocket that calorie intake, but assigning moral value to foods can be really damaging, it triggers guilt when you eat ‘bad’ foods and can create over restriction in your diet, we also have to be aware that guilt while eating is a slippery slope, it is not something any person should feel.

 

Potato Power!

 

The problem comes in when something like potatoes are vilified for being “bad” when actually potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates (the body’s preferred energy source), they are a good source of fiber which is going to help you feel fuller for longer. Potatoes are also full of antioxidants that work to prevent diseases and vitamins that help your body function.

Alongside this the humble potato often gets slammed for being the reason people gain weight when they don’t want to and we come up against the ‘Evil Carbs’ argument, don’t blame the potato or the carbs!!! Weight gain is down to one thing only, excess energy intake! 

Now, i know i have gone on a bit of a potato rant but this ‘good vs bad’ food applies to so many other foods and there is so much information out there that is conflicting so it’s easy to get confused. 

 

Avocados Anonymous

 

Let’s take an example from the ‘good’ food side, the ever loved Avocado, generally considered a healthy food, goes with everything and is really good for you, and while yes Avocados do have some fantastic nutritional benefits such as being a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B-6, as well as riboflavin, niacin, folate, magnesium, and potassium and omega-3 fatty acids, but 100g of avocado can be around 160 calories and 15g of fat. So you see, even the ‘all hallowed’ health food has drawbacks. 

 

Get to The Point Already...

 

The moral of this very long winded post is that no food is inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ its the amount you eat, what you combine it with, and the overall picture of your diet. One ‘bad’ meal won’t throw you off course just like one ‘good’ meal won’t make you the picture of health. So let’s make a deal to stop calling foods good or bad, let’s discuss its nutritional value based on the whole picture not just a snippet.