Healthy Eating
Most people will agree that they aim to eat healthy or at least make healthy choices most of the time. But what exactly is healthy eating and what makes something healthier over something else? Depending on who you ask, their definition of healthy may be different and some may even be extreme. Read on to find out what to aim for when choosing healthy foods.
What makes a food healthy?
Food in general is a source of fuel or energy for our body. Even though some dietitians go out of their way to claim all food as healthy, this simply is not true. Take the example of a car engine and gasoline. The engine can run on different grades of fuel (e.g., 87, 89, 91) but when too much ethanol is added (E85) most engines won’t work properly, and it can cause damage. Even though the E85 is still a source of fuel, it is not healthy for the car’s engine.
Our body is like the car engine, and it depends on healthy food to properly function. Even though we can still eat lower quality foods such as chips and candy our body will not function at its best and eventually will develop diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
A healthy food should not only provide fuel for our body but also nutrients to keep it running smoothly. A vegetable or fruit will provide our body with fuel from the sugars/starches, fiber to keep the GI tract running smoothly and feed the gut bacteria, vitamins and minerals to aid in body function, and phytochemicals to help protect the body from damage.
In comparison, a piece of candy or bag of chips will provide fuel from the sugars/starches and possibly some fiber if the chip is made from whole grains. This type of food is often referred to as empty calories, because it provides nothing more than that.
In addition to calories, healthy food should also provide at least 2 or more of the following:
Fiber for GI health
Healthy fats (mono- and poly-unsaturated fat) for hormone production
Protein to provide the building blocks of our body
Vitamins and minerals to aid in body’s daily functions
Phytochemicals to help protect the body from damage
Can’t I just take a multivitamin and eat whatever I want?
In short, yes, you could but you would have to take several different supplements to make up for what's missing from the lower quality foods. Even then you would still be missing out on many properties of healthy food since not everything is available in supplement form. At the end of the day would you rather eat healthy food or pop pills all day?
There are many compounds and nutrient interactions in healthy foods that we have not discovered or understand fully yet. These may include the combination of specific nutrients that act together and will not provide the same benefit if taken separately as a supplement.
What about fortified foods?
Fortified foods such as cereal or orange juice do offer more than just empty calories. However, oftentimes they are just lower quality foods with supplements added back in. Take a popular kid’s cereal like Fruity Pebbles or Cocoa Pebbles. These provide nothing more than fuel from rice and sugar. Vitamins and minerals are then added to the cereal. This would be like crushing up a multivitamin and sprinkling it on your glazed donut.
Fortified foods do have their place in our society to help prevent deficiencies and ensure we are at least getting the known minimums of certain nutrients. Although when our focus is on optimizing the health of our body, these foods simply do not stack up against healthy food.
What should I eat then?
Your first choice should always be whole foods that still look like the food in its original form.
Vegetables
Fruit
Meat
Fish
Eggs
Fungi (mushrooms)
Nuts and seeds
In addition to these foods, many processed foods can be healthy foods as well.
Whole grain products (brown rice, whole grain bread, quinoa, oatmeal)
Canned vegetables and fruits
Canned meats and fish
Dairy (milk, yogurt, kefir)
Nut/seed butters (peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower butter)
You can easily make all of your meals from these two types of healthy foods. When choosing what to have for your meal, first pick your whole foods then add a healthy processed food option.
Breakfast - scrambled eggs, whole grain toast with peanut butter and an orange
Lunch - overnight oats with yogurt, blueberries and strawberries
Dinner - pork chop, brown rice, steamed broccoli and roasted carrots
Snacks - Celery sticks with almonds/ apple with peanut butter
Practice writing out your meal plans so you can see your choices on paper. Planning meals can take the stress of what’s for dinner after a long day at work. These core concepts of eating healthy can also be applied when eating out. If you want to learn more on how to choose and plan healthy meals to optimize your body’s health, schedule your free consultation with Dietitian2Go to get started. Working with a dietitian can customize a learning plan to fit your preferences, daily eating habits, food availability and budget.
