As an individual that has worked in the food industry my entire life, I’m intimately involved in following the trends, fads, science and evolution of food and diet. I grew up on a beef farm and have heard the fear mongering about red meat. I have worked in the grain industry and seen the trends pushing low carb, gluten, and wheat belly science. For the past 20 years I have worked in the produce industry and I mostly get to see the power of fresh fruits and vegetables as a part of every diet. But even individual fruit and vegetable items can get a bad rap for being too high in sugar or too high in carbs, and not a fit for certain diet trends.
No Bad Foods
We read and see pins for Whole 30, Paleo, Keto, Weight Watchers Freestyle, Wheat Belly, Flexitarian; the list of diets and diet related buzz words can fill up pages of content. So it was interesting to me to come across to two different and unrelated articles in the last 10 days that essentially reinforced the idea that there are no bad foods.
Mindful Eating
The first was a Washington Post article that discussed the power of Mindful Eating for Weight Loss…not focusing on certain foods. What research indicates is that mindful eating can help people lose more weight over time because they develop a healthier relationship with food and more awareness of their own bodies. There is less guilt and punishment associated with food as people focus on making healthier choices, but also not denying themselves a variety of foods. The study showed that all diets can help people lose up to 5% or more of their weight over 3 to 6 months, but they can rarely keep it off because they cannot sustain the long term limitations in their diet.
The second article was from U.S. News was about a new wave of “non-diet dietitians.” My first thought was what kind of new-wave idea is this? As I read deeper it was clear this wasn’t new wave science or theory at all. It was good common sense. Many dietitians are starting to realize that a calorie counting diet wasn’t working for many of their patients. Some would lose weight and gain it back and others would make diet changes, experience no health changes at all, and revert to their unhealthy ways of eating.
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Healthy Choices
Healthy ChoicesWhatever we want to call it….non-diet eating, mindful eating, or something else…the point is, it’s time to recognize that healthy eating is about making healthy choices and not demonizing any foods, but practicing moderation and healthy lifestyles. Lots of people love pizza, and French fries, and cake and ice cream, but we need to remember we can’t eat them all the time. But it helps to know that we can eat them sometimes. Same goes for kale – as cool as it is, many of us would not be satisfied to eat it every day.
As a food marketer I look forward to this new movement in food that makes all foods a healthy choice in moderation and helps consumers broaden their diets and develop a balanced relationship with their plate. I hope the internet content can keep pace in the same positive way.
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