Why is nutrition so confusing?

I have been a dietitian for almost 20 years and I think the ‘what’ of eating is going to continually evolve. I think sometimes in the nutrition world, there’s going to be fads, such as low sugar and low carb vs low fat, high protein, whatever the latest evidence or trend is. And I think there is this overarching sense that most people can agree that we can benefit from more plant-based fibers except if you live in the land of caveman dieting or high, high, high fat, high protein, no fiber. Then there is no agreement. So, therefore, No one is ever going to agree on everything all of the time when it comes to the WHAT of eating. That can be really, really confusing. Especially when we have in our hands at all times, the whole world wide web and we all have access to so much information.

When I meet with my clients, when we go over meal plans, a lot of the times we focus on a really simple rule or a really simple requirement for their “Ideal Diet” which is, do you like the taste of your food?

Taste is a really strong sense. It’s the number one reason why we pick foods and you really, really want to eat foods that you like the taste of. So that’s going to be the first requirement for the “Ideal diet”…. is it delicious?

And then the second requirement, is it building your health? And remember health is subjective. Health is a really complex definition. The definition I found to be the best working definition so far is, is it contributing to your best optimal life? If you’re eating something that is making you stressed, that’s really expensive, is complicated to prepare, and is not actually helping you connect with others and have joy, then that’s not building your health. The ideal diet is not always about the WHAT… it is SO MANY OTHER FACTORS.

So in short, two things to consider:
One, is it delicious?
Two, is it contributing to your health, which is your best optimal life?

Sometimes that’s nachos, sometimes that’s quinoa, sometimes that’s Oreos, sometimes it’s sea moss. It’s different most days every day, which is hard when our brains are sometimes systemic and we want things that are right and wrong. Health, your body, and your food doesn’t work that way. I find it’s really important to get off of a linear definition and look at the full picture.

Happy Eating!