We all know we should be eating a diverse diet, right? The more access we have to different foods the more variety of nutrients we feed our bodies. And better-fed bodies are healthier. Nutritionists have been telling us this for years.
More diversity=>More food=>More Nutrients=>More healthy
Throughout history, it made sense to try to eat a lot of different foods because malnutrition was widespread. During scarce times we would have been grateful for anything we could eat. And for many, a diverse and varied diet would likely have been unheard of.
Today, we have unlimited access to unlimited quantities of food. And while we should be thankful for the times we live in many of us are now suffering the opposite problem. Most adults are consuming too much food, including both healthy and unhealthy choices.
And the more variety we have the more we risk being unaware of the calorie and nutrient content of the choices we make.
More diversity==>More food==>More calories==>More weight
What’s the truth about eating a diverse diet?
We need to become a lot more aware of the nutritional value of our food, and of what our bodies need. A diverse diet is recommended to ensure we get a good balance of all the nutrients we need. Not just the macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrate), but the micronutrients, vitamins, minerals, fibre and pure water we need.
Think about what you’re putting in your mouth. I honestly don’t believe most people ever consider the value of the food they consume.
Feel hungry? Eat!
But we’ve all been truly shafted by the system. While the food industry has brought us more and more hyper palatable, high calorie, low nutrient foods, none of us have been told how to deal with this. How to balance these less healthy "sometimes" foods with the better "most times" foods.
“Eat food, exercise a bit, watch your calories and you’ll be fine.”
It’s not working. We need to step back and think again. Are we eating enough fresh fruit and vegetables? Lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, beans and healthy fats? The things our body actually needs.
If we’re looking for simple strategies for healthier eating, we might need to consider switching to a less diverse diet. But including just enough of the whole, natural foods we need to keep us nourished.
Some of the benefits of eating fewer foods include:
Try these ideas to eat fewer foods:
Eating Higher Quality Food
When nutritionists talk about diversity, they usually mean eating red vegetables as well as green ones. Oily fish as well as white fish. And a range of seasonal fruit. And certainly we need good variety in our food to ensure we get all the nutrients we need.
Unfortunately, the public is more likely to be thinking about adding junk food and desserts on top of their sensible meals and snacks. Adding more unhealthy, processed food because we’re bored of our meal plan is not the kind of variety we need!
Remember that the quality of your diet is just as important as the number of calories.
Try these tips for eating a diverse diet the healthy way:
Eating a more uniform diet can help you to manage your weight and reduce your risk for many chronic conditions. Find some healthy foods you love and plan your meals and snacks around them.
And remember, eating more crap is not adding diversity to your diet. It’s eating more crap!
References:
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