The BIG Problem With Labelling Foods As ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’
So, those of you who know me, know that I really care about helping people get lean, healthy & strong.
BUT what matters more to me is that they end up having a positive relationship with food.
Sadly, most people struggle with this…even if they look half decent or are not particularly overweight at all.
So let me ask you something:
- Do you feel guilty after eating certain foods?
- Do you label foods as ‘bad’ or ‘good’?
if the answer is yes to either of these then read on…
Nowadays, due to powerful food cult groups (paleo, vegan, keto, only calories matter etc),
as well as a huge influence from mainstream media/social media,
people have now developed this unhealthy condition where they place enormous moral and emotional prejudices on food.
(For the record I’m not talking about vegan’s ethical view on eating meat).
Some common examples of ‘good’/’bad’ food labelling include:
- ‘All sugar is bad’
- ‘Carbs make you fat’
- ‘Bread makes you fat’
- ‘Oh it’s okay to eat as much avocado as you want because it’s a good fat.’
- ‘Dietary Fat is bad because it makes you fat’
- Being proud to say things like ‘Oh I only eat sweet potatoes but never normal potatoes’
- Or If someone wants to eat chocolate or a dessert, deep down they feel they are committing some huge sin. (even if they downplay it out loud, there’s guilt inside)
As you can see this is a real problem!
It’s not just the demonizing the foods with negative labels that’s a problem but it’s also over emphasising foods as ‘Good’ that can make us feel like anything less is a failure.
Take potatoes for example… They’re actually a very filling carb that is versatile, easy to digest, good for gut health and pretty low in calories.
BUT since sweet potatoes became the next craze, normal potatoes got an incorrect bad rep.
I have met people who were genuinely so scared to eat a potato, being a ‘carb’, they believed they would instantly put on fat from one bite. True Stories.
And the worst thing is it’s actually the ‘experts’ fault for not properly explaining in what context the previous statements may hold any truth, if at all.
What should we do?
We must remember…
We are an advanced species living on this planet that has gotten to where we are by our incredible ability to adapt.
This also translates into the fact that we can use MANY foods as fuel for our bodies.
This is partly because we have many ways of cooking and preparing food which allows us to digest and extract the nutrients that we would not otherwise be able to.
In my opinion, food is definitely something that can and should be enjoyed but it’s also important to recognise that ultimately IT IS FUEL for our body.
By placing morals of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ it causes a lot of unnecessary mental harm.
Of course it’s important to know what each food is made up of nutritionally and how it affects us.
So instead of labelling food as good and bad… try and think of foods in terms of:
- Which offers more optimum nutrients?
- Which is the most filling & satisfying?
- Which allows me to feel energised vs lethargic after?
- Which creates more cycles of cravings?
- Which satisfies all the above & I enjoy the most?
See how you feel doing this and little by little, over time, watch how your view of food becomes a much healthier & more fulfilling one.
Lastly, be careful about where you get your information from regarding food.
There are many ‘qualified professionals’ that give out advice as if they are prescribing doses of medicine to a robotic lab rat. They lack compassion, use harsh dogmatic language and often lose site of the bigger picture of what health is all about. So if all their message is focusing on how ‘bad’ certain foods are and use hate based language around food, perhaps consider them to be someone that is full of s*#t! 🙂
All the best,
Alex
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