Good Food vs Bad Food

In the past few years, it’s become very politically incorrect to label specific foods as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Personally, I blame Oprah. I’m sure it must have been on one of her public quests for weight loss that this new mantra popped up.

Firstly, let me say that I believe that the idea of ‘everything in moderation’ is great. In fact, I believe that it’s probably the healthiest way to live – both physically and psychologically.

However, there are obviously some genuinely good and bad foods out there, and I think it’s a bit precious not to label them that way. If you put a lovely fresh apple side by side with a deep-fried mars bar, you’d have to be an idiot not to see that there is a good choice and a bad choice.

If there are certain foods that we shouldn’t be eating every day (those with too much saturated fat, for example), it stands to reason that these are probably not ‘good’ foods. There would be few nutritionists recommending their clients should avoid eating an apple every day, but most (if not all) would suggest their clients should avoid eating a jam donut every day. Therefore, it seems logical to suggest that the apple is a higher-quality food compared to the donut.

I know the thinking is that food is just food, it’s not good or evil or indifferent – unless we choose to make it so. I understand that we can make good or bad choices. However, the idea that all food is equal is quite obviously ridiculous. It’s now recommended by the powers-that-be that we label food ‘every day’ food or ‘sometimes’ food. I’d prefer to just call a spade a spade.

We don’t need to label foods consciously. We don’t need to stand in the chocolate aisle and say ‘No, I can’t eat that. It’s bad.’ However, we do need to understand that not all foods are created equal, and that different foods have vastly different effects on our bodies and our minds. If we want to eat the chocolate, we have to understand that although it may be good for our mind right then, it will never be the best choice for our body.

But who wants to go through life always choosing Brussels sprouts over Belgian chocolate? Certainly not me. As long as we are aware of WHY we are making that choice, and that we are also choosing the RESULTS of that choice. So by all means choose the chocolate, but we must accept the outcome as well. It’s no good eating fatty foods six days out of seven, and then throwing our hands in the air and wondering why we feel and move and look the way we do – as if one has nothing to do with the other.