Four phrases dietitians hate (or at least this one does)
There are a few things that as a dietitian really irk me. And most of them seem to be related to companies, programs, diets, or trends suggesting that we cut certain foods out of our diet. A lot of it is passively stated as though it is a fact or that I, as a dietitian, must agree with because after all, I am a dietitian.
But I tend not to agree with them. There are a lot of nutrition myths and misconceptions out there. And there are some that bother me more than others:
1. Well you don’t eat that (usually in reference to something that is commonly deemed as junk food or unhealthy in some way).
The heck I don’t! Get outta here with that nonsense. This one is clearly a little personal for me. As a dietitian, I actually love food. I love eating good food. I am all about trying new things. And I will certainly have a bowl of ice cream or eat pizza if I want to.
There’s this unspoken idea (or actually very much so spoken sometimes) that dietitians are judging what you’re eating and they certainly wouldn’t touch so-called junk food let alone eat it. I can assure you though, that most dietitians I know, myself included, are not judging your food choices (especially if you are not a client or patient, and even then I wouldn’t say we are judging your choices).
No dietitian wants to be the food police. One of my main goals as a dietitian is to help people enjoy food. How can I do that if I’m not eating it. I am all about helping people have a healthy relationship with food, learn to enjoy the food they eat and have tasty, satisfying meals or snacks if they aren’t already.
2. Fruit is bad for you (or some variation of this...fruit has too much sugar, I would never touch a banana, etc.)
This one kills me. Or at least angers me greatly. How have we gone so far that fruit has been deemed an evil?
Fruit is great. As a dietitian, I highly suggest you eat it. It is loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, water for hydration, and although some may say it is too sugary or has too many carbohydrates, it is a great source of energy in this way. Our bodies need carbohydrates to function, and what better way to get it than if it's combined with all of those wonderful other things (i.e. vitamins, minerals, fiber).
So go ahead and eat the banana or those grapes. They have a ton of redeeming qualities. And if you think it sounds like a crazy idea (e.g. “fruit is bad for you”), it likely is.
3. You can’t eat carbs (or some variation of this...carbs are evil, carbs are bad for you, carbs make you fat, etc.)
Okay, this goes hand in hand with what I said about fruit. Carbohydrates are an essential energy source. We need them. Bread or pasta are not evil. And eating “white” carbs isn’t going to kill you.
Again, as a dietitian, I recommend focusing on whole grains for most of your carbohydrate intake and less on refined products, but carbohydrates as a whole are necessary. And not a necessary evil — just a necessary part of our eating patterns. And they, too, provide us with vitamins, minerals, and fiber that is good for our health.
So try not to be overly concerned with bread or pasta or crackers and enjoy their deliciousness and know that by eating carbohydrates as part of your food choices, you are fueling your body with what it needs.
4. I can’t have that, I’m being good today (or some variation of this relating to not eating things because you’re being good or it’s not your cheat day or that it’s bad for you, etc.).
Alright, so this deserves a whole explanation in another post. One will definitely be coming. But it comes down to this: unless a food makes you feel ill or is in some way bad for your physical well being (e.g. you’re allergic to it), you are allowed to eat it. Seriously.
A healthy eating pattern is one that is balanced. That means both balanced in terms of the actual food we eat and also our relationship with food. Is it healthy to be preoccupied with a food and spend hours upon hours thinking about it (or trying not to think about it) because you have told yourself you can’t have it? I think most would argue no, it’s not super healthy to do that and you could probably spend those hours doing something more beneficial.
Think of it this way. Let’s say there’s leftover cake from a birthday in the fridge or on the counter. You had some yesterday as a celebration for your (or so-and-so’s) birthday so you tell yourself you’re not allowed to have any more. You’ve reached your limit for the week/month/year/whatever. But now this cake is staring you right in the face every time you go in the kitchen, and even when you’re not in the kitchen you’re thinking about the cake. And you skip it all day, but you’re still preoccupied thinking about it and then night time rolls around, or maybe even the next day, and you finally have that cake because you can’t stop thinking about it, and suddenly you’ve eaten three times as much as you probably would have in the first place if you’d just allowed yourself to eat it.
So I’m not saying we should have cake for every meal or every snack, but having a piece of cake (or insert other off-limits food) when you want it is not nearly as detrimental as we think it may be. Our preoccupation with banning foods and thinking we can never have them often leads us to overeat to the point of discomfort when we finally give in to our craving for them. And we spend hours thinking about food when we don’t need to be.
It is scientifically proven that restricting our intake of food is not beneficial and generally has the opposite intended effect over the long term (i.e. we usually binge on it when given the opportunity). If you have a negative relationship with food, building a healthy relationship is something that takes both practice and time to develop. If this is something you struggle with, it also may be beneficial to see a registered dietitian to help you get to a point where you’re not preoccupied with food.
A lot of what this comes down to is our ability to develop and sustain balanced, healthy eating patterns. Most of these things that I’ve discussed above are pieces and ideas taken out of certain diets or the diet mentality that is so present in our culture. They’ve become so ingrained that cutting out certain food groups or nutrients altogether is normal in some way.
It is my philosophy as a dietitian that a balanced eating pattern is best for us — one that leans more towards fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, but doesn’t entirely exclude those other food choices that have been deemed by society as unhealthy in some way. And it’s not just my own philosophy, it’s one that time and time again has been backed by science. So the next time you hear a diet-backed statement about excluding certain foods, let’s call it a bunch of baloney like it probably is, and carry on making choices that lend to a balanced overall eating pattern.
