Categorizing foods as “good” or “bad” won’t help you lose weight, nutritionists warn.
According to a recent polemic by clinical nutritionist Shyla Cadogan, putting certain foods on a pedestal won’t help you lose weight or improve your health and may increase your risk of developing eating disorders.
She explains that all foods have positive qualities, even if they only provide energy when you’re hungry. And studies show that individual foods don’t predict poor health outcomes, but that diets work together.
Even worse, binary views about food are linked to binge eating, which can lead to weight gain.
“A habit of curbing all cravings is the fastest way to combat a binge-eating cycle,” says Ms Cadogan.
Nutritionists say that all foods are healthy in moderation and that putting them on a pedestal can lead to overeating, which increases the risk of weight gain
She adds that incorporating cravings into your diet “eliminates the urge to always want it and possibly have a craving for it at some point.”
Plus, she writes, the guilt and stress that comes from negative self-talk like “I felt so bad this week” can make dessert more harmful in moderation—increasing the risk of an eating disorder in which one person restricts food and even starves. yourself.
Other experts told DailyMail.com that they Ms. Cadogan shares concerns about the number of Americans who have this attitude toward food.
Kathleen Lopez, a registered dietitian from New Hampshire, said, “Each of us has an individual biochemistry, culture and genetic makeup, which means we respond to food differently—and like and dislike certain things.”
The holidays often bring feelings of temptation to eat less healthy foods like cakes and starches, but labeling certain foods as “good” and “bad” belies the fact that food is meant to nourish both the body and health. Soul
Food is neither good nor bad. They either work for you or they don’t!’
Avoiding an entire food group to lose weight—whether it’s carbohydrates, sugar, or highly processed foods—rarely works.
And it is scientifically proven.
In 2012, researchers at Tel Aviv University found that overweight adults who ate a high-protein breakfast and dessert later in the day lost as much weight as those who did not eat dessert.
Research shows that red meat and full-fat dairy products can be part of a healthy diet
Although red meat has been linked to cancer and heart problems in recent years, it is said to be a healthy diet as long as it is consumed in moderation. Researchers also named full-fat dairy products as one of six foods that are “critical” to reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
What’s more, unlike non-dessert eaters, they continued to lose weight even after the eight-month study ended. Experts say this is because eating a large sweet treat satisfies cravings and makes volunteers less likely to snack later in the day.
Moralizing food also carries serious mental health risks.
This is an important risk factor for eating disorders, but also for clinical eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.
Eating disorders fall on the spectrum between normal eating behavior and an eating disorder and typically involve a pattern of restrictive eating, compulsive eating or disordered eating.
Experts stress that eating disorders also carry some of the same risks associated with eating large amounts of highly processed, fatty and sugary “bad” foods, including heart disease, digestive problems, high blood pressure, weight gain and stroke.
Ms Cadogan said: “If you judge yourself for eating ‘bad’ food, you are doing more damage to yourself than to the actual food.”
“You put pressure on yourself to eat the ‘perfect’ way, which will never happen and is just inconvenient.”
People with underlying health conditions such as type 2 diabetes or obesity are advised to avoid added sugar and saturated fat, the experts say.
But nutritionists say you shouldn’t necessarily avoid these things entirely.
Ms Lopez says many Americans develop this attitude towards food out of fear of gaining weight – what some activists call “fatphobia”.
Women tend to consider themselves overweight at a lower body mass index (23.7), compared to men who tend to believe obesity starts at a BMI of 26.1, suggesting that women often thinking of them as heavier than they really are.
A 2012 study published in the journal Obesity found that about 16 percent of women say they have experienced discrimination because of their weight, up from 10 percent in 1995.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
