I will apologize in advance for the negative spin on the post! I have written posts on some of these trends separately and some I have not mentioned before, however I felt it was necessary to get them all off my chest. I think as a society we are largely over-complicating nutrition and we are always looking to alter our way of eating in order to achieve our goals. This has created a culture of elimination and food shame…which are not healthy ways of viewing food! Let me dive into some of my least favourite food trends.
1) The ‘Free’ Diets
There are people who have legitimate food intolerances and allergies who actually need a diet that is ‘free’ of something. Everyone else- eliminating one food group/ item won’t necessarily make a difference in your health. It’s not the wheat that’s making you bloated, it’s all those crackers you used to eat that aren’t allowed on your gluten free diet. Cut the junk, lose the weight.
2) Cleanses/Detox Diets
Your body doesn’t function like a sewer pipe. The role of your kidneys and your liver is to filter toxins out – you would know if these weren’t working right (…you would feel sick). Cleanses can also be detrimental in that they provide you with false insurance. “No problem, I will eat like crap for a couple weeks, I’m doing a cleanse at the end of the month!”
3) Demonizing One Food Component
It was fat, now it’s sugar. We can’t blame all of our health issues on carbohydrates. What is more likely the cause of our health issues is that we eat far more processed foods, and far less whole foods than we should. We have always known that sugar isn’t something we need a lot of. Eat less processed foods and you will be okay.
4) Juicing
Yes, green juices can be very healthy. Of course it’s always good to chew your greens to reap the fibrous benefits, but green juices do contain a lot of good stuff. It’s the juices or smoothies that have eight servings of fruit and tons of sugar that are an issue. Two to three servings of fruit a day is sufficient for most people. Juice is not fruit, it’s sugar water. Eat the whole fruit.
5) Superfoods
No one food is going to save your life or make you healthier — Dr. Oz really needs to stop telling people this. It’s what you eat overall that really counts. I’m glad that people are willing to branch out and try new foods such as kale, freekeh, goji berries and the like, but let’s be clear: you don’t need kale in your cookies.
What trend do I love?
The Changing Culture of Nutrition
Nutrition isn’t only about trendy diets or losing weight anymore — the culture of nutrition is changing to involve new foods going mainstream (quinoa, for example), a push for families to cook together, and far more awareness about where food is actually coming from. Nutrition would take on quite the negative spin if it was only paid attention to by those interested in losing weight.