SALT LAKE CITY – We’ve all heard it before: dietary rules you must follow if you’re on a diet or want to eat healthy.
Does moving away from these rules mean cheating your diet or preventing you from living your healthier life?
Not necessarily. In fact, there are some dietary and dietary rules that dietitians say are okay (and can even encourage you) to break down.
Here are seven food “rules” you don’t have to live by to have a healthy life, and you may find some relief in knowing that these rules can be better broken.
Only eat “good” foods
All diets have a list of good and bad foods. Out-of-bounds foods are often labeled as “bad for you”. So what happens when you eat foods labeled bad? Are all your efforts in vain? Are you a bad person to eat this food?
“Labeling foods as good / bad or healthy / unhealthy makes us feel guilty when we eat so-called‘ bad ’foods,” said registered dietitian Maria Adams, an adjunct professor at Endicott College.
Adams went on to explain that food is neither good nor bad. Food has no moral value. It’s just food and “all foods have a place in the diet,” he said. When you realize that all foods are neither inherent nor good or bad, they begin to open doors to a more flexible and realistic eating pattern.
Do not eat after 7 p.m.
Cutting back on food at a given time is a common diet rule; however, she is not a registered dietitian that Anne Mauney suggests you follow.
“Ignoring your body’s directions will simply let you wake up hungry in the middle of the night,” Mauney said. “The amount of time you should stop eating depends largely on what works for your body and your lifestyle.”
If you’re really hungry in the evening, go eat. Don’t let a clock tell you when you’re hungry, let your body tell you.
That said, if you’re often hungry at night, Mauney recommends exploring why.
“For example, are your early-day meals too small, unsatisfactory, or unbalanced in terms of macronutrients?” she asks.
Don’t eat carbs
Carbohydrates have been the most recent macronutrients demonized by popular fad diets that claim that staying away from carbs will lead you to a healthier and happier life. However, whole grains and starchy vegetables like sweet potato, oats, quinoa, and brown rice can be included in a healthy diet, according to registered dietitian nutritionist Lisa Young, author of “Finally Complete, Finally Thin.” .
“As with any food, (carbohydrates) won’t cause weight gain unless you eat too much,” Young said.
Our body works best when it is fed with various foods, including those that contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the preferred energy source for our brain. In addition, whole grains, fruits, and many starchy vegetables provide key nutrients for our body, such as fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, and benefit our gut health.
Eat 6 small meals a day
There is no fixed amount of food that needs to be eaten every day for optimal health. As with any food pattern, what works best for one person may not work for another person. If you don’t have time to take six short breaks throughout the day to eat, it might be best to eat three meals a day. If you feel better eating small amounts of food more often, do so.
You can eat just as healthy by eating three meals a day as you can with six meals a day. Eating three 600-calorie meals a day will cause the same thermal effect as eating six 300-calorie meals a day. There is no difference in your metabolism whether you eat more often or not as long as you eat the same amount of calories.
What really matters is that each person uses their individual circumstances to determine how often they should eat. Whatever you choose, be consistent, as your body will respond better and you will feel better with regularly spaced meals, whatever your case.
Do not eat anything white
White bread, white rice, white pasta, white potatoes and even bananas are often some of the first things that go away when people diet.
Registered dietitian nutritionist KeyVion Miller said she often hears from patients who are told not to eat these foods. He suggests that a better idea is to encourage people to pair these foods with lots of vegetables or add a high-fiber food like beans, peas or lentils to increase the nutritional value of the whole meal.
For example, if you are serving a chicken stir-fry over white rice, add extra vegetables to the stir-fry to increase color and nutrients. Or if you love white potatoes, chop them and roast them in the oven with a variety of vegetables for a delicious dish.
“Even a so-called‘ perfect ’diet (which doesn’t exist) can give way to these foods,” Miller said.
Buy only the perimeter of the grocery store
This premise of this rule is that by buying only the perimeter of the store you would only acquire the freshest and healthiest foods as long as you stay away from processed and pre-packaged foods.
“The truth is, just by buying the perimeter of the grocery store, you lose tons of nutrient-dense foods like cereals, beans, canned vegetables and oils,” said registered dietitian nutritionist Kristen Smith.
Smith explained that foods like cereals and grains offer B vitamins and high-fiber ingredients to help you feel full. He also recommends venturing down the aisles so you don’t miss foods high in omega-3 fatty acids like nuts, canned fish, flax seeds and olive and canola oils, which can help brain health. and of the heart.
Never eat processed foods
There are many processed foods that can still be healthy for you. In fact, most of the food we buy in the store has been processed at least to some extent. For example, canned tuna, yogurt, frozen vegetables, soft cheese, canned beans, hummus and ground flax seeds have been processed from their original state to be what you see on store shelves.
Registered dietitian nutritionist Sarah Schlichter assures customers that it is okay to eat some processed foods.
“While we know that a diet rich in whole foods can have many benefits, processed foods can still bring nutrients to the table. But more than that, they can be a source of comfort and pleasure for busy snack or meal schedules. (e.g., minute rice, frozen pizza, chicken sausage, vegetable mixes, etc.), ”he said.
Schlichter recommends considering processed foods simply as foods made up of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. She says include them when needed or when needed to help reduce stress, support a consistent eating pattern, feed the family, and save money.
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