“Good” vs. “Bad” Foods
“How do I feel about cheese?” a client wants to know.
“I think the better question is, how do YOU feel about cheese?” I replied.
I’m often asked by clients what my opinion is of various ingredients, dishes, brands, or even entire food groups. I’m sometimes taken aback when asked how I feel about an entire macronutrient, like protein. “Well, it’s essential for all human functioning, why do you ask?”
Having been through digestive dysfunction myself, desperate for answers, I completely understand the inclination to want an opinion from an expert. However, as a health coach, my job is to help you learn how to ask for the opinion of THE expert: YOU.
Even if I was an expert on your body, these are still difficult questions to give definitive answers to. Our society just loves to demonize and glorify foods. We get very uncomfortable with the gray areas, the in-betweens, the intangible. We tend to feel much better when we know for sure if something is “good” or “bad,” whether to eat it or to avoid it.
You can guess the obvious problem with this expectation. We, as humans, don’t fit into perfectly labeled boxes, and neither does the food we eat. To make it even more fluid, don’t forget that our bodies change over time, and the foods we eat could have different effects on us at different times, under different circumstance. For example, maybe you can eat peanut butter, but not peanut butter with eggs, or maybe you can have one teaspoon of sugar, but not two, or maybe you can have coffee in the afternoon but not first thing in the morning.
We can never get too comfortable with an answer, because the minute we can finally say “for sure” that a food works or doesn’t work for us, it just takes one bad cold, stressful event, pregnancy, or nothing at all, to have the rules change right out from under us!
When we label foods as “good” or “bad,” we miss the big picture, and frankly, miss out on many healthy, delicious things we could be eating. This can also lead to unhealthy food restrictions, and an unhealthy mindset about eating. For example, eating a food you have already decided is “bad,” will likely cause an undesirable effect in your body, and for some, may lead to punitive thoughts or behaviors long after they eat it.
The truth is, there are many foods that COULD be bad. But it is completely individual. I prefer to ask clients what THEY think is the right food for them, and more often than not, people have a good sense of it. The best ways to know if a food is right for you are to 1) use science, and 2) use good old fashioned intuition.
For example, salt is not inherently bad for everyone. However, if Joe has high blood pressure and knows salt can increase blood pressure, then reducing his salt intake can help. That would be science.
The intuition piece looks more like this: Sally eats salt and feels like crap. Sally then stops eating salt and feels better. Sally now knows that salt is not good for her.
In some cases, both methods of testing will confirm what you need to know. In my case, I know I have to avoid lactose because both my medical tests and my personal experimentation have confirmed it—it’s a no-go.
But in many cases, a food that does not agree with you, may not necessarily show up on a test. Likewise, having a measurable allergy to something is not the same as recognizing that it makes you feel bad.
Another reason why labeling foods as “right” or “wrong” won’t work is because the baseline for making that distinction is different for everyone. For example, for years I struggled with chronic diarrhea. As a result, I learned to avoid any foods that caused diarrhea. So as far as I was concerned, if a food caused a bit of gas, dry skin, foggy thinking, or a headache, I considered it okay to eat, as long as it didn’t give me diarrhea. Everyone has different thresholds and levels of discomfort they are willing to tolerate.
Besides, not every food will give the clear answer of either, Go Ahead Indulge or Avoid Like The Plague.
Cheese is a classic example that keeps coming up in sessions. A few others are grains and yogurt. Some people have horrible experiences with dairy, and others enjoy it freely without weight gain, digestive discomfort, or any other symptoms. Grains CAN be inflammatory and cause discomfort for some, and for others they provide beneficial fiber, protein, and energy. It’s completely subjective.
Bottom line is, I can’t tell you what’s good or bad, but I can help you figure out what’s good or bad for you.
That being said, there are a few foods that, generally speaking, are bad for everyone. I’ve listed them below. But even with this list, keep in mind, these are not to be demonized. Anything in moderation is fine, and it’s important to know that even if you do eat a “bad” food, it will not mess you up for life.
Foods that are generally not good in excess include:
Sugar
Alcohol
Caffeine
Processed foods
Excessive meat
Below is a list of foods that are known to be common irritants to many. These are the foods that are generally eliminated during an elimination diet and tested, one by one. This does not mean they are unhealthy or bad. Rather, they are worth experimenting with if you are trying to see if you have a reaction:
Soy
Wheat
Gluten
Eggs
Nuts and Seeds
Sugar
Alcohol
Dairy
Beans