It’s Week 3 of National Nutrition Month! This week’s focus is “Eat a Variety of Foods from All Food Groups.”
Why does that matter? Why should we focus on including all food groups when so many diets are telling us to CUT OUT food groups? What about gluten? Dairy? Sugar? There has to be something we should avoid, right?
I’ll also share what I tell my kids when they ask if a food is “healthy.”
{Please note that the following information is for educational and informational purposes only. While I am a dietitian, I’m not your dietitian… yet. 🙂 }
When people first find out I’m a dietitian…
their responses are so interesting… many feel compelled to tell me about their latest diet, how they were so “bad” for eating a dessert the night before, or ask my opinion on going keto, gluten-free, you name it.
Quite honestly, most dietitians you meet will often tell you the importance of INCLUDING a variety of foods. Yes, between food groups, but also within food groups.
Why is it important to include a variety of foods? Different foods provide us with different nutrients.
Carbs, like grains, starches, and starchy vegetables are important for quick energy.
They’re our brain’s preferred fuel source and a good source of B vitamins. They also give us the building blocks for serotonin. They can help us feel satisfied with a meal. Very often, if I have a client who eats in a lower-carb/higher protein style, with meals of protein and veggies, they’ll often find that they feel more satisfied when they start to include carbs. Less-refined carbs are also good sources of fiber.
What about gluten? The grains wheat, barley and rye are where we see gluten, along with products made from those grains. It can also show up in things you wouldn’t expect, like soy sauce. Gluten must be avoided in certain conditions, such as Celiac disease. However, if you suspect that you have Celiac disease, you don’t want to completely eliminate it until you’ve had your lab work completed, or it can result in a false negative. For some people with autoimmune conditions, they feel better, as in more energetic and less inflamed, when they minimize gluten. For people in that situation, I usually encourage them to include gluten-containing foods to tolerance. It could be that on an average day, it won’t impact them much. But if they’re experiencing a flare, they might need to back off until that’s resolved.
Fruits and vegetables are super nutrient dense with a variety of vitamins and minerals.
They also are good sources of fiber. When we eat different colors of fruits and vegetables, we actually diversify our antioxidant intake, which is great at helping to reduce inflammation. (Yes, even the white ones, like bananas and cauliflower.)
Dairy is the most bioavailable source of calcium we can get.
It’s also interesting in that it’s the only food group that contains all three macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat – as long as it’s not skim/fat-free). Aside from calcium, dairy is also a good source of magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, selenium, among other nutrients. Some people with certain health conditions might anecdotally feel better when they minimize dairy. If that’s you, make sure you’re getting another good source of those nutrients. For example, soy milk is nutritionally similar to dairy, but nut milks, oat milk, and rice milk are very low in protein compared to dairy milk.
Protein is very important for many reasons.
It helps minimize blood sugar and insulin spikes. It gives us building blocks for our muscles and for our immune system. Getting adequate protein can also help to minimize swelling. Protein-rich foods also tend to be a good source of iron.
Fats help create a sense of satiety and fullness at meals.
If you’re decently hungry and you just eat an apple, my guess is you’ll feel hungry soon after eating it. But, if you eat an apple with peanut butter, your hunger will be satisfied for much longer. Fat is also important for our eye and brain health and for helping to absorb fat-soluble vitamins. That’s one reason I encourage dips, like salad dressing, hummus, or guacamole, to go with raw veggies.
So there’s a rundown of why it’s important to include a variety of foods throughout your day.
However, one thing my clients know is that I also encourage people to eat a variety of food groups at each meal and snack. This helps to increase satiety and help make sure that you’re getting that variety throughout the day.
So, that do I say when my kids (or a client) ask me if a food is healthy?
I tell them that the healthiest thing they can do is to eat a VARIETY of foods. No one food is healthy in the sense that we could get our full nutrient intake from that ONE type of food. We all know that eating large amounts of sweets, salty snacks, or other FUN foods isn’t a clear path towards health. But neither is only eating chicken breasts or broccoli or quinoa. We’d be missing out on so many nutrients if we put our blinders on like that.
Getting a variety of foods at meals and snacks actually helps us to regulate fun foods. With a variety, we’re not putting all of the pressure to feel full and satisfied from eating on the fun foods. The more nutrient-dense foods have that job and the fun foods can just be that… fun!
I’d love to hear if there are any food groups you tend to minimize or avoid OR if you’ve been able to reincorporate a food that you’ve previously avoided.
If this article was helpful, please subscribe and share.
If you live in IL or MO and would like some personalized nutrition guidance OR if you struggle with food or eating in a way that fuels your life and keeps you energized for all of your passions, please reach out to schedule an appointment.
Until next time!