Battle Between Good and Evil Food

So, there is debate in all disciplines of science, but nutrition is one of the most complicated fields of study because there are so many factors and humans are hard to study. There are few absolutes in the realm of science but here is one truth: Context dictates quality.

What I mean by that depends on when you have a certain type of food, depending the person that you are biologically (genetics/age/sex), depending on your goals, and depending on what your activity levels are like, will dictate how that food affects you.

Think about the fact that refined sugar is in Gatorade and it is beneficial for athletes running marathons. Good and Bad have to do entirely with what you wanted to do.

If food is giving you energy, it can be either good or bad regardless of where it comes from. A chocolate bar when you have nothing else to eat is at least calories. Too many bananas could potentially add to a diabetic response with insulin. Water in excess can actually drown your cells and become fatal.

One of our most common cultural norms is determining things in extremes or absolutes. We often only see things as “Bad” rather than less good. It is easier to label something as black or white because then any grey zone cannot exist. Grey zones are complicated and confusing. If I just told you sugar is bad, then you may stop eating desserts. If I told you that sugar in a dessert, at the right macro ratio with the right total energy intake, along with a good exercise routine, is completely fine, that may sound too confusing.

Food isn’t evil. Sugar or fat isn’t trying to kill you. It is trying to give you energy, and even enjoyment. What is evil is the lack of knowledge given to the population from reliable sources. Therefore, we end up getting only guided by those screaming absolutes “Sugar is Evil!”, rather than “it depends”.

I know you might be thinking “Processed food is garbage and causing most of the diseases” but I must stop you there, because food industry is not the only problem. Our modern culture is surrounded by dangerous indulgence. Creating this dichotomy of something like food being good or evil, when it is so intimate to our lives, is hypocritical and dangerous to our psychology. It’s hypocritical because a great deal of our culture is okay with alcohol despite the horrible impact it has on people. We could say the same about sex, weed, social media, video games and basically most modern day amusements.

An unfortunate result of labelling absolutes is then we get this feeling of guilt when we have a “bad” food, as if we have “cheated” and betrayed ourselves. We use these heavy narratives to guide us to better nutrition, which is an understandable goal, but is it working? And more importantly, who’s saying it? I’m willing to bet someone following someone who said something on some social media platform…..Great source.

I can tell you from my perspective, that with all my experiences interacting with people in the gym, or being around people eating what is commonly considered “bad” food, I’ve learnt no one gives a F%$# about my opinion unless they ask me for it. And I actually have a proper education on nutrition.

If you want to know if a food is good or bad, let’s simply say eating a food is more or less likely going to help me towards my goals. For example, eating some eggs for my first meal, with the right amount of protein, is very likely going to give me energy and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals). If I were to eat a donut first thing in the day, I am getting energy, but not much in the way of nutrients. Thus, it’s not likely going to benefit me as much. Don’t ask if it’s bad or good. Ask what is the most beneficial.

Next time when your nosey friend tries to tell you “you know that’s not healthy?“ ask them why; how they know that, what do they know about the rest of your diet, biology, and ask them what they know about your history as it relates to your health. Odds are they can’t answer that, and they should stick to figuring out the nutritional benefits of their own food choices.