In order to be healthy, you have to have a diet that consists of no sugar, no processed food, a limited number of calories, only drink water, no sweetened beverages, only eating during a certain window…
Diet culture has led many individuals to believe these statements. Especially with the world of social media and access to other people’s beliefs regarding health, diet, and food, there has been an influx in advice that we are told are necessary. Some of this advice comes from dietitians or nutritionists, but many of it stems from creators on digital platforms sharing their unprofessional opinions with their audiences. When this information reaches a vulnerable individual, it can create damage in relationships with eating and increase food noise. Not only can this cause worsening mental health, it harms body image, self perception, and can even lead to a decline in our physical health.
In order to be a healthy individual, cutting certain foods out is never a top priority for most individuals. While it is smart advice to reduce our consumption of overly sugary or processed foods, it is more than okay to indulge in a sweet treat or our guilty-pleasure frozen foods from time to time. Cutting out foods as a whole is often linked to binge-eating, as we ignore our cravings for a long period of time until we lose control and overconsume.
Some of the foods that we are told to take out of our diet can be harmful for our health. For example, there are diets that revolve around cutting out carbs or fats. Carbs are necessary for energy and fiber in our bodies, and are not the problem within our diet. Rather, the problem stems from the type of carbs we are consuming, which can be resolved by switching to whole grain options. The same can be applied to fats, a primary source for vitamin absorption and hormone regulation. Nut butters, nuts, and olive oil are examples of healthy fats that allow us to receive fat in our body without the negative effects certain fat sources may have. If we were to cut out carbs or fats completely from our diets, severe fatigue, brain fog, and rapid water weight loss would all occur–leading us to be unhealthier than we were before starting the diet.
Diet culture also promotes eating ‘routines’ that could also be harmful to individuals. A severe decrease in the amount of calories we are consuming, an unfortunately popular goal being 1,200, actually slows down our metabolism and does not work for weight loss in the long-term. Strictly clean eating and avoiding all processed or sugary foods can lead to a sense of anxiety around “unclean” foods, a disorder known as orthorexia. Intermittent fasting or ‘one meal a day’ diet routines are typically linked also with severe calorie restriction, and has been reported to lead to binging and restriction cycles.
Living a healthy lifestyle with a healthy diet is important for every single person. A healthy diet, though, includes moderation, not deletion from our diet. Any advice regarding diets or routines need to be taken with a grain of salt, and researching any changes we may make to our lifestyle is important to be aware of both the benefits and the risks. Eating one cookie after dinner will not make us gain ten pounds. Drinking a soda with lunch is not going to immediately ruin our health. Allowing ourselves to enjoy the greasiest processed food we know sometimes will not kill us!
