Are There Such Things as "Bad Foods?"

Don't eat this! That's bad for you! How many times have you heard stuff like that? Don't eat this, don't eat that, stay away from this, and cut out that, etc., etc. It could get a bit frustrating at times, doesn't it.

I was actually listening to someone giving a weekly talk about nutrition. What he has to say is usually valid, except that he could take it to the extremes. One night, he was talking about Vitamin Water, and how the water is fine -- except that it has sugar! Oh my! When two ladies walked into the session late and saw the Vitamin Water sitting on a table, they were joking amongst themselves, "I bet he says that it would make you gain 8 pounds!"

Yes, they were joking, but he has a reputation of saying that there are foods out there that you should just stay away from, because they are "junk." You don't want to put all this "junk" in your body. He has even taken it to the level where you really shouldn't eat anything that has a nutrition label. Fruits, veggies, and whole meat don't have nutrition labels. Cereals, breads, etc., all have nutrition labels. Why should you eat something that has been packaged and tampered with?

B ut he's not the only one who could take his views to the extreme. Others are just like him teaching that there are foods you need to stay away from. And even for me, it could become frustrating because simply put, if the food doesn't do anything for the body, then don't eat it.

My take on this view is that there are really no bad foods. Now, there are foods with some bad stuff in it, but the food overall isn't bad.

Think about it this way. ALL foods come from nature, everything from candy to the food from McDonald's. Everything is natural, and everything has at least ONE ingredient that the body could use. And all foods have at least one of the following essential ingredients: carbs, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Lollipops are liquidized sugar. Our bodies need the sugar. Meat has protein. We need protein. French fries has fat. Our bodies need fat. All foods have something that the body could use.

The problem with our health has little to do with what we eat as it does with how much of it we do eat. Eating only French fries would mess you up. But eating only carrots would do the same thing. Too much fat is just as bad has having too much of one vitamin. Both lead to health problems.

So, taking this into consideration, would eating a Snickers bar really hurt you? Does it have nothing that the body could use? It has sugar, fat, and protein. Yes, it has a lot of sugar and a lot of fat, but would it hurt to eat it once a day? Probably not if your overall diet for the day was good. Would eating a deep-fried butter ball from a state fair kill you? No, the body could use the fat and sugar from it, and if your overall diet is good, it won't harm you.

What if you ate something that has bad stuff added, such as artificial dyes and preservatives? This is where we need to recognize how complex your body is. It's able to filter out toxins (and toxins are anything that the body can't use). Now, everybody is not going to agree on how well the body could filter out these toxins, but if you're overloading your body with the bad stuff, it could do well in getting rid of whatever it doesn't need.

Think about this. What's the point of always trying to sanitize your hands if they are going to keep getting dirty. You wash your hands after you've used the bathroom and immediately turn the water off -- and the handle has germs! After washing your hands, you literally just picked up germs again. And then you grab a paper towel. More germs. You opened the door of the bathroom by touching the handle, then you rub your hair, drink from the water fountain, etc., etc. Your hands are full of germs again. But the good news is that your body has an immune system to cover this problem so that you don't have to stress over keeping yourself germ free.

Same thing with food. The body could filter out what it doesn't need through the liver and kidneys. As long as you're not overloading the body with toxins, your body is good to go. Enjoy that non-organic cheesecake!

Now, I'm BIG on organic foods and limiting the "junk." However, I also don't advocate avoiding the foods that you love. What I am saying is what most health experts would suggest: do everything in moderation. Vitamin Water with sugar is not a problem. A Snickers bar is not the problem. Your HABITS are the problem. Your body suffers because of your bad decisions, not because you ate a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Enjoy the foods that you love, but also be mindful of how much of that food you're putting into your body.

Aiyo A. Jones, M.S.
NCSF-Certified Fitness Trainer
Raleigh, NC
www.21dayhealthchallenge.com