Ask a Dietitian

As seen on BCTV December 24/02

(Excerpts from The 101 Most Asked nutrition Questions by Patricia Chuey)

Food is so much more than a mere physical fuel. Sure you need to eat for the critical reasons of nourishing your cells, organs and bones, but for most people, food holds much deeper meaning and plays many more roles than the mere fueling of the body. Food is comfort, chocolate as a reward, chicken soup when you’re sick. Food is fun and represents celebrations like birthdays and Christmas feasts. Food is pleasure and a a celebration of tastes. For some food is a hobby and for others, myself included, food is a profession.

Regardless of the factors influencing our food choices, we are incredibly fortunate to live in a culture with unlimited access to an abundance of safe, quality food. However, while we salivate over mouth-watering recipes and are exposed to professional photos making gourmet desserts look irresistible, we also live in a society that places undue pressure on appearance-encouraging staying lean and looking healthy. Our challenge as consumers of both physical and mental nourishment is to find a balance point between enjoying food for pleasure, comfort, reward and all the other deep-rooted emotional reasons while nourishing ourselves for good physical health.

There are a few key principles when it comes to eating for energy. First, realize that good nutrition means eating a variety of foods. Many people get stuck in a routine of eating the same five to ten staple foods over and over again: pasta, bananas, bagels, chicken, carrot sticks and lettuce salad. But we need to mix things up a little. Our body always adapts, so to prevent it from getting bored and adapting, stimulated it by “cross-training” your diet or eating a variety of healthy foods. This is also a critical factor in successful weight management. Many of our clients at Eating for Energy come in wondering why they can’t lose weight. They eat low calorie, low fat food. But often the problem is due in part to eating the same limited variety over and over. Their bodies are bored!

Everything in moderation. Moderation is the second key principle of healthy eating. Don’t feel you should totally avoid certain foods. Rather, focus on getting your quota of healthy, required foods for the day to meet your body’s minimum needs and to help reduce cravings for the wrong stuff. It’s better to have extra non-nourishing foods above and beyond your basic needs than to have the wrong stuff in place of the right food. Tell yourself that you are the boss of your own body. You can eat whatever you want whenever you want to. There is no nutrition police! But if your goal is to be healthier, then within the great variety of choices you have, aim to choose the right food at least 80 percent of the time. Think of this as the 80-20 Rule. And note that 5 out of 7 days is only 71 percent of the time. So don’t think that if you eat right all week you can write off every weekend and go crazy indulging!

However, do keep in mind the Pleasure Maximization Principle when you do indulge. If you’re going to ingest foods or drinks that offer little nutritional value -such as coffee, beer, jelly beans , pop , sugary cakes and so on-make the indulgence worthwhile. If the food offers no nutritional value at least aim to get maximum psychological pleasure out of it. Food is much more than mere fuel and sometimes-Christmas, birthdays or even just a tough day at work- we need to reward ourselves. It’s only when you are rewarding yourself with non-nourishing foods more than 20 percent of the time, that it may become cause for concern. Actually, it’s interesting to know that the more you actually salivate and enjoy food, the more calories you will burn and the more energized you will feel. As sophisticated as we think we are, we’re still mammals. It’s true. More pleasure means a metabolism boost. It’s okay to seek pleasure with the less healthy choices, but it’s more important to find pleasure in your day-to-day meals and snacks. Picture a savoury piece of marinated grilled fish with an exotic fruit salsa on the side and lightly sit-fried vegetables. Mmmmmm! How about a cold, frothy strawberry-banana smoothie? Make it good and it will pay off to both your taste buds and your energy level. Remember, healthy eating is not about giving up or settling for less. It’s about achieving the nutritional and lifestyle balance to live life to its fullest.

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV’s Noon News Hour!