I’ve been an avid researcher of health and nutrition for over a decade now. I’ve read many books and have dissected the work of many different nutritionists and other knowledgeable folks in the field. The amount of different opinions out there is mind blowing. Title says it all what do you think makes a food nutritious or superior to another?
I think a lot of people spend too much time focusing on this food or that food. I don’t think nutrition is about individual items. It’s about the collective of things that are your diet. Is ice cream bad? Sure, if you eat it every day. But if you eat it once every 2 months, it’s an insignificant part of your diet and has, effectively, zero impact on your health.
Nutrition is simple and we’ve known the answer of ages, but people are always looking for ways around it: I say this as someone who eats meat and loves meat, but a diet high in a mix of vegetables is going to be nutritious. Iron in vegetables isn’t particular bio-available, which is why they generally recommend vegetarians get about 1.8x more iron, but accompanied with meat, you’ll absorb more of it. So meat in the diet is good too. A little red meat is fine, obviously a lot, not so healthy.
Eggs and dairy are really nutritious. Eggs have almost everything you need (except maybe vitamin C). Cheese is a great source of fat, calcium, protein and vitamin K.
That’s one of the amazing things about humans. We’re not made to eat one thing or two things, we’re made to eat a variety of things. And what constitutes a healthy diet can be a wide range of foods.
Does it provide a good macronutrients/calories and micronutrients/calories ratio?
Don’t think satiety is a variable when defining is a food is nutritious cuz if that was the case, I’d base my diet only around proteins.
Nutrients can be divided into micro- and macro- nutrients. Both are important, however the bulk of your daily calories come from macronutrients (carbs, fats, proteins) which is likely more important for survival.
Conversely, micronutrients (calcium, folate, iron, zinc, etc.) are nutrients the body needs in small amounts. Albeit micronutrients are essential for cell survival, their amounts are negligible.
Therefore, I’d say macronutrients are more important since they are required in larger amounts by cells. This includes foods high in protein/ carbs/ fats. Combine with vegetables/ micronutrients for the most nutritious meal!
The saying one man’s poison, another man’s medicine about sums it up, which is why the answer is a multifaceted and complex one.
So many variables: Toxic load of a persons system, in a food item itself, the variables of nutrients in the same food articles composition and also the individuals absorption abilities and needs, along with peoples health challenges, hormones and lifestyles make for quite the kaelidoscope of what is healthy and nutritious!
Some of us can eat nutritionally well and balanced diets, but without the ability to absorb it adequately, still end up with nutritional deficiencies, even while keeping it clean and unprocessed.This is quite a mystery with a lot of different answers and a really large area to dive into researching the whys and wherefores.
Short answer is the diversity is because one size does not fit all, no matter how hard it is pushed!
I know to eat foods of every color! Lots of color! The more the better! Red, yellow, green, blue, purple potatoes!
Colors mean life which means vitamins? Lol idk.
Stick with colors… I know Das right :)