Скачать или смотреть One Donut Does Not a Bad Diet Make

In today’s video, I respond to some comments that a user made against my argument that we shouldn’t be labeling foods as “good” or “bad”, nor do we need to completely forbid nutrient-devoid foods from our diet. This individual cited a 2019 study by Murray.

This person’s argument is one that many, many try to make. I’ll show you why this argument is invalid.

This particular study aimed to quantify the impact of “suboptimal” dietary intake on non-communicable diseases mortality and morbidity.

Researchers examined numerous dietary factors, including mean daily consumption/intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and more. They found that poor dietary habits at the population level was a risk factor for several health outcomes. These findings are not surprising, and I also don’t disagree with them.

In the Discussions section, they wrote, “suboptimal diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risks globally, including tobacco smoking,” but as I mention in my video, this doesn’t mean that having one donut equates to a “bad diet,” nor does it equate to being worse than smoking.

Unfortunately, this paper does not support this individual’s argument. Their mistakes include:

❌assuming that one food in isolation provides an accurate picture of the quality of overall diet
❌assuming that eating a donut means that your fruit, vegetable, legume etc. consumption is low (in reality, you can both eat a donut and still consume plenty of nutrient-dense foods throughout the day)
❌taking one statement made in a research paper and making a huge logical leap that does not work
❌resorting to appeal to authority at the end

Should we be encouraging a diet high in nutrients? Absolutely.
And should we also be teaching people not to demonize foods? For sure.
Is it okay to have some nutrient-devoid foods every now and then and still have an overall high quality diet while maintaining a healthy relationship with food? You bet.

All three of these statements can be true at the same time.

One donut - or two donuts, or three donuts - does not a bad diet make.

Don’t miss the forest for the trees.

SoheeFit.com