Don't get me wrong -- I love a taco. The warm crispy shell, the thinly-sliced lettuce and savory ground beef... they are delicious. However, receptive eating patterns of any kind can cause an imbalance in your diet, causing large nutrient gaps that can lead to significant health issues. Palaestra, the journal for adapted sport, physical education, and recreational therapy, reports that we should incorporate 35 different foods per week in our diet.
Over the past few years, I have experimented with options for tracking food for my nutrition clients. From the classic written food journal to my new favorite, the food photo journal concept. Yes -- now that we are all snapping pictures of what we eat, nothing is easier than taking a quick shot of your menu before you dig in. What I found in the first few weeks of this new food-selfie approach was astounding.
A majority of my clients dealing with specific diseases related to nutrition, such as diabetes, obesity and eating disorders, have excessive repetitive eating patterns.
They may be eating 50 meals, but repeating the same basic foods over and over again. Last week I snatched a phone from a client's hand and asked, "How many times in a week are you going to eat this cereal?! I mean, are you a stockholder?!" Not only does a lack of nutritional diversity create nutritional cavities in your diet, it also can create a feeling of boredom that can cause you to cheat on your healthy regimen and head right for that White Castle drive-through for chicken rings. Yes, you heard me: chicken rings on your ride home from work.
Food is just like a relationship; you have to keep it spicy, literally, in order to keep your body well-adjusted and satisfied. Here are three things you can do today to embrace nutritional diversity:
Go Seasonal. Look toward your inner hippie and use the seasons as an easy guide to diversifying your yearly menu. Remember that each food has a singular composition of vitamins and minerals. Changing the types of fruits and vegetables throughout the year allows you to eat a diversity of nutrients just by switching up your ingredients.
Eat Like An Artist. Using color as a guide is an excellent option for the introduction of new foods to your diet. Each week, take on a new color and eat at least one new thing in that color. Make it a purple week and try cabbage or eggplant. Next week go for red and add in some radishes or cherries. You can actuality see that some food contain different phytonutrients. For example, beta-carotene is a red-orange pigment plentiful in plants and fruits like carrots.
Double Dip. Go old school and try foods that you may not have enjoyed years ago. Many palates adapt and casting aside an entire category of foods is a rash and unnecessary decision. Giving a menu element a fresh look may change your mind and allow all its nutrients back in your rotation.
At the end of the day, I understand that many people are creatures of habit, but if we make an effort to mix it up a bit and embrace new foods into daily lives and our menu-planning, it will create for an overall healthier you.