what is healthy eating?

today is national healthy eating day

& today I heard on the radio that to celebrate we must eat “light”

upon hearing this, i had a couple of thoughts;
first of all. what is “light”? Are we talking about light mayo? or food that makes you feel light?
second of all why is light healthier? does this statement apply to everyone?

when a food is marketed as light, it just has less energy. when you are constantly consuming foods with less energy means that you’ll likely be hungrier later as you’re not giving your body the adequate energy it needs. ‘light’ foods are going to be less satiating than the regular version.

of course, there’s a time and place for light foods & all the other food listed. for example, i will use light mayo when using it in a recipe. however, knowing that this does not automatically increase the nutrient content of this dish, it just means the recipe will have less calories than it would if i had used full fat mayo.

but, not everything needs to be “light” & again just because it is marketed this way DOES NOT MEAN that it is healthy

this is just a reminder that a healthy diet is one rich in whole foods (such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans etc), one that makes you feel good, is sustainable and not like you have to restrict and foods.

a overall healthy diet leaves room for everything and does not restrict or have rules

that’s all

Happy National Healthy Eating Day! go eat some veggies