In the varied is the taste or "what you have to do is eat everything" are common tips with which, with the best intention, is encouraged to enjoy all foods and not radically eliminate any of them from the diet, referring to the fact that they all provide us with the nutrients we need and that the balance between all of them is healthy.
That is why we tend to think that variety in food is something intrinsically good, positive and healthy. But some research suggests that variety is not always a good thing, as it can lead to the inclusion in the diet of certain products that are unhealthy and of which, the lower the intake, the lower the intake.
This is what the American Heart Association highlights in a recent publication that reviews the rates and tips for variability in foods that are considered healthier:
Varied is not synonymous with healthy
In fact, as Luis Jiménez tells in his blog Lo que dice la ciencia sobre adelgazar, the suspicion and confirmation that a more varied diet is not necessarily a better diet is not new.
In 1995, the first edition of the Healthy Eating Index (an index that calculates the healthfulness of a diet) gave some influence to variability, which could contribute up to 10% of the positive value assigned to an eating pattern. But in 2006, a revision of that index changed that particular aspect and eliminated variety as a positive factor per se.
Better to focus on specific foods
The American Heart Association, which compiles the evidence available to date on the relationship between dietary variety and obesity, eating behavior and diet quality, has now made the same pronouncement and concludes that there is no evidence to recommend variety as a strategy to promote healthy eating patterns and a healthy weight.
Therefore, and taking into account what is known, the association recommends emphasizing adequate consumption of plant-based foods, low-fat dairy products, vegetable oils and nuts, and reducing consumption of sugary foods and beverages and red meat.
Because although we have been hearing all our lives that the healthiest thing to do is to eat "everything", the truth is that "everything" may include some things that, the more we limit, the better, even if that means a less varied diet.
