A Key Caveat to "Everything in Moderation"
I’m used to it by now, but it’s still a little awkward when I first meet someone who—while taking a big bite of a hotdog or something of equal nutritional reputation—innocently asks me what I do for a living.
Laughing, or with a sheepish grin, they might say:
“I promise, I usually eat healthy!”
Or,
“Everything in moderation, right?”
My default response to most nutrition questions is usually, “it’s complicated.” But, I know most people say, “everything in moderation, right?” with the same expectation they have when they ask someone, “How are you?” as they walk by. They don’t really expect (or want?) a genuine response.
So, getting to the caveat, I’m going to try to lay out the two extreme camps on the spectrum of the “everything in moderation” issue.
The “everything in moderation” or “all foods fit” camp:
Some nutrition professionals (and social media influencers) believe that everyone should eat whatever food—including as much ultra processed food (UPF)—as they want, at any time. We’ll call these folks the “everything in moderation” camp. They say that “all foods fit.”
The “ultra processed foods aren’t real food” camp:
Others think it’s wrong to encourage people to eat any and all food products, even in moderation, especially UPFs. They say UPFs like sugary cereals, sodas, deli meat, and white breads aren’t “real” food and sometimes call them “toxic.”
I’m not going to provide any gray area arguments for either camp because some people wholeheartedly believe those characterizations exactly as I’ve written them. Of course, there are people (like me, and maybe you?) who know there’s some truth in each of these positions.
The big caveat: if someone hasn’t had the opportunity to eat a whole food-based diet, they haven’t experienced the physical effects and feedback mechanisms inherent to this way of eating. This alone makes it more challenging to eat “everything in moderation.”
Ultra processed foods bypass natural signaling mechanisms
When we consume primarily UPFs we miss out on the natural feedback mechanisms that help us feel full and prompt us to stop eating. Ultra processed foods often bypass our ability to naturally know when we’ve had enough. For example, when we eat chips, we might finish the bag and feel like we could eat more. This is exactly what the food companies that create these products expect and hope for. They want us to just keep eating. These types of foods—often high in sodium, sugar and other flavorings (hyper-palatable); low in fiber, protein, and other nutrients—bypass our natural signaling mechanisms that make us feel full or satisfied after eating, and thus, they keep us wanting more. I talked about this in a previous newsletter about Intuitive Eating.
People’s agency over their food choices
While ideally everyone—at least, every adult—chooses what, when, and how much they eat. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to or familiar with making those choices. Some people have only ever eaten primarily UPFs. In fact, UPFs make up 58% of the total consumed calories in the US and 66% of the caloric intake in US children. (1) This tells us that most people are eating UPFs as the majority of their total daily energy intake (calories), so not everyone’s “choice” in the matter is based on the same eating experience or dietary landscape.
When whole foods aren’t familiar foods, we’re less likely to choose them.
If a child grows up in a family with limited resources or whose caregivers don’t know how (or have time) to prepare whole foods (i.e. wash, peel, cut, and cook vegetables), then they haven’t felt the difference between eating a standard American diet and a whole food-based diet. This limits both their physiological familiarity with whole foods and it their likelihood of eating UPFs “in moderation.”
As I discussed in the intuitive eating newsletter, one of the 10 principles is to “make peace with food,” which involves giving yourself unconditional permission to eat whatever and whenever you want. And while I do embrace this principle (you’re an adult who can make your own eating decisions, right?), it doesn’t make sense if a person isn’t familiar with the broad spectrum of all available foods (i.e. they haven’t eaten a lot of whole foods). We know from research that when someone isn’t used to eating fruits and vegetables, they’re less likely to choose them. (2)
Nod to the “Everything in moderation” camp
There are many reasons that “everything in moderation” is a healthy approach to eating and nutrition. Eating disorders and disordered eating pose real—sometimes life-threatening—health risks. Making eating decisions solely based on the nutritional quality is pretty limiting. Besides vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, food brings us together socially, its central to any celebration, it offers a window into other cultures, and sometimes we eat certain foods because they just taste good.
Nod to the “UPF isn’t real food” camp
There are very real reasons to be skeptical that “all foods fit” when our landscape of food (especially in developed countries) is primarily made of UPFs (see statistics above). Our perception of what’s “normal” is more likely a diet full of foods known to increase risk for chronic diseases. It’s crazy to me that it’s “counterculture” to eat whole foods. In other words, quality foods and fruits and vegetables are hard to find, expensive, more difficult to access, and they’re often inconvenient. We can say the complete opposite for packaged and convenience foods. Not to mention that UPFs are hyper-palatable, and they’re often high in calories and low in micronutrients. (3) These food products are made with the same goal in mind that social media executives have: keep people hooked and wanting more.
So, while “everything in moderation” helps us keep a healthy perspective on nutrition (one meal or snack won’t make or break our health), I try to keep in mind that we might not want to let social norms and behaviors dictate the majority of our food choices, especially if we want to eat with our health and wellbeing in mind.
Thanks for taking the time to read today’s newsletter. I’d really love your thoughts on this topic, so I’ve opened comments to everyone. Please hit reply to this email or comment below my article within Substack.
Leigh
P.S. Another caveat to “everything in moderation” is with food allergies, celiac disease, and other severe adverse food reactions. In these cases, even small amounts of a food can cause serious harm to an individual. For nuance around the topic of gluten, see my Does Everyone Need to be Gluten-Free? newsletter.
P.P.S. I wrote a guest blog post about elimination diets that was published this week. Feel free to check it out if you’re curious!
References
Kelly AL, Baugh ME, Oster ME, DiFeliceantonio AG. The impact of caloric availability on eating behavior and ultra-processed food reward. Appetite. 2022 Nov 1;178:106274.
Korinek EV, Bartholomew JB, Jowers EM, Latimer LA. Fruit and vegetable exposure in children is linked to the selection of a wider variety of healthy foods at school. Maternal & child nutrition. 2015 Oct;11(4):999-1010.
Sutton CA, Stratton M, L'Insalata AM, Fazzino TL. Ultraprocessed, hyper‐palatable, and high energy density foods: Prevalence and distinction across 30 years in the United States. Obesity. 2024 Jan;32(1):166-75.