Better to eat many different foods or a limited variety?
Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:35 am
Hi Jeff,
Is there any evidence showing that eating a large variety of foods is any better than eating a small variety of foods?
I have always been told to eat many varieties of each food groups to get all the needed nutrients. However when I have had the opportunity to visit native traditional societies, it is noticeable that they eat from the same small group of food products 99% of the time.
As the joke goes: they eat rice and beans for breakfast, beans and rice for lunch and they mix their leftovers for dinner. It could be corn and black beans, or rice and lentils, etc. The idea is that the same foods are eaten on a daily basis. Usually a grain and a legume with a small portion of vegetables and other food products.
It has been argued that they eat this way because that is all they have. Or all they can afford. Or that they don’t know any better. Others have argued that one’s digestive system gets perfectly used to a smaller number of foods and it performs much better with the adequate combination of bacterial flora and the right amount of enzymes and bile for their limited diet. Hence they argue in favor of a simplified diet and that there are no advantage to eating several kinds of grains or legumes.
Looking at the Okinawa traditional diet, they were eating a limited amount of food products and that did not stop them from becoming one of the most famous group of centenarians.
For myself, I do enjoy eating very similar meals day after day. I don’t get bored and/or feel that anything is missing. My “belief” is that it is important to eat a variety of “food groups” but that it is not necessary at all to eat a variety of products within each food group. One representative of each group is just fine. One grain, one legume, one green leafy vegetable, one root vegetable, one fruit, etc. But really my question is: even though it may be fine to eat a limited diet, is there actually any advantage to it?
Your thoughts? I understand this may be more of an anthropological question than a nutritional question but I am curious- are you aware of any research about this topic?
Thanks
Is there any evidence showing that eating a large variety of foods is any better than eating a small variety of foods?
I have always been told to eat many varieties of each food groups to get all the needed nutrients. However when I have had the opportunity to visit native traditional societies, it is noticeable that they eat from the same small group of food products 99% of the time.
As the joke goes: they eat rice and beans for breakfast, beans and rice for lunch and they mix their leftovers for dinner. It could be corn and black beans, or rice and lentils, etc. The idea is that the same foods are eaten on a daily basis. Usually a grain and a legume with a small portion of vegetables and other food products.
It has been argued that they eat this way because that is all they have. Or all they can afford. Or that they don’t know any better. Others have argued that one’s digestive system gets perfectly used to a smaller number of foods and it performs much better with the adequate combination of bacterial flora and the right amount of enzymes and bile for their limited diet. Hence they argue in favor of a simplified diet and that there are no advantage to eating several kinds of grains or legumes.
Looking at the Okinawa traditional diet, they were eating a limited amount of food products and that did not stop them from becoming one of the most famous group of centenarians.
For myself, I do enjoy eating very similar meals day after day. I don’t get bored and/or feel that anything is missing. My “belief” is that it is important to eat a variety of “food groups” but that it is not necessary at all to eat a variety of products within each food group. One representative of each group is just fine. One grain, one legume, one green leafy vegetable, one root vegetable, one fruit, etc. But really my question is: even though it may be fine to eat a limited diet, is there actually any advantage to it?
Your thoughts? I understand this may be more of an anthropological question than a nutritional question but I am curious- are you aware of any research about this topic?
Thanks