If you were to take a look at the health advice available everywhere from magazines to official government websites, you’d be forgiven for thinking that humans are basically incapable of making any kind of decision about their own diet without having the rules of healthy eating explained to them in great detail.
Now, it’s true that nutrition is complicated, even more so when a giant industry has sprung up around trying to sell people magical diets to fix all of their problems, but does that mean that we can’t make food decisions for ourselves? Clearly not. And according to some research, the best way to decide what we should eat is to listen to our own bodies.
There’s a concept called nutritional wisdom that scientists have observed in several animals and that they’re now tentatively considering may apply to humans, too (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666322001465?via%3Dihub). Basically, it’s the idea that we’re naturally drawn to food that contains the micronutrients we need.
When you think about it, it makes sense. Why else would someone develop cravings for food they normally dislike when they’re pregnant? Your nutritional requirements change when you’re also having to provide nutrition to a developing fetus. People who are ill want different foods than those who are well. Sometimes, perhaps your body does know best.
This may also explain why we’re attracted to sweet things. Fruit is one of the most essential sources of vitamins and minerals. It also tends toward a sweet taste. People who are in the early stages of scurvy, a form of vitamin deficiency, tend to develop a strong craving for more fruit, which also happens to be one of the best ways to top up your vitamin C.
The trouble comes in our modern world, where artificial flavorings and sweeteners pervade all kinds of different foods. The theory goes that this has disrupted our natural understanding of what we should eat. We’re attracted to unhealthy foods because they’ve been made to taste like the food we should want. There’s a book called “The Dorito Effect” that expands on this theory.
So, when it comes to diet, don’t worry quite so much. Rather than trying to stay on top of every new claim, listen to your own body and trust your own judgment. Everyone’s requirements are a little different. You may find that you’re quite capable of balancing your own nutritional needs.
