Surely nutritional guidelines work for us all don’t they?
Before we dive into that question, this is the first post in a series that I will be writing as I walk through Tim Spector’s book Spoon Fed. This is not a book review per se, but rather a way that I can capture everything I learn factually, and how I will apply to my life. I’ve heard good things about this book so I’m excited to see what I learn!
Chapter summary – that we are all different
It is logical to think that there is one set of rules that if only everyone could follow… we would all be healthy. We see recommended daily amounts of nutrition printed on our ingredients, and for decades various governments have been advising us what and how much we should eat.
Even putting aside the scientific point of whether or not what we told is correct (disclosure – a lot of it isn’t). Is it not the case that there is an objective truth we will at some point settle on … that we could come up with a perfect diet for us all to eat?
This book sets out at the offset that this just isn’t the case, and it does so with a compelling argument. Now – before you give up at the outset or throw some item of food across the room in disgust… this is not to say by any stretch that all diets are equal. Could you ever say to someone consuming 5,000 calories a day that that is healthy. No, and that isn’t the thrust of it. Rather, can we say that the USDA guidelines shown in the plate is the ideal diet for everyone?
- That as a male I shoulder eat 2,500 calories a day, and as a woman 2,000?
- That we should eat the following portions of food…
- 39% from fruit and veg,
- 37% from cereals,
- 12% beans, pulses egg, fish and meat,
- 8% from dairy and milk,
- and 2% from fatty and sugary food?
- and that is just the very tip of guidelines.
Putting aside the amazingly painful difficulty in trying to compose a meal plan with such an exacting % target, and putting aside if the proportions are even close to correct. It misses the very fact that our bodies all respond so differently.
Key proofs that it’s a myth that nutritional guidelines work for us all.
Spoon Fed lays out some very clear reasons why we cannot just apply a blanket set of nutritional guidelines for us all…
1. Different foods have different effects on health outcomes and gut microbiome.
The studies showed that the body reacts to different food differently. This may sound obvious, but even foods with an apparently very similar nutritional value could have a very different impact on the health of an individual. This means that is it actually very difficult for us to rely on the nutritional information on a packet of food.
2. We all react so differently to food that the averages are not that useful
For nutritional guidelines to work the mean average would need to be good for most of. Unfortunately the studies undertaken show that the variations between how people respond to food are huge. Up to tenfold! Of the thousands of people tested, only 1% actually matched the average expected response.
Another study from Stanford University also gave very interesting results. 609 overweight and obese people were either put on a healthy low-fat or healthy low-carbohydrate diet. The results?
- No overall difference was found between the groups. Both had lost on average 13 lbs (6 kg) by the end
- But, within each group the differences between individuals was huge
- Some had lost up to 27kg,
- Whilst others had gained 9kg
In other words – if everyone sticks to one rigid set of guidelines… then it just won’t work everyone.
* NB there are other examples and support provided in the book. I have not linked to the sources, you can find these in the book Spoon Fed.
What it means for me
This was certainly an eye-opening and challenging chapter to start with. I went down a path of limiting carbohydrates, and playing around with intermittent fasting. Having seen such good results within just a month (down from 93 kg to 83kg), I was certain that this was the answer! But actually maybe this is just the answer for me, and no doubt countless others – but not everyone.
This is certainly an important reminder not to be too dogmatic either about our own personal experiences with nutrition, or indeed the results of various studies.
This is not all doom and gloom. As the chapter says at the end, this is not to say there are not good messages that can be applied to everyone. Cutting down on ultra processed food and sugars, whilst eating more fibre and plant-based food for instance.
But there is not one way that will work for everyone. Do nutritional guidelines work for everyone? No.