Basic Principles of Good Dieting

Instructors who are looking for a readable recent article on diets and dieting for their students should take a look at the article entitled "Eating Made Simple" in the September issue of Scientific American (pp. 60-69). The article cuts through the confusing mountain of good and bad dietary advice out there by pointing out that the principles of good dieting are not in dispute – eat fewer calories, get more exercise, eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and reduce our intake of junk foods.

When we get too deep into the details, however, (Is this food better than that food? And better for what?), we are likely to confront conflicting advice. That’s because nutrition research is difficult do and often produces ambiguous results. To complicate matters, a lot of nutrition advice comes from sources that are trying to sell us something. (See the comments by the Scientific American editors on pages 38-39, entitled “Take Nutrition Claims with a Grain of Salt”.)

If we really could get students to focus on the basic principles – reduce their overall caloric intake, get more exercise, and try to become a bit more knowledgeable about which are the “good” food categories - the details probably wouldn’t matter all that much.