Is Everything in Moderation the Right Advice to Follow?

We've often been suggested to eat everything in moderation, obviously because too much of anything is bad for our health. This term 'in moderation' does get used a lot in relation to healthy food and a healthy lifestyle. The idea of the term is that it is alright to binge on less healthy foods, if not in excess, just less frequently, in moderation. Is this term really effective in a positive way? Is it the right advice given by health experts? Does this really not affect our weight loss struggles? Let us find out.

The idea of eating everything in moderation may have started as a way to help people feel less obsessed with food, but it has spiralled into a free pass to 'treating yourself' every day or every week. This has become a common saying - there are no good or bad foods; everything is alright as long as it is eaten in moderation. This phrase is subjective, as moderation may mean anything to anyone. For instance, if we eat one unhealthy food on a daily basis (even if it is in moderation), physiologically it may harm you but psychologically it satisfies your thought about not eating too much of it.

According to Dr. Manisha Arora, Sr Consultant, Internal Medicine at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, "Too much of anything, even wholesome foods can have negative side effects and at the same time cutting down anything completely can also be not so healthy. So, there comes a need to eat in moderation. Moderation in eating suggests dietary habits that avoid excessive consumption. Eating a moderate and varied diet can help with weight loss, weight control, hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol and help you stay healthy. So we can say that eating in moderation really works. However, eating in moderation does not work in terms of consuming unhealthy foods as you eventually get stuck in a vicious cycle of cravings and end up eating more than what is recommended, especially while dieting."

Occasionally treating yourself with fatty and sugary foods in moderate amounts may not mean that you are practicing a healthy habit. As a general rule, for people following a diet plan in order to lose weight should be very careful of what they eat. You can follow an approach where you stick to your diet plan strictly through the week and then enjoy some junk foods under the recommended calorie count over the weekends.

Some foods that are high in trans-fat, fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils are bad for you in any given quantity, so even if you are following the moderate rule, it is not helping you in a good way. Moderation is a subjective word and needs to be defined and altered with a nutritionist's advice.