My biology teacher said theres no such thing as “unhealthy” foods. Only eating in regulation, how true is this?
In: Biology
Your biology teacher is probably exaggerating to make a point. Charitably interpreted, s/he has a good one.
However, don’t take it too literally or too extreme. What is good for you depends on your needs, and they obviously differ whether you are doing hard physical labor ten hours per day or whether you are ambulating between the couch, the fridge and your pc table.
You need sufficient energy (calories), but not too much. Sufficient vitamins, but too much are again harmful. The right types of fats. Also you need enough protein, fiber and essential amino acids. And getting enough of this without getting too much calories is impossible if you live on burgers and candy so that’s why these things can’t be called healthy. Yet in moderation no harm done either.
So any combination of food that provides all this without containing harmful components like too much heavy metals, pathogens, carcinogenic hydrocarbons or other poisons, is healthy.
Fortunately, there are many ways of achieving such a combination, as proven by humans existing for tens of thousands of years all over the planet on widely different diets. We are omnivores.
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