Maxim #7, Part 3: What good food is not
In Part 2, we explored many ways in which God’s gift of food can be a source of goodness in our life. So, if there exists “good food,” as Fr. Hopko pens in his maxim, is there “bad food?”
People use good and bad to describe food all the time. For many, these good and bad food rules help them make sense of confusing wellness advice. In diet culture, or what has cleverly been rebranded as a less abrasive but ever intrusive “wellness” culture, we are taught “good” means healthy, and healthy is narrowly defined as a specific set of food rules you must obey on your path to a healthier, a more functional, or dare I say, a more attractive you.
Perhaps, we are told, this is achieved by limiting a particular undesirable nutrient (in the absence of a diagnosed food allergy) or supplementing desirable ones. Grocery stores are lined with soy-free, gluten-free, fat-free, wheat-free, low-carb, high-fiber, high-protein, antibiotic-free, or “clean” food products. Our food labels incite fear of particular ingredients and invite unequivocal praise of others.
We modify food to bend to our wellness wishes -- taking the fat out of yogurt, making bread low carb, or injecting protein into every snack food imaginable in the pursuit of a guilt-free eating experience. Yet when we do this, we end up moving further from God’s creation, further from the source of Goodness Itself.
On the flip side, the closer we can get to a food’s natural state, the better. (Note: this is different from the unregulated word “natural” used on a food label). This aligns with nutrition research.
The dietary patterns that have been shown through strong studies (both epidemiological studies and clinical trials) to reduce risk of chronic diseases and promote health have common attributes. These include an emphasis on plant foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds and plant oils, as well as lean proteins, and are limited in saturated fats, added sugars, and trans fats. In summary, these eating patterns 1) highlight foods found in their most natural state (plants with limited processing), 2) limit foods that are highly processed (which typically boast added sugars and trans fats), and 3) goes easy on the foods that we at times fast from (animal products).
When we view our day to day food choices within the context of a greater eating pattern, we leave ourselves room for variety, flexibility, and the opportunity to see the goodness each time (see part #2). We each have individual nutrition needs and preferences that shape our unique eating patterns, and by individualizing our approach, we can learn to enjoy good food that is nourishing for both our bodies and souls without the need to define its equal and opposite counterpart of “bad food.” St. Maximos the Confessor reminds us that,
“Nothing that God has created is in itself bad. Food is not bad, gluttony is; the procreation of children is not bad, lechery is; wealth is not bad, avarice is; glory is not bad, only vainglory is. So you see nothing is bad in itself, only the misuse of it, which is the soul’s negligence in cultivating its true nature.”
I see Fr. Hopko’s maxim as an invitation to cultivate the true nature of God’s gift of food, and to find the goodness in each of our eating experiences by connecting it back to God. Always.
Read on: Moderation
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