John: I don’t believe there is one perfect diet, or even what you could call a ‘balanced diet’ that can be recommended to all people across all cultures, even if we are only speaking of people in north America as an example. I would think the better way to say it would be as follows: In modern industrialized countries it is difficult to become nutrient deficient if you are living above the poverty line. Much of our food is fortified with nutrients to ensure we do not become nutrient deficient no matter how ‘bad’ or ‘unbalanced’ our diet seems to be. For example, you’ll notice that table salt is called “iodized” salt, this is because iodine deficiency used to be a major problem. The simplest and most effective way to get everyone to take enough iodine every day was to put it in with our salt and commonly consumed goods like bread, and this was adopted in the USA as far back as the 1920’s to ensure that iodine deficiency would be wiped out in industrialized countries. Just to put this into perspective as of 2003 the WHO (Word Health Organization) reported that there were still 1.9 billion people with insufficient daily iodine intake across the world. Take a moment and thank your lucky stars you’re not one of them.
So bringing this little story back full circle to answer your question. It is virtually impossible to become nutrient deficient in modern western countries no matter what you eat. Even if you think you eat a ‘bad’ or unbalanced diet, organizations like the WHO are way ahead of you. If you live in north America or any industrialized country, and you have at least a few dollars to spend on food in a day, you will most likely never become nutrient deficient no matter what you do.
If you have a specific goal you are after then maybe there is a supplement that can help you get there for example: Creatine to help build muscle.
We also have not taken into account genetic variability. In some rare cases people will find they don’t absorb a certain nutrient very well and supplementing it might help. But make note of the word I used, RARE cases. This is not that common, and requires extensive testing to determine.
In general you can eat what you like and not worry about nutrient deficiency.
Rusty (Follow-up): John…I have to be honest, I never considered the WHO. Do they have other nutritional standards that western countries must meet when producing a certain food. Where do people go to find out more info on the WHO’s role in the way we eat?
John: Most people in north America wouldn’t consider what the WHO is up to because as far as the WHO are concerned we don’t have any problems that are really difficult for them to solve. For example there are still millions of people around the world that are malnourished and can’t even get clean drinking water every day. Our problems aren’t so dire, our major problem is having too much to eat, kind of a nice problem to have compared to being so poor that clean water is an issue. If you want to learn more about the WHO you can go to this link
http://www.who.int/en/ and browse around and see what’s going on in the world and with their organization, I’d bet you would be really surprised what is going on right now.
Brad: There are lots of examples around the world of people thriving without eating what we would consider the ‘traditional North American balanced diet’, so when people do eat with lots of variety I see little need for additional supplementation. Unless we are talking about people in a disease state, or possibly the nutritional needs of growing children, I see little reason why a fully gown adult human would absolutely NEED to supplement their diet, with the exception of convenience of lifestyle.
Rusty (Follow-up): Brad… I love nachos, pizza, hot wings, etc. I eat them every so often and feel great and stay lean year round. People assume that I eat nothing but salad and chicken breasts when they hear I have a fitness site. What are your thoughts on eating a variety of foods? Is it just fruits, veggies, and healthy fats and proteins –or- can people eat “normal” food in moderation and stay healthy.
Brad: I think ‘variety’ can include foods that North America doesn’t consider to be super healthy – pizza is a favorite example. Made properly, I think this can a be a food that fits easily into a life style of variety. The preoccupation we have in North America of criminalizing food is ridiculous. Good foods, bad foods...I mean...is a chocolate cupcake the Darth Vader of the food world? I’ve heard people say that it is ironic that the populations of the world who are most obsessed with healthy eating are also the ones who are quickly becoming the most obese and most plagued with chronic disease.
Often times the protective benefit of simply eating less trumps the effect of eating more ‘healthy foods’.