“No Nutritional Value”

If you want to make an argument about the “nutritional value” of any food, be very careful.

Calories are nutrients. Macronutrients. Necessary macronutrients. Basic energy. You need calories to live.

Same with carbohydrates. Same with fats.

No consumable, caloric food has “no nutritional value.” If it has calories, it has has the capacity to fuel the human body’s processes and movements.

Are there foods lacking in micronutrients, that is, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, those things which take food beyond basic fuel and into something specifically positive for most bodies? Sure there are.

But those foods still have a nutritional value.

Are there foods where the macronutrients are perhaps less balanced than others, heavy in carbohydrates, low in protein, high in fat, low in carbohydrates, whatever? Sure there are.

But those foods still have a nutritional value.

Are there foods that some people shouldn’t eat? Sure there are. Are there foods that no one should eat? No.

Are there foods that some people should only eat in moderation? Sure there are. Are there foods that everyone must eat only in moderation? No.

We have become so calorie (and in some cases carbohydrate) averse that food manufacturers are now competing to create, and consumers are falling all over themselves to buy, food that provides the least amount of calories for the amount of food consumed. “Eat more of this food and get less fuel value out of it.”

But we’ve been sold a bill of goods, told that macronutrients, energy nutrients are either worthless or something to be actively avoided — energy is something to be actively avoided — when those nutrients are, in fact, far more important in the short term than micronutrients.

If you’re confused by what I mean by that, think about how long you can live comfortably (i.e. no headache, no dizziness, no fainting, no hunger pangs) without calories.

Then think about how long you can live comfortably without Vitamin C. Or Vitamin A. Or Riboflavin. (Do you even know what Riboflavin is?)

“No nutritional value” is a non-starter. (And it’s a thinner than wet tissue paper justification for public policy. Before putting fingers to keyboard or opening lips to speak these words, think very, very long and hard about the nonsense that they are.